National University of San Marcos
The National University of San Marcos (Spanish: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, UNMSM) is a public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. It is considered the most important, recognized and representative educational institution at the national level.[8][9][10][11] At the continental level, it is the first officially established (privilege by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) and the oldest continuously operating university in the Americas,[12] which is why it appears in official documents and publications as "University of Peru, Dean University of the Americas".[13][14][15][16][17][18]
Former name
Royal and Pontifical University of the City of the Kings of Lima, University of Lima
Universidad del Perú, Decana de América
University of Peru, Dean of the Americas
May 12, 1551 (472)
Charles I of Spain (founder)
Tomás de San Martín (promoter)
National Association of Public Universities of Peru, Association of National Universities of Peru, International Association of Universities, Iberoamerican Association of Postgraduate Universities, Organización Universitaria Interamericana, Red IDi, Association of Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean, Universia, Fudan-Latin America University Consortium, Red Peruana de Universidades Nacionales para la Internacionalización
Jeri Ramón Ruffner[3]
3315 (2017)[4]
30 866
6 602
Urban, 170 acres (69 ha)
The university had its beginnings in the general studies that were offered in the cloisters of the convent of the Rosario of the order of Santo Domingo —current Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo— around 1548. Its official foundation was conceived by Fray Thomas de San Martín on May 12, 1551; with the decree of Emperor Carlos I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1571, it acquired the degree of pontifical granted by Pope Pius V with which it ended up being named as the "Royal and Pontifical University of the City of the Kings of Lima".[19][20] Being recognized by the Spanish Crown as the first university in America officially founded by Real cédula, it is also referred to as the "University of Lima" throughout the Viceroyalty.[21] Throughout its history, the university had a total of four colleges under tutelage: the Colegio Real y Mayor de San Martín and the Colegio Real y Mayor de San Felipe y San Marcos, the Real Colegio de San Carlos —focused on law and letters, derived from the merger of the two previous ones—and the Royal College of San Fernando—focused on medicine and surgery—. In the times of emancipation, it acquired a main role in the formation of several of the leaders managing the independence of Peru.[22] After the proclamation of independence and during the republic, it maintains both colloquially and formally —in various treaties and documents historical—its name as "University of Lima" until 1946, the year in which its current name and denomination as National and Major University were made official.[23]
The University of San Marcos is considered the most important and representative Peruvian institution of higher education for its "tradition, prestige, quality and selectivity",[24][25] being also recognized as the institution with the highest scientific production in Peru.[26][27][28][29]
It has positioned itself in the 1st place at the national level in certain editions of various university rankings, such as in the first University Ranking of Peru prepared by the National Assembly of Rectors of Peru under the auspices of UNESCO in 2006,[24] in the University Rankings by Academic Performance of the URAP Center,[30][31][32][33] in various editions of the QS World University Rankings by Quacquarelli Simonds,[34][35][36][37][38] in the Web Rankings of Universities prepared by CSIC and known as Webometrics, in the University Web Rankings by 4ICU,[39][40][41][42] in the University Web Rankings by 4ICU,[43][44] and in the SIR World Reports by SCImago Research Center;[30][31][32][33] being together with the UPCH (created by professors from the Faculty of Medicine of San Marcos) and the PUCP (whose founder and benefactor was a San Marcos graduate), one of the only three Peruvian universities that have appeared in such a position, as well as the only public one to do so. In addition, it has a ten-year institutional license granted by the National Superintendence of Higher University Education (SUNEDU) and some international institutional accreditations that certify its academic and administrative quality.[45] In terms of research, according to information from the Scopus database, the University of San Marcos is to date the 1st Peruvian institution in the production of scientific articles, both annually and historically.[46][47] Various influential Peruvians and Latin Americans have come out of its classrooms,[48] all recognizing and valuing the high level of teaching and the active and important intellectual participation that the university and its students had throughout the history of Peru.[49] The University of San Marcos has been referred to many times as a reflection of Peru for expressing the advances and limitations that the country eventually has, in addition to the valued diversity, preparation and activism of its students.[50][51] Twenty-one Presidents of the Republic of Peru, five Peruvian candidates for Nobel Prizes of Physics, Literature and Peace[52] —of the total of six Peruvians nominated between 1901 and 1964, the only period currently published by the Norwegian Committee— and the only Peruvian Nobel Prize winner, Mario Vargas Llosa,[53][54][55][56][57]— they have been graduates, researchers and/or professors of this university.
In its 471 years of operation, the University of San Marcos has passed through several locations, of which it maintains and stands out: the "Casona de San Marcos", a historic location of the university with more than 400 years of history —part of the area and of the list of buildings in the Historic Center of Lima that were recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988[58][59][60][61]—and that are currently the venue for the main cultural activities and the granting of high degrees by the university; the current premises of the "San Fernando" Faculty of Medicine, inaugurated in 1901 for the first medical school in the country; and the so-called "University City", which has been its main headquarters since 1960, where most of the faculties, the central library, the university stadium and the rectory are located, and most of the academic and research activities are carried out. All these premises are located in the Cercado de Lima. The University of San Marcos currently has 66 professional schools,[62] grouped into 20 faculties,[63] and these in turn in 5 academic areas,[64] being the Peruvian university that covers the largest number of university subjects. All faculties offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. It also has various centers, institutions, and dependencies; such as its cultural centers, museums, libraries, clinics, and university clinics, editorial fund, among others. In addition, through its "Domingo Angulo" historical archive, the university preserves documents and writings of great historical relevance dating from the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. In 2019, the "Colonial Fund and Foundational Documents of the National University of San Marcos: 1551–1852” was incorporated into the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, in recognition of its significance for the global collective memory.[65][66]
Academics[edit]
Admission[edit]
Admission for undergraduate studies is mainly through an entrance examination. Although there are ways to carry out a special exam in the case of transfers, foreigners, first places in schools, and for the disabled, the most required type of exam is the ordinary one that is carried out twice a year: in March and in September. The entrance exam of the National University of San Marcos is considered the most rigorous admission exam for undergraduate studies in Peru, being statistically the most selective at the national level; This is mainly due to its difficulty and the large number of applicants that the university has. Precisely, this is expressed in the very strong competition that is generated in the admission of new students, with approximately 60,000 applicants per year for around 6,000 vacancies —divided into two admission processes: March and September, and which includes applicants who take the ordinary general exam and/or the pre-university center exam—, the selectivity ratio in admission being approximately 10%. Since 2016, the new evaluation method for each admission contest is the application of the cognitive skills test to the applicants (Test DECO®), which seeks that the applicants demonstrate ability and critical reasoning, before theorizing and memorizing when responding to different topics evaluated. It consists of an evaluation of 100 questions −30 of skills (5 in English language) and 70 of knowledge- which lasts three hours.[131][132] In the case of postgraduate studies, both for master's degrees, specializations and doctorates, admission is made through enrollment in the Postgraduate School of the University of San Marcos. As there are a limited number of vacancies, an admission exam is carried out that is prepared and graded by a special jury according to the area of study to which it is applied. There is also high competition in this process. In 2020, after the suspension of the first admission exam on March 12, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and after spending more than 6 months without applying it,[133] the University Council decided to approve the application of the online admission exam, being the first of its kind in the history of the university, on October 2 and 3 of that same year.[134]
Faculties[edit]
The University of San Marcos has 20 faculties grouped into 5 academic areas, in which 65 undergraduate programs, 77 master's degrees, and 27 doctorates are offered; Thus, it is the university with the largest number of study programs, both for undergraduate and postgraduate courses, in Peru. Currently, the organization of the university by academic areas is supervised by its Undergraduate Academic Vice-rectorate.
University rankings
901–950 (2024)
1500+ (2023)
Research Unit of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry: It is in charge of planning and coordinating the research activities of both the Institute of Biological Chemistry, Microbiology and Biotechnology, and the "Juan de Dios Guevara" Institute of Natural and Therapeutic Resources. Likewise, it develops workshops and research conferences in coordination with the institutes of his faculty.
Researchers from San Marcos have led several paleontological discoveries of global importance. Among these are the giant cetacean Leviathan melvillei; the Perucetus colossus, the heaviest animal that ever existed, and the first Plesiosaurus found in Peruvian territory. These fossils have been discovered and studied by paleontologists from San Marcos such as Rodolfo Salas Gismondi, Mario Urbina Schmitt, and Iván Meza Vélez, and are currently exhibited at the Museum of Natural History of the University of San Marcos.
[201]
Alliances and international exchanges[edit]
Strategic Alliance of Peruvian Universities[edit]
In addition to the agreements of the university itself described above, it has counted as a main member of the Strategic Alliance of Peruvian Universities with agreements to achieve exchanges of undergraduate and postgraduate students from the three main Peruvian universities —UNMSM, UNI and UNALM— and others public and private Peruvian universities as associated members. These exchange programs have occurred mainly with universities in Germany, France, Spain, and Italy, and Japan, as well as other Latin American, European, North American, and Asian countries.
Culture and heritage[edit]
Cultural centers[edit]
Currently, the National University of San Marcos has two important cultural centers in two of its historic buildings. The well-known Casona de San Marcos —its main cultural center— and the Colegio Real de San Marcos.
Federico Villarreal: Scientist and mathematician. Creator of the Villarreal polynomial and 180th Rector of the National University of San Marcos.
Raúl Porras Barrenechea: Diplomat, historian, and politician. Former President of the Senate of the Republic of Peru.
Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre: Politician, philosopher, and author. Founder of the APRA and President of the Constituent Assembly (1979).
Jorge Basadre: Historian, Minister of Education of Peru and President of the Historical Institute of Peru
Julio C. Tello: Physician, archaeologist, and anthropologist. Founder of the National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History of Peru.
Pedro Peralta y Barnuevo: Mathematician, cosmographer, historian, scholar, poet, and astronomer. 127th Rector of the National University of San Marcos.
Alberto Barton: Physician and microbiologist. Discoverer of the Bartonella, etiological agent of Carrion's disease.
Cayetano Heredia: Physician. Founder and first dean of the San Fernando School of Medicine of the National University of San Marcos.
Ruth Shady: Archaeologist and anthropologist. Principal investigator of the Norte Chico civilization.
Oil painting commemorating the foundation of the University of Lima (later named San Marcos), officially the first university in Peru and the Americas, and its manager Friar Tomas of San Martin
The historic chapter house at the Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo, where the University of San Marcos began its operations
Drawing showing the old facade of the premises where the University of San Marcos functioned throughout the Peruvian viceroyalty. Later this place would be transferred to the nascent Congress of Peru.
Location of the University of San Marcos in 1920, the famous "Casona of San Marcos" is currently the "Cultural Center of San Marcos"
Welcome Mural of the National University of San Marcos, as it mentioned the official date of its foundation: May 12 of 1551
Jorge Basadre building, used for administrative functions
Main library
San Marcos University Press
San Marcos University Gym
San Marcos University Stadium
Metallica concert at University of San Marcos
Monument of Fray Tomas de San Martín
San Marcos University Clinic
Institute of Tropical Medicine
Museum of Natural History
