Universidad de Las Américas (Ecuador)

Universidad de Las Américas (UDLA) is a private, non-profit university in Quito, Ecuador, created on 21 November 1995 by Executive Decree No. 3272 at the initiative of Ecuadorian and Chilean academics.厄瓜多尔美洲大学（Universidad de Las Américas，简称 UDLA）是厄瓜多尔基多的一所私立非营利大学，1995 年 11 月 21 日由厄瓜多尔与智利学者倡议、经第 3272 号行政法令创办。

It opened with two faculties and now teaches more than 60 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across health, engineering, business, law, communication, architecture, gastronomy, film and music, with about 14,730 students and 1,064 faculty members in its QS profile, making it one of the largest private universities in Ecuador by enrolment.该校创办时仅设两个学院，如今开设 60 多个本科与研究生项目，覆盖健康、工程、商科、法律、传播、建筑、烹饪、影视与音乐，QS 校情页显示其约有 14730 名学生与 1064 名教师，按注册规模是厄瓜多尔最大的私立大学之一。

UDLA is the only Ecuadorian university holding institutional accreditation from a United States regional accreditor, the WASC Senior College and University Commission, since 2016, and it sits in the 1201-1400 band of the QS World University Rankings 2027.该校是厄瓜多尔唯一自 2016 年起获得美国区域性认证机构西部院校协会高等院校委员会机构认证的大学，在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中位列 1201-1400 区间。

History

• The university was created on 21 November 1995 by Executive Decree No. 3272, a route that made it a private institution with state authorisation rather than a public campus of an existing university.该校于 1995 年 11 月 21 日经第 3272 号行政法令创设，这一路径使其成为经国家授权的私立机构，而非某所既有大学的公立校区。
• Teaching began with two faculties, Economic and Administrative Sciences and Architecture and Design, and the first statutes were approved only in May 2001 by the National Council of Higher Education (CONES).建校之初只设经济与管理科学学院和建筑与设计学院两个学院，首部章程迟至 2001 年 5 月才获全国高等教育委员会批准。
• During the late 1990s and the 2000s the offer widened to communication and audiovisual arts, law, engineering and applied sciences, psychology, gastronomy, hospitality, education, health, dentistry and music, a breadth that made it one of the largest private universities in Ecuador by the 2010s.20 世纪 90 年代末至 21 世纪初，专业设置扩展至传播与视听艺术、法律、工程与应用科学、心理学、烹饪、酒店管理、教育、健康、牙学与音乐等领域，这一广度使其在 2010 年代成为厄瓜多尔规模最大的私立大学之一。
• Growth in the 2000s turned a single northern campus into a multi-site institution, as new buildings and hired facilities were added to house health laboratories, engineering workshops and hospitality kitchens.21 世纪头十年的扩张使该校由单一北部校区发展为多点办学的机构，新建与租用的大楼陆续容纳健康实验室、工程车间与酒店管理厨房。
• Ecuador's 2008 Constitution declared higher education a public good and obliged the state to guarantee its quality, a change that pushed private universities into external evaluation.厄瓜多尔 2008 年宪法宣布高等教育为公共产品，并要求国家保障其质量，这一变化促使私立大学接受外部评估。
• In 2009 UDLA obtained its first institutional accreditation from the National Council for Evaluation and Accreditation (CONEA), the body then responsible for quality control.2009 年，该校首次获得国家评估与认证委员会（CONEA）的机构认证，该机构当时负责质量监控。
• The 2010 Organic Law of Higher Education replaced CONEA with the Council for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (CACES) and subjected all universities to programme-level evaluation.2010 年《高等教育组织法》以高等教育质量保障委员会（CACES）取代 CONEA，并使所有大学接受专业层面的评估。
• CACES accredited the university institutionally in 2013, placing it in category B in the first national classification of Ecuadorian universities, and individual programmes followed, with Medicine in 2015, Dentistry in 2016 and Law and Nursing in 2018.CACES 于 2013 年对该校作出机构认证，在厄瓜多尔首次全国高校分类中将其列为 B 类；此后各专业陆续获认证：医学于 2015 年、牙学于 2016 年、法律与护理于 2018 年。
• In 2015 the university was rated five stars by QS Stars and placed 301st in the QS Latin America ranking, its first significant international exposure.2015 年，该校获 QS 星级评定五星，并在 QS 拉丁美洲排名中位列第 301 位，这是其首次获得重要的国际曝光。
• UDLA obtained institutional accreditation from the WASC Senior College and University Commission in 2016, becoming the first Ecuadorian university with a United States regional accreditation.2016 年，该校获得西部院校协会高等院校委员会的机构认证，成为厄瓜多尔第一所拥有美国区域性认证的大学。
• Between 2016 and 2018 the Quito municipal environment department gave the Granados, UDLAPark and Nono sites its Quito Sostenible distinction for energy, water and green-space management.2016 年至 2018 年间，基多市环境部门因能源、用水与绿地管理方面的表现，向格拉纳多斯、UDLAPark 与诺诺三个校区颁发「可持续基多」荣誉。
• In 2019 the UDLAPark building received the Punto Verde certification from the Ministry of Environment, the first sustainable building and the first university so certified in Ecuador.2019 年，UDLAPark 大楼获环境部「绿色节点」认证，成为厄瓜多尔首座可持续建筑，也是首所获此认证的大学。
• The Faculty of Medicine's programme was accredited by the Mexican COMAEM in 2019, a recognition valid until 20 August 2029.2019 年，该校医学学院的医学专业获墨西哥医学教育认证委员会（COMAEM）认证，有效期至 2029 年 8 月 20 日。
• ABET accredited Environmental and Industrial Engineering in 2020, starting a sequence that would eventually cover six engineering programmes.2020 年，环境工程与工业工程通过 ABET 认证，开启了一个最终覆盖六个工程专业的序列。
• Agroindustrial Engineering was added in 2021, the same year UDLAPark II received EDGE certification and UDLA became the first Ecuadorian university, and one of eight worldwide, to hold it.2021 年，农业工业工程加入认证序列；同年 UDLAPark II 获 EDGE 认证，该校成为厄瓜多尔首所、也是全球八所获此认证的大学之一。
• Biotechnology, Cybersecurity and Software Engineering followed in 2022, bringing the ABET portfolio to six programmes.2022 年，生物技术、网络安全与软件工程相继通过认证，使 ABET 认证专业总数达到六个。
• Law obtained a seven-year double accreditation with the Mexican CONAED and a Chilean accrediting agency, valid until 6 December 2031.法学专业获得墨西哥法学教育认证委员会与智利一家认证机构的双重认证，期限七年，有效期至 2031 年 12 月 6 日。
• In the CACES evaluation of October 2025 the Medicine programme recorded a 98.62 per cent approval rate and Nursing 72.86 per cent, results the university presents as evidence of health-sciences quality.在 2025 年 10 月 CACES 的评估中，医学专业的通过率为 98.62%，护理专业为 72.86%，校方以此作为健康学科质量的证据。
• In the 2026 SCImago Institutions Rankings the university placed 39th in Latin America and was the only Ecuadorian institution in the top 50.在 2026 年 SCImago 机构排名中，该校位列拉丁美洲第 39 位，是唯一进入前 50 名的厄瓜多尔机构。
• The teaching model was rebuilt around Minerva Project courses on critical thinking, creativity, communication and problem solving, replacing part of the traditional lecture load.其教学模式围绕 Minerva 项目的批判性思维、创造力、沟通与问题解决课程重构，替代了部分传统讲授课时。
• The 2010s fixed the present campus map, with UDLAPark and Arena joining Granados, Colón and Nono as enrolment passed ten thousand students.2010 年代确立了今日的校区格局，UDLAPark 与阿雷纳在注册学生突破一万名之际加入格拉纳多斯、科隆与诺诺的行列。
• The university marked its 30th anniversary in 2025 with about 14,730 students, 1,064 faculty members and five campuses in Quito, a scale far beyond the two faculties with which it opened in 1995.2025 年，该校迎来建校 30 周年，拥有约 14730 名学生、1064 名教师与基多的五个校区，规模远超 1995 年创办时的两个学院。

Academics

• Teaching is organised into thirteen faculties, among them Psychology, Engineering and Agricultural Sciences, Economics and Business, Communication and Media, Health, Hospitality and Tourism, Law and Social Sciences, Architecture and Design, Music, Education, Dentistry, Gastronomy and Medicine, and several faculties run clinics, studios or workshops where students serve the public.教学按十三个学院组织，包括心理学、工程与农业科学、经济与商科、传播与媒体、健康、酒店与旅游、法律与社会科学、建筑与设计、音乐、教育、牙学、烹饪与医学等学院，其中若干学院设有面向公众服务的门诊、工作室或工坊。
• The academic year runs in two semesters, September to February and March to July, a calendar that also governs the exchange periods offered to visiting students.学年分为 9 月至次年 2 月、3 月至 7 月两个学期，这一日历同时决定了来访交换生的学习时段。
• The QS profile lists 35 undergraduate courses, and the university advertises more than 60 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in total.QS 校情页列出 35 个本科专业，校方则称本硕项目合计超过 60 个。
• Programmes are delivered on campus, in hybrid and blended formats and fully online, a structure designed for students who work while studying, and evening and weekend cohorts are common in business, law and communication.课程以面授、混合与半面授以及全线上等方式开设，这一结构是为边工作边学习的学生设计的，商科、法律与传播专业普遍设有晚间与周末班。
• Six engineering programmes hold ABET accreditation: Environmental, Industrial, Agroindustrial, Biotechnology, Cybersecurity and Software Engineering.六个工程专业持有 ABET 认证：环境工程、工业工程、农业工业工程、生物技术、网络安全与软件工程。
• The Business School's programmes in business administration, economics, finance, sports business, marketing and international business are accredited by ACBSP, as is the master's in econometrics.其商学院的工商管理、经济学、金融、体育商业、市场营销与国际贸易专业均获 ACBSP 认证，计量经济学硕士项目亦然。
• Its Medical School sends final-year students to Quito's private hospitals for clinical rotations, and the dental programme runs a teaching clinic open to the public.其医学院将毕业年级学生派往基多私立医院进行临床轮转，牙学专业则设有面向公众开放的教学校门诊。
• The Faculty of Medicine runs a six-year programme accredited both nationally and by COMAEM, and the Faculty of Dentistry trains dentists in a programme accredited in 2016.医学学院开设六年制医学专业，同时获得本国与 COMAEM 认证；牙学学院培养牙科医师，其专业于 2016 年获认证。
• Minerva Project seminars on critical thinking, creativity, communication and problem solving are embedded in the curriculum as compulsory durable-skills courses.Minerva 项目关于批判性思维、创造力、沟通与问题解决的研讨课以必修的「持久技能」课程形式嵌入培养方案。
• Research is coordinated by the Directorate of Research and Outreach, which contains the Office of Technology Transfer and Innovation (OTTI) for patents and licensing.科研由研究与对外联络处统筹，下设技术转移与创新办公室（OTTI），负责专利与许可事务。
• SCImago placed the university first among Ecuadorian institutions for research output in every edition from 2022 to 2026.在 2022 年至 2026 年的各版 SCImago 排名中，该校的科研产出均居厄瓜多尔高校首位。
• OpenAlex indexes 6,262 works and 120,549 citations for UDLA, a record concentrated in health sciences, engineering and applied biology.OpenAlex 为该校收录 6262 篇成果与 120549 次引用，主要集中在健康科学、工程与应用生物学领域。
• Its QS profile records 14,730 students, 1,064 full-time faculty and 425 international students, a staff-student ratio typical of a teaching-intensive private university.其 QS 校情页记录 14730 名学生、1064 名全职教师与 425 名国际学生，这一生师比符合教学型私立大学的特征。
• The Nono experimental farm, known as the Amanecer Academic Biocentre, supports teaching and research in agroindustrial engineering, veterinary science and production systems.位于诺诺的实验农场名为「阿马内塞尔学术生物中心」，支撑农业工业工程、兽医科学与生产系统的教学与研究。
• Laboratories, simulation centres and professionalisation units on the five Quito campuses support clinical, engineering, gastronomy and audiovisual training.五个基多校区内的实验室、模拟中心与职业化训练单元，支撑临床、工程、烹饪与视听制作等方向的训练。
• Postgraduate provision includes master's degrees in econometrics, business administration, education and health management, taught in the evenings and at weekends.研究生教育包括计量经济学、工商管理、教育与健康管理等硕士项目，多安排在晚间与周末授课。
• International students fluent in Spanish may spend a semester at UDLA, with applications due by 1 May for the September-February term and by 1 December for the March-July term.西班牙语流利的国际学生可在该校交换一个学期，9 月至次年 2 月学期须在 5 月 1 日前申请，3 月至 7 月学期须在 12 月 1 日前申请。
• Each campus maintains a library with digital databases, and the university runs continuing-education and professional certification courses for working adults.各校区均设图书馆并接入数字数据库，学校还为在职人士开设继续教育与职业资格证书课程。
• Undergraduate degrees run for four to five years, medicine for six, and every programme ends with an integrative project or thesis before the degree is conferred.本科学制四至五年，医学为六年，各专业在授予学位前均须完成整合性项目或毕业论文。

Campus

• The university operates five campuses in Quito, named Granados, UDLAPark, Colón, Arena and Nono, all within the metropolitan district of the Ecuadorian capital.该校在基多设有五个校区，分别为格拉纳多斯、UDLAPark、科隆、阿雷纳与诺诺，均位于厄瓜多尔首都的都会区内。
• The main UDLAPark campus stands at the Redondel del Ciclista on the old road to Nayón, in the north-eastern valley of the city, on a site that combines lecture buildings, laboratories and an auditorium.主校区 UDLAPark 位于城市东北谷地的自行车手环岛，地处通往纳永的旧路旁，场地内兼有教学楼、实验室与礼堂。
• UDLAPark II received EDGE certification in 2021 for energy and water efficiency, making UDLA the first Ecuadorian university and one of eight institutions worldwide to hold it.UDLAPark II 于 2021 年因能源与用水效率获 EDGE 认证，使该校成为厄瓜多尔首所、全球八所获此认证的院校之一。
• UDLA Arena is a dedicated sports complex used for competition, physical education and student recreation.阿雷纳校区是一座专用体育综合体，用于比赛、体育教学与学生休闲活动。
• The Nono site houses the Amanecer Academic Biocentre, where students work with livestock species and production systems in a rural setting west of Quito.诺诺校区设阿马内塞尔学术生物中心，学生在基多西郊的乡村环境中接触畜种与生产系统。
• The Granados campus in northern Quito was among the university's earliest sites and now concentrates psychology, business and social science teaching.位于基多北部的格拉纳多斯校区是该校最早的校址之一，现主要承担心理学、商科与社会科学教学。
• The Colón campus sits in the central district, close to the city's commercial and administrative core, and hosts law, communication and continuing education.科隆校区位于市中心区，靠近城市的商业与行政核心，承担法律、传播与继续教育课程。
• UDLAPark and Arena hold EDGE Advanced certification, while Granados, UDLAPark and Nono earned the Quito Sostenible distinction between 2016 and 2018.UDLAPark 与阿雷纳持有 EDGE 高级认证，格拉纳多斯、UDLAPark 与诺诺则在 2016 年至 2018 年间获得「可持续基多」荣誉。
• Quito lies at roughly 2,850 metres in the Andes, and the campuses are linked to the historic centre by the city's trolleybus and Metrobus corridors, while the international airport lies about 40 kilometres east in Tababela.基多位于安第斯山区海拔约 2850 米处，各校区经城市无轨电车与快速公交走廊连接历史城区，国际机场则位于以东约 40 公里的塔瓦贝拉。
• Granados and Colón are compact urban campuses close to offices and public transport, while UDLAPark and Nono occupy larger sites suited to laboratories, workshops and field work.格拉纳多斯与科隆是紧邻办公区与公共交通的紧凑城市校区，UDLAPark 与诺诺则占地较大，适合设置实验室、车间与田野作业。

Reputation

• In the QS World University Rankings 2027 UDLA is placed in the joint 1201-1400 band, the interval it has occupied since the 2023 edition.在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中，该校位列 1201-1400 并列区间，自 2023 年版起它一直处于该区间。
• In Quito it competes for students with the Central University of Ecuador, the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, the National Polytechnic School and the Andean University Simón Bolívar, all of them older and largely state-subsidised.在基多，它与厄瓜多尔中央大学、厄瓜多尔天主教大学、国立理工学院以及西蒙·玻利瓦尔安第斯大学争夺生源，这些院校历史更久且多受国家补贴。
• The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 places it in the 1201-1400 band.2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名将其列入 1201-1400 区间。
• It does not appear in the 2026-2027 U.S. News Best Global Universities list.该校未进入 2026-2027 年度《美国新闻与世界报道》全球最佳大学榜单。
• It is absent from the main table of the 2026 Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities, which covers only research-intensive institutions.该校未进入 2026 年软科世界大学学术排名主榜，该榜仅覆盖研究密集型院校。
• QS Stars rated the university three stars overall, with full marks for social impact, inclusiveness and teaching and four stars for employability.QS 星级评定给予该校综合三星，其中社会影响、包容性与教学三项满分，毕业生就业力为四星。
• SCImago ranked it first among Ecuadorian universities for research from 2022 to 2026 and 39th in Latin America in the 2026 edition.SCImago 在 2022 年至 2026 年间将其列为厄瓜多尔高校科研第一，2026 年版中位列拉丁美洲第 39 位。
• Webometrics placed it second among Ecuadorian universities in 2021, behind the country's largest public university.2021 年 Webometrics 将其列为厄瓜多尔高校第二，仅次于该国最大的公立大学。
• Its WSCUC accreditation is the only United States regional accreditation held by an Ecuadorian university, a distinction the institution uses in its marketing and that obliges it to file periodic reports on learning outcomes and finances.其 WSCUC 认证是厄瓜多尔高校中唯一的美国区域性认证，校方在对外宣传中突出这一优势，该认证也要求学校定期提交关于学习成效与财务状况的报告。
• OpenAlex records 6,262 works and 120,549 citations, a volume that places it among the more research-active private universities of the Andean region, though far below the output of Ecuador's largest public universities.OpenAlex 记录其 6262 篇成果与 120549 次引用，这一体量使其跻身安第斯地区科研较活跃的私立大学之列，但仍远低于厄瓜多尔最大的几所公立大学。
• The university reports national accreditation in category B from the Ecuadorian quality system, the second-highest band used before CACES moved to a four-level scale.该校在国内质量体系中获 B 类认证，这是 CACES 改用四级量表之前所设的第二高档位。

Student life

• UDLA's motto is "El mundo necesita gente que ame lo que hace", rendered in English as "The world needs people who love what they do".该校校训为「El mundo necesita gente que ame lo que hace」，意为「世界需要热爱自己所做之事的人」。
• Student clubs cover sport, culture, art, technology and volunteering, and the university presents them as a complement to classroom formation.学生社团涵盖体育、文化、艺术、技术与志愿服务，校方将其视为课堂培养的补充。
• Accompaniment programmes and psychological counselling are provided to students across the five campuses.五个校区均向学生提供学业陪伴项目与心理咨询服务。
• The alumni network runs job intermediation, continuing education and support for graduate start-ups.校友网络提供职业中介、继续教育以及对毕业生创业的支持。
• UDLA Arena hosts inter-faculty tournaments and recreational sport, and the Nono farm receives classes for practical work with animals and crops.阿雷纳校区承办院际赛事与休闲体育，诺诺农场则接待班级开展动物与作物的实践教学。
• Minerva-style seminars require students to speak, debate and solve problems in small groups rather than listen to lectures.Minerva 式研讨课要求学生在小组中发言、辩论与解决问题，而非单纯听讲。
• Hybrid and online formats allow students in full-time work to combine study with employment, a policy reflected in evening and weekend timetables.混合与线上授课使全职工作者得以兼顾学业与工作，晚间与周末课表即体现了这一安排。
• International exchange students join Spanish-taught classes and are expected to be fluent in Spanish before arrival, while degree-seeking international students can take Spanish courses alongside their semester.国际交换生进入西班牙语授课的课堂，入学前须具备流利的西班牙语能力，攻读学位的外国学生则可在学期中同步修读西班牙语课程。
• The university runs UDLA+, a mobile application through which students manage enrolment, grades and administrative procedures, and the same application carries the academic calendar, campus maps and bus routes.该校运营移动应用 UDLA+，学生借此办理注册、查询成绩并处理行政手续，该应用还提供校历、校园地图与公交线路。
• The university's Quito location gives students access to the colonial centre, a 2,850-metre Andean setting and internships in the capital's public and private sectors.地处基多使学生得以接触殖民时期历史城区、海拔 2850 米的安第斯环境，并在首都公私部门实习。

Notable people

• UDLA was founded by a group of Ecuadorian and Chilean academics rather than by a single patron, and no founding family name is attached to the institution.该校由一批厄瓜多尔与智利学者共同创办，而非出自某一位赞助人，校名也未冠以创办家族之名。
• Carlos Larreátegui has served as the university's chancellor, the office that combines the roles of rector and board chair in the Ecuadorian private-university model.卡洛斯·拉雷亚特长年担任该校校监，在厄瓜多尔私立大学体制中，这一职位兼具校长与董事会主席的职能。
• Carlos Emilio Larreátegui has held the post of vice-chancellor, working alongside the chancellor on academic and institutional affairs.卡洛斯·埃米利奥·拉雷亚曾任副校长，与校监共同处理学术与机构事务。
• Stephen Kosslyn, the psychologist who founded the Minerva Project, shaped the seminar model that UDLA adopted for its durable-skills courses.心理学家、Minerva 项目创办人斯蒂芬·科斯林塑造了该校「持久技能」课程所采用的研讨课模式。
• The university does not publish a roll of honorary graduates, and its public record of notable alumni is thin compared with older Ecuadorian institutions.该校不公布荣誉毕业生名录，与厄瓜多尔历史更久的院校相比，其公开的知名校友记录较为单薄。
• Its academic leadership has been drawn largely from Ecuadorian professionals trained abroad, a pattern visible in the engineering and business faculties.其学术领导层多来自有海外受训背景的厄瓜多尔专业人士，这一特征在工程与商学院尤为明显。
• Faculty in the Faculty of Medicine combine teaching with practice in Quito's private hospital network, which supplies clinical placements for students.医学学院的教师同时在基多私立医院网络执业，该网络为学生提供临床实习岗位。
• Graduates in gastronomy and hospitality staff the capital's restaurant and hotel sector, and the university tracks their employment through its alumni office.烹饪与酒店管理专业的毕业生供职于首都的餐饮与酒店业，学校通过校友办公室跟踪其就业情况。