Pontifical Bolivarian University

The Pontifical Bolivarian University (Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, UPB) is a private Catholic university in Medellín, Colombia, founded on 15 September 1936 and placed in the 1001-1200 band of the QS World University Rankings 2027.玻利瓦尔宗座大学（Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana，简称 UPB）是哥伦比亚麦德林的一所私立天主教大学，1936 年 9 月 15 日创办，2027 年位列 QS 世界大学排名第 1001-1200 区间。

It received the title of Pontifical from the Holy See in 1945, which made the Pope its Grand Chancellor, and it now teaches on campuses in Medellín, Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Montería and Palmira.该校 1945 年获圣座授予「宗座」名衔，教宗由此成为大学总校监，如今在麦德林、波哥大、布卡拉曼加、蒙特里亚与帕尔米拉五地办学。

Its eight schools enrolled an estimated 26,000 students in 2021, and OpenAlex records 15,385 works and 168,067 citations for its researchers.全校设八个学院，2021 年在校生约 26,000 人，OpenAlex 收录其论文 15,385 篇、被引 168,067 次。

History

• In the early twentieth century the university offer of Antioquia rested on two public bodies, the School of Mines of the National University and the University of Antioquia, both of which were touched by republican sympathies during the Spanish Civil War.二十世纪初，安蒂奥基亚省的高等教育仅由国立大学矿业学院与安蒂奥基亚大学两所公立机构承担，西班牙内战期间两校都出现了同情共和派的思潮。
• Conservative intellectuals led by the professor Alfredo Cock Arango, alarmed by the spread of communist ideas, asked the Archbishop of Medellín, Tiberio de Jesús Salazar y Herrera, to create a confessional academic centre that would preserve traditional Catholic values.以教授阿尔弗雷多·科克·阿朗戈为首的保守派知识分子担忧共产主义思想蔓延，请求麦德林总主教蒂贝里奥·德·赫苏斯·萨拉萨尔-埃雷拉创办一所维护传统天主教价值的教会学术机构。
• The archbishop welcomed the proposal and issued the founding decree on 15 September 1936, naming the new body Universidad Católica Bolivariana and fixing the thought of Simón Bolívar and Catholic doctrine as its two teaching axes.总主教采纳了这一建议，于 1936 年 9 月 15 日颁布建校法令，定名「玻利瓦尔天主教大学」，并把西蒙·玻利瓦尔的思想与天主教教义确立为两条教学主轴。
• Teaching began at the Pasaje Bolívar in central Medellín with a single Faculty of Law, 78 students and Monsignor Manuel José Sierra Ríos as first rector, who wanted the institution anchored in Christian humanism.学校在麦德林市中心的玻利瓦尔拱廊开学，仅设法学院，首届学生 78 人，首任校长为曼努埃尔·何塞·谢拉·里奥斯蒙席，他主张把学校扎根于基督教人文主义。
• On 31 July 1937 the university bought 460,000 square metres of the Hacienda Palestina on the Otrabanda bank of the Medellín River in order to build a university citadel, and the national government recognised its legal status that same year.1937 年 7 月 31 日，学校买下麦德林河对岸奥特拉班达一带巴勒斯坦庄园的 46 万平方米土地，用于兴建大学城，同年获得国民政府的法人资格承认。
• The Faculty of Industrial Chemistry was created in 1938 as the first of its kind in Colombia and the first faculty raised on the new university land, followed in 1940 by the start of construction work on the campus.1938 年设立工业化学系，为哥伦比亚首个同类院系，也是在新校址上建立的第一个学院，1940 年校园建设工程正式动工。
• The first attempt to extend the university beyond Medellín came in 1940 with the Liceo Católico Bolivariano in Sonsón, which operated for a single year before closing.1940 年，学校在松松创办玻利瓦尔天主教中学，作为向麦德林以外扩展的首次尝试，但该校仅办一年便停办。
• After the death of the founding rector, Monsignor Félix Henao Botero was appointed to lead the university in 1941 and held the post for more than three decades.首任校长去世后，费利克斯·埃瑙·博特罗蒙席于 1941 年受命主持校务，在此岗位任职三十余年。
• The Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism opened in 1943 as the first private school of its kind in Colombia and the second in the country, consolidating the technical profile that the industrial chemistry chair had begun.1943 年成立建筑与城市规划学院，是哥伦比亚第一所私立建筑院系、全国第二所，进一步巩固了由工业化学系开创的技术办学取向。
• In 1945, during the pontificate of Pius XII, the Holy See granted the title of Pontifical, the name changed to Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, and the Pope became Grand Chancellor of the institution.1945 年，在庇护十二世任内，圣座授予该校「宗座」名衔，校名改为玻利瓦尔宗座大学，教宗自此担任大学总校监。
• Radio Bolivariana went on the air in 1948 as the university broadcasting service, and it still operates AM and FM stations that carry cultural and academic programming from the Medellín campus.玻利瓦尔广播电台于 1948 年开播，作为校办广播机构，至今仍以中波与调频两个频率从麦德林校区播出文化与学术节目。
• In 1964 the university acquired land in the Robledo neighbourhood beside the Pablo Tobón Uribe Hospital, where it built the School of Health Sciences and the Clínica Universitaria Bolivariana teaching hospital.1964 年，学校在罗夫莱多区巴勃罗·托冯·乌里韦医院旁购得土地，在此建设健康科学学院与玻利瓦尔大学附属医院。
• When Monsignor Henao Botero retired and died, Monsignor Luis Alfonso Londoño Bernal took charge of the university in 1974 and steered its expansion into the satellite campus model.埃瑙·博特罗蒙席退休并去世后，路易斯·阿方索·隆多尼奥·贝尔纳尔蒙席于 1974 年接掌校务，推动学校走向多校区办学模式。
• A school headquarters was inaugurated in Marinilla in 1975, extending the reach of the university into eastern Antioquia while the Medellín campus concentrated on professional faculties.1975 年，学校在马里尼亚为附属中学启用新校舍，把办学触角伸向安蒂奥基亚东部，麦德林校区则专注专业院系。
• The Bucaramanga campus opened on 12 July 1991 inside the Archdiocesan Seminary, giving the university its first permanent presence outside Antioquia.布卡拉曼加校区于 1991 年 7 月 12 日在总教区修道院内开学，成为该校在安蒂奥基亚以外的第一个常设校区。
• The Montería campus followed on 25 May 1995 and brought programmes in law, management, journalism and engineering to Colombia's Atlantic coast, with an enrolment later estimated at 2,028 students.蒙特里亚校区于 1995 年 5 月 25 日启用，把法学、管理学、新闻学与工程学带到哥伦比亚大西洋沿岸，在校生规模后来估计为 2,028 人。
• In 1998 the Bucaramanga campus moved from the seminary to its own site on the Piedecuesta highway, seven kilometres from the city, where enrolment reached about 5,800 students by 2013.1998 年，布卡拉曼加校区从修道院迁至皮耶德库埃斯塔公路旁的独立校址，距市区七公里，2013 年在校生约 5,800 人。
• The Palmira campus opened in 2001 in the coffee-growing region with programmes in psychology, marketing, human resources, management and economics, and remains the smallest and newest of the Colombian sites.帕尔米拉校区于 2001 年在咖啡产区开办，开设心理学、市场营销、人力资源管理、管理学与经济学等专业，至今仍是各校区中规模最小、设立最晚的一个。
• The Ministry of National Education granted the university national accreditation in 2006, the first step towards the institution-wide quality recognition that followed twelve years later.2006 年，哥伦比亚国家教育部授予该校国家级认证，为十二年后获得的全校性质量认定奠定基础。
• In 2018 the ministry awarded UPB High Quality Multicampus Accreditation for a period of six years, covering the Medellín campus and the four regional sites under a single institutional judgement.2018 年，教育部授予该校「高质量多校区认证」，有效期六年，首次以单一机构评判覆盖麦德林主校区与四个地方校区。
• The 237,807 square metre Laureles campus was certified as carbon neutral by ICONTEC in 2019, and in the THE Impact Rankings 2025 the university placed 65th in the world for climate action.占地 237,807 平方米的劳雷莱斯主校区于 2019 年通过 ICONTEC 碳中和认证，并在 2025 年泰晤士高等教育影响力排名的气候行动单项中位列全球第 65 位。

Academics

• Teaching is grouped into eight schools, covering architecture and design, engineering, health sciences, law and political sciences, strategic sciences, social sciences, education, and theology, philosophy and humanities.教学分为八个学院，涵盖建筑与设计、工程、健康科学、法律与政治学、战略科学、社会科学、教育，以及神学、哲学与人文学科。
• The university lists 74 undergraduate programmes, 68 master's programmes and ten doctorates, a portfolio that runs from pre-school teaching to doctoral research under one institutional umbrella.学校开设 74 个本科专业、68 个硕士专业与 10 个博士专业，从学前师资培养到博士研究均纳入同一办学体系。
• In Medellín the academic units are supported by 19 centres, foundations and institutes, while the satellite campuses host a further 13 such bodies.在麦德林，各教学单位由 19 个中心、基金会与研究所支撑，各地方校区另设有 13 个同类机构。
• The School of Law and Political Sciences, founded with the university in 1936, is the oldest faculty, and its graduates include a former president of Colombia.法律与政治学院与学校同年（1936 年）创办，是历史最悠久的学院，其毕业生中包括一位哥伦比亚前总统。
• Engineering covers electrical, electronic, mechanical, chemical, industrial, systems, telecommunications, aeronautical, agro-industrial and textile programmes, a range built around Antioquia's manufacturing base.工程学院开设电气、电子、机械、化学、工业、系统、电信、航空、农业工业与纺织等专业，学科布局紧扣安蒂奥基亚的制造业基础。
• The university runs the oldest industrial design programme in Colombia, one of the country's first nanotechnology programmes and its first video game design engineering degree.该校拥有哥伦比亚办学历史最久的工业设计专业，也是全国最早开设纳米技术方向、并首创电子游戏设计工程专业的大学之一。
• Medicine and nursing are taught beside the Clínica Universitaria Bolivariana, and the medical programme is regularly counted among the strongest in the country.医学与护理专业在玻利瓦尔大学附属医院旁授课，其医学专业长期被视为哥伦比亚最强的医学项目之一。
• Research is channelled through 91 groups and 315 salaried researchers recorded in 2021, concentrated in health sciences, social sciences and engineering.2021 年记录在册的科研力量包括 91 个研究组与 315 名专职研究人员，重点分布在健康科学、社会科学与工程学。
• The Integrated Centre for Research Development, known by its Spanish initials CIDI, coordinates the groups and manages technology transfer and consulting contracts with industry.科研发展综合中心（西班牙文缩写 CIDI）负责统筹各研究组，并管理面向产业的技术转移与咨询合同。
• UPB holds a UNESCO chair in human development and belongs to the International Federation of Catholic Universities, the Ibero-American Postgraduate University Association and the Colombian Association of Universities.该校设有联合国教科文组织人的发展教席，并加入国际天主教大学联合会、伊比利亚美洲研究生大学协会与哥伦比亚大学协会。
• It participates in the Sígueme programme, a network of ten Colombian universities, and holds agreements with partners in Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, the United States, Cuba and Venezuela.学校参与由十所哥伦比亚大学组成的「Sígueme」计划，并与德国、阿根廷、巴西、加拿大、智利、西班牙、法国、英国、荷兰、墨西哥、秘鲁、乌拉圭、美国、古巴与委内瑞拉的院校签有协议。
• The library system is built around a four-storey central library, with a separate collection in each school linked to the central catalogue.图书馆体系以一座四层中央图书馆为核心，各学院分馆的馆藏与中央目录互联。
• The university also runs primary and secondary schooling, including the Marinilla school, and delivers online degrees and specialisations through UPB Virtual.学校还办有小学与中学教育（含马里尼亚学校），并通过「UPB Virtual」提供在线学位与专业进修课程。
• In the data submitted to Times Higher Education for 2026 the university reported 9,763 full-time-equivalent students, a student-staff ratio of 11 to 1, three per cent international students and a 57 to 43 female-to-male split.该校提交给 2026 年泰晤士高等教育的数据显示，全时当量学生 9,763 人，生师比 11 比 1，国际学生占 3%，女生与男生比例为 57 比 43。
• Admission is decided on the Saber 11 national examination and school record, and the postgraduate catalogue adds 109 specialisations to the master's and doctoral degrees.本科录取依据全国「Saber 11」考试成绩与中学成绩单，研究生层面则在硕士与博士之外另设 109 个专业进修方向。
• The School of Strategic Sciences groups corporate management, international business management and economics, while the School of Social Sciences teaches social communication and journalism, advertising, psychology and social work.战略科学学院下设企业管理、国际商务管理与经济学，社会科学学院则开设社会传播与新闻学、广告学、心理学与社会工作。
• Architecture, graphic design, industrial design and fashion design belong to the School of Architecture and Design, and literature, history, philosophy and theology to the School of Theology, Philosophy and Humanities.建筑学、平面设计、工业设计与服装设计隶属建筑与设计学院，文学、历史、哲学与神学则归入神学、哲学与人文学院。

Campus

• The main campus occupies 237,807 square metres in the Laureles district at Circular 1 Number 70-01, a residential quarter of tree-lined avenues laid out in the 1930s and 1940s.主校区位于劳雷莱斯区一环道 70-01 号，占地 237,807 平方米，这一住宅区以林荫大道著称，街网形成于二十世纪三四十年代。
• The university temple stands at the 70th Avenue entrance and carries the university seal on its façade, acting as the ceremonial centre of the Medellín campus.大学圣堂位于 70 号大道校门处，立面嵌有校徽，是麦德林校区的礼仪中心。
• The Robledo site houses the health sciences and the Clínica Universitaria Bolivariana, next to the Pablo Tobón Uribe Hospital, forming a medical cluster in north-western Medellín.罗夫莱多校区容纳健康科学各院系与玻利瓦尔大学附属医院，紧邻巴勃罗·托冯·乌里韦医院，在麦德林西北部形成医学组团。
• The Bucaramanga campus sits on the Piedecuesta highway seven kilometres from the city centre and served about 5,800 students in 2013, with schools of engineering, law, social sciences and strategic sciences.布卡拉曼加校区位于距市中心七公里的皮耶德库埃斯塔公路旁，2013 年在校生约 5,800 人，设有工程、法学、社会科学与战略科学等学院。
• The Montería campus, opened in 1995, occupies a site in the Caribbean lowlands and teaches law, management, journalism, electronics, mechanical and agro-industrial engineering to some 2,028 students.蒙特里亚校区于 1995 年启用，位于加勒比海低地，向约 2,028 名学生教授法学、管理学、新闻学以及电子、机械与农业工业工程。
• The Palmira campus in the Cauca valley, opened in 2001, is the smallest site with 218 students and concentrates on psychology, marketing, human resources, management and economics.位于考卡河谷的帕尔米拉校区于 2001 年开办，是规模最小的校区，仅有 218 名学生，以心理学、市场营销、人力资源管理、管理学与经济学为主。
• The Bogotá campus provides postgraduate teaching in the capital, and the Marinilla school, inaugurated in 1975, extends the university's basic education network into eastern Antioquia.波哥大校区在首都承担研究生教学，1975 年启用校舍的马里尼亚学校则把大学的基础教育网络延伸至安蒂奥基亚东部。
• The Laureles campus combines the central library, the main chapel, student health services and the schools of engineering, social sciences, architecture and languages within a walkable perimeter.劳雷莱斯校区把中央图书馆、主圣堂、学生医疗服务与工程、社会科学、建筑及语言等学院集中在步行可达的范围内。

Reputation

• In the QS World University Rankings 2027 the university is placed in the 1001-1200 band, a range shared by several Latin American institutions of similar size.在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中，该校位列第 1001-1200 区间，同一区间内还有若干规模相近的拉美院校。
• The QS Latin America ranking for 2027 places UPB 91st in the region, while Times Higher Education ranks it 88th in Latin America for 2026.2027 年 QS 拉美大学排名将该校列于地区第 91 位，泰晤士高等教育 2026 年拉美排名则将其列为第 88 位。
• In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 the university appears in the 2001+ band, the lowest published tier of that table.在 2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名中，该校落入 2001 名以后的区间，即该榜公布的最低一档。
• UPB does not appear in the U.S. News Best Global Universities list for 2026-2027, and it is absent from the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities 2026.该校未进入 2026 至 2027 年 U.S. News 全球最佳大学榜单，也未出现在 2026 年软科世界大学学术排名之中。
• In the THE Impact Rankings 2025 the university sits in the 401-600 band overall, with a place of 86th for affordable and clean energy alongside its 65th for climate action.在 2025 年泰晤士高等教育影响力排名中，该校总榜处于 401-600 区间，除气候行动第 65 位外，在经济适用的清洁能源单项上位列第 86 位。
• Its researchers have produced 15,385 indexed works and attracted 168,067 citations, a volume that places UPB among the larger private research producers in Colombia.该校研究人员累计产出索引论文 15,385 篇、获得 168,067 次引用，这一体量使其跻身哥伦比亚产出较多的私立研究型院校之列。
• QS described the university in 2023 as one of the top four in Colombia and one of the top 30 in Latin America, a position built largely on law, medicine, design and engineering.QS 在 2023 年将该校列为哥伦比亚前四、拉美前三十的高校，这一位置主要建立在法学、医学、设计与工程之上。
• In the THE subject tables for 2026 the university is placed at 1001+ in medical and health, 1251+ in engineering and 1001+ in social sciences.在 2026 年泰晤士高等教育的学科榜单中，该校的医学与健康、工程、社会科学分别处于 1001 名以后、1251 名以后与 1001 名以后。
• Within Medellín it competes for students with EAFIT University and the National University of Colombia, and nationally with the Javeriana University, which like UPB carries the pontifical title.在麦德林，它与 EAFIT 大学、哥伦比亚国立大学争夺生源；在全国层面，则与同属宗座大学的哈维里亚那大学形成对照。
• The university's standing rests on a small research base relative to its teaching load, which is why its national reputation in professional education outruns its global research position.与教学规模相比，该校科研体量偏小，因此其在专业教育上的国内声誉明显高于其全球科研位次。

Student life

• The motto is Formación integral para la transformación social y humana, rendered in English as integral education for social and human transformation, and it frames the Catholic humanist project set out in 1936.校训为「Formación integral para la transformación social y humana」，英译为「以全人教育推动社会与人的转化」，延续了 1936 年确立的天主教人文主义纲领。
• Catholic identity is organised through the university temple, chaplaincy and pastoral programmes, and the archbishop of Medellín retains a formal link to the institution he founded.天主教属性通过大学圣堂、校牧室与牧灵计划得以维系，麦德林总主教与该校仍保持正式的创办关系。
• The foundation date of 15 September is the university's anniversary, and the class entering in 2026 arrives in the institution's ninetieth year.9 月 15 日为校庆日，2026 年入学的新生恰逢学校建校九十周年。
• Radio Bolivariana, on air since 1948, functions as both a public cultural station and a training ground for students in journalism and social communication.玻利瓦尔广播电台自 1948 年开播，既是面向公众的文化电台，也是新闻与社会传播专业学生的实训平台。
• Student welfare is delivered through on-campus health services, sports facilities and cultural programmes run under the university welfare office, with the chapel and library as the main indoor meeting points.学生事务由「大学福祉」办公室统筹，涵盖校内医疗、体育设施与文化项目，圣堂与图书馆则是主要的室内聚会场所。
• The four-storey central library and its school branches serve as study space for a student body that is predominantly from Antioquia and attends on a daytime schedule.四层中央图书馆及各学院分馆构成主要自习空间，学生以安蒂奥基亚本地生源为主，多在白天上课。
• The Laureles campus lies inside a residential district about ten minutes by metro from the city centre, and the Estadio station on Line A is the usual access point for students.劳雷莱斯校区位于住宅区内，乘地铁约十分钟可达市中心，A 线的埃斯塔迪奥站是学生常用的出入口。
• The alumni body numbered 44,346 in September 2006 and is organised through a university alumni office that runs mentoring and professional networking with Medellín industry.2006 年 9 月该校校友总数为 44,346 人，校友办公室据此开展导师计划与面向麦德林产业的职业网络活动。

Notable people

• Tiberio de Jesús Salazar y Herrera, Archbishop of Medellín, signed the founding decree in 1936 and gave the new university its Bolivarian and Catholic mandate.麦德林总主教蒂贝里奥·德·赫苏斯·萨拉萨尔-埃雷拉于 1936 年签署建校法令，为新校确立了玻利瓦尔与天主教的双重宗旨。
• Manuel José Sierra Ríos was the first rector and shaped the law faculty, insisting that the curriculum join Christian humanism to the civic thought of Simón Bolívar.曼努埃尔·何塞·谢拉·里奥斯出任首任校长，主持法学院建设，坚持把基督教人文主义与西蒙·玻利瓦尔的公民思想结合进课程。
• Félix Henao Botero led the university from 1941 for more than thirty years, a tenure that covered the purchase of the Otrabanda land, the pontifical title and the launch of Radio Bolivariana.费利克斯·埃瑙·博特罗自 1941 年起主持校务三十余年，任内经历奥特拉班达校址购地、「宗座」名衔授予与玻利瓦尔广播电台开播。
• Luis Alfonso Londoño Bernal became rector in 1974 and presided over the creation of the first satellite campuses and the Marinilla school headquarters.路易斯·阿方索·隆多尼奥·贝尔纳尔于 1974 年出任校长，任内促成首批地方校区与马里尼亚学校校舍的建立。
• Alfredo Cock Arango, a professor in Medellín, led the group of conservative intellectuals whose petition to the archbishop produced the university in 1936.麦德林教授阿尔弗雷多·科克·阿朗戈是保守派知识分子群体的组织者，正是他们向总主教请愿，促成了 1936 年的建校。
• Belisario Betancur Cuartas, a law graduate of the university, was President of Colombia from 1982 to 1986 and remains its most prominent alumnus.贝利萨里奥·贝坦库尔·夸尔塔斯毕业于该校法学院，1982 至 1986 年任哥伦比亚总统，是该校最著名的校友。
• Lina María Moreno Mejía, also an alumna, was First Lady of Colombia from 2002 to 2010 and has worked on social programmes in Medellín.莉娜·玛丽亚·莫雷诺·梅希亚同为该校校友，2002 至 2010 年任哥伦比亚第一夫人，长期参与麦德林的社会项目。
• The painter Pablo Jaramillo executed the Greek alphabet mural in the School of Engineering, one of the campus artworks that link the university to Antioquia's muralist tradition.画家巴勃罗·哈拉米略为工程学院绘制了希腊字母壁画，这是把该校与安蒂奥基亚壁画传统联系起来的校园作品之一。
• Gonzalo Soto Posada, a philosopher trained at UPB and at the Gregorian University in Rome, is professor emeritus and holds an honorary doctorate from the university.哲学家贡萨洛·索托·波萨达先后就读于该校与罗马额我略大学，现为荣休教授，并获该校荣誉博士学位。
• Pope Pius XII granted the pontifical title in 1945, an act that placed the institution under the Holy See and made the pontiff its Grand Chancellor.教宗庇护十二世于 1945 年授予「宗座」名衔，使该校置于圣座管辖之下，并由教宗本人担任总校监。
• Simón Bolívar, the independence leader whose thought the founders made a teaching axis, supplies the name that distinguishes this university from the other Bolivarian institutions of the region.独立领袖西蒙·玻利瓦尔的思想被创办者列为教学主轴，其姓名也成为该校区别于本地区其他「玻利瓦尔」院校的标志。