Universidad de Chile
Universidad de Chile (Spanish University of Chile) is one of the oldest universities in America, and the largest and most prestigious in Chile. Its origins can be traced back to 1622, when on 19 August of that year, the first university in Chile, Santo Tomás de Aquino, was founded. On 28 July 1738, its name changed to Real Universidad de San Felipe, in honour of King Philip V of Spain.
On 17 April 1839, after Chile had achieved independence from the Kingdom of Spain, the university was officially renamed to Universidad de Chile, and formally opened on 17 September 1843. During this period, the university consisted of five colleges (facultades): Humanities & Philosophy, Mathematical Sciences & Physics, Law & Political Sciences, Medicine, and Theology. By 1931, the number of colleges had increased to six: Philosophy & Education Sciences, Legal & Social Sciences, Biology & Medical Sciences, Physical & Mathematical Sciences, Agronomy & Veterinary, and Fine Arts.
The current set of colleges, mostly located on different campuses around Santiago city, is: Architecture & Urbanism, Art, Science, Agronomic Sciences, Economic & Administrative Sciences, Physical & Mathematical Sciences (aka Engineering), Forestry Sciences, Chemical & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Social Sciences, Veterinary & Bovine Sciences, Law, Philosophy & Humanities, Medicine, Dentistry.
The university is often called Casa de Bello (Bello's house) in honour of his first rector, Andrés Bello, and its main administrative building in downtown Santiago is called casa central (central house).
The Universidad de Chile is in charge of a variety of nationwide services, including:
- The National Astronomical Observatory, functioning since 1852
- Investigative efforts in Antarctica, since 1940
- Official seismological service and volcanic activity vigilance, since 1908
- Chile's Symphonic Orchestra, since 1941
- Chile's National Ballet, since 1945
- Symphonic Chorus, since 1945
- Centre for Byzantine, Neohellenic, Arabic and Judaic Culture Studies
- Largest Clinical Hospital in the country
- Institute for Easter Island Studies
- Centre for Space-related Studies, with collaborative activities in NASA, and other international agencies
- Universidad de Chile Theatre
- Nutrition and Food Technology Institute (INTA)
- Museum of Popular American Art, since 1947
- Experimental Theatre (1944) (later National Theatre of Chile)
- Chile's NIC.
And more than twenty other centres of national and international importance.
