Central University of Venezuela
Universidad Central de Venezuela
Venezuela's oldest university, founded in 1721, on a Caracas campus that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Students
- 27,604
- Student–faculty
- 7.8:1
- ratio
- Founded
- 1721
- QS World Ranking
- 801-850
- 2027 edition
About UCV
The Central University of Venezuela began on 22 December 1721, when King Philip V approved raising the Santa Rosa de Lima seminary college in Caracas to the Royal University of Caracas. UCV's own history notes that between 1725 and 1821 it trained figures such as Andrés Bello and José María Vargas, and that the mid-20th-century reforms led to a new Ciudad Universitaria designed by the architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva. UNESCO inscribed the Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas on the World Heritage List on 2 December 2000.
UCV is organised into 11 faculties: Agronomy, Architecture and Urbanism, Sciences, Economic and Social Sciences, Legal and Political Sciences, Veterinary Sciences, Pharmacy, Humanities and Education, Engineering, Medicine and Dentistry, each with its own schools (for example, two separate medical schools, Luis Razetti and José María Vargas). UCV also has a campus in Maracay. THE's 2026 data list about 27,600 students.
UCV is Venezuela's historic public flagship and a research university with many institutes and experimental stations. It suits students who can study in Spanish in Caracas and are prepared to deal with Venezuelan paperwork, since admission requires documents legalised in Venezuela.
La Casa que vence la Sombra
“The house that overcomes the darkness” — university motto
Why students choose UCV
Studying on the Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for integrating modern architecture with works by artists such as Alexander Calder and Mateo Manaure.
Venezuela's oldest university, whose students have included Andrés Bello, José María Vargas and José Gregorio Hernández.
A broad range of professional schools, from petroleum and geological engineering to international studies, architecture and two medical schools.
Admission through one merit system (SIMADI) for all degree programmes, based on school grades and an online diagnostic test.
Admissions
2027 intake (SIMADI 2027 dates not yet published; the 2026 phase 1 ran 13 April-24 May 2026)
Selectivity
UCV does not publish an acceptance rate. Admission is competitive by programme through SIMADI, which weighs the average of grades from the first four years of secondary school and an online diagnostic test.
Typical entry requirements
| Venezuelan título de bachiller | Final-year secondary students or graduates, with certified grades, the SNI-OPSU registration receipt and a copy of the Venezuelan identity card (cédula). Applicants without biology, physics and chemistry on their transcript cannot apply to health programmes (Pharmacy, Dentistry, Medicine). |
|---|---|
| Secondary education completed abroad | Graduates of foreign secondary schools may take part in SIMADI only if their diploma and certified grades have been legalised by Venezuela's Ministry of Education and they hold a Venezuelan identity card and SNI-OPSU registration. Students still in their final year at a foreign school cannot apply. |
| Cultural agreements and diplomatic agreements (foreign students) | Foreign students can be admitted under UCV's cultural agreements with other countries, where reciprocity exists for Venezuelan students; each faculty decides on admission. Children of accredited foreign diplomats can apply through a request from their embassy, with grades and diploma legalised by the Venezuelan Ministry of Education. Both routes accept documents all year. |
Deadlines
- SIMADI 2026, phase 1 (registration) Non-binding Passed13 April to 24 May 2026 (closed)
Most recent cycle; the 2027 dates have not been published yet. Enrolment and class start dates are set later by the Secretaría and each faculty.
- Cultural agreements (foreign students) Non-bindingOpen all year
Documents are received year-round; each faculty decides according to its academic calendar.
SIMADI registration for 2026 ran from 13 April to 24 May 2026. Watch UCV's Secretaría pages for the 2027 calendar. Cultural-agreement and diplomatic-agreement applications are accepted year-round.
How to apply
SIMADI runs in four phases: online registration and document upload, the online diagnostic test, validation of pre-selected candidates' documents by the faculties, and publication of results. Applicants pay a SIMADI registration fee by deposit or transfer to UCV's account. Foreign students applying under cultural or diplomatic agreements contact the Admissions Coordination of UCV's Secretaría, which sets the requirements and reviews files.
What admissions looks for
- A strong average in the first four years of secondary school.
- Good results in verbal and logical-numerical reasoning on the SIMADI diagnostic test.
- Complete, correctly legalised documents: foreign diplomas must be legalised by Venezuela's Ministry of Education.
- For health programmes, biology, physics and chemistry on the school transcript.
Tips for applying to UCV
- 1 If you finished school outside Venezuela, start legalising your diploma and grades with Venezuela's Ministry of Education early; without it you cannot enrol even if admitted.
- 2 You can take part in SIMADI from abroad, but no UCV degree is fully online, so you must be in Venezuela to study.
- 3 UCV does not endorse any paid preparatory course for admission; the Samuel Robinson programme is an admission route, not a prep course.
- 4 Fees are set in bolívares and updated often (the schedules on UCV's site were updated in July and August 2026), so check the current amount before paying.
- 5 For the cultural-agreement route, write to UCV's Secretaría to ask which requirements apply to your country.
- 6 UCV's website is served over plain http (http://www.ucv.ve); https links to it do not load, so type the http address directly when looking for SIMADI calendars and fee schedules.
Costs & financial aid
2026 · figures in VES
UCV is a public university. Its published fee schedules list administrative charges rather than tuition: in August 2026, undergraduate registration through the Secretaría cost Bs 7,264, and SIMADI registration Bs 8,575 (July 2026). The Organización de Bienestar Estudiantil (OBE) provides medical, dental and psychological services, a student dining hall and socio-economic advice and assistance.
- Bs 7,264
- Undergraduate registration fee (Secretaría, August 2026)
- Bs 8,575
- SIMADI registration fee (July 2026)
- Medical, dental and psychology services, dining hall, socio-economic assistance
- Student welfare (OBE)
Academics
Medicine (Escuelas Luis Razetti and José María Vargas)
Two medical schools named after UCV-trained physicians; José Gregorio Hernández and Luis Razetti both studied medicine at UCV.
Architecture and Urbanism
Taught on a World Heritage campus designed by Carlos Raúl Villanueva, with the Instituto de Desarrollo Experimental de la Construcción (IDEC).
Petroleum Engineering
A dedicated Escuela de Petróleo in the Faculty of Engineering, alongside geology, mines and geophysics.
Law and Political Studies
The Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences trained President Rafael Caldera, who began law studies at UCV.
International Studies
An Escuela de Estudios Internacionales within the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences.
Research
- Research institutes include the Instituto de Investigaciones de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales "Dr. Rodolfo Quintero", the Instituto de Investigaciones Farmacéuticas and veterinary institutes of animal reproduction and experimental medicine and surgery.
- The Faculty of Agronomy runs research centres such as the Centro de Investigaciones en Biotecnología Agrícola and the Centro de Microscopía Electrónica, plus several experimental stations.
- The Faculty of Sciences manages the Arboretum and specialised laboratories, including one on the ecology of epiphytic plants.
Schools & faculties
- Facultad de Agronomía
- Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo
- Facultad de Ciencias
- Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales
- Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas
- Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias
- Facultad de Farmacia
- Facultad de Humanidades y Educación
- Facultad de Ingeniería
- Facultad de Medicina
- Facultad de Odontología
Student life
Life centres on the Ciudad Universitaria in Caracas, where covered walkways link faculties and public spaces such as the Plaza Cubierta, the Aula Magna, the Central Library and the open lawn known as Tierra de Nadie. The campus is full of murals and sculptures by artists including Alexander Calder, Jean Arp, Sophie Taeuber-Arp and André Bloc, and Venezuelan artists such as Armando Barrios, Mateo Manaure and Oswaldo Vigas. Students use the university dining hall and the health and psychology services of the student welfare office, and there are student-run activities such as the WorldMUN UCV team.
- The Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.
- Integrated art across campus, including works by Alexander Calder, Jean Arp, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Armando Barrios and Mateo Manaure.
- Student dining hall and medical, dental and psychology services through the OBE.
- A second campus in Maracay, with its own student services office.
Location
The Ciudad Universitaria is in Los Chaguaramos, in central Caracas, Venezuela's capital. Foreign students should check current entry, visa and document-legalisation requirements with Venezuelan consulates before planning to study there, and budget in a context of frequently updated fees.
Nearest airport: Simón Bolívar International Airport (CCS), Maiquetía
Notable alumni
- AB Andrés BelloPoet, jurist and educator, author of Chile's Civil Code; Bachelor of Arts from the University of Caracas (1800)
- JG José Gregorio HernándezPhysician and member of the Third Order of Saint Francis, renowned in Venezuela; studied medicine at UCV
- LR Luis RazettiSurgeon and reformer of Venezuelan medicine; doctorate in medicine from UCV
- RC Rafael CalderaTwice President of Venezuela; studied law at UCV
- AE Andrés Eloy BlancoPoet and politician; studied at UCV
- MO Miguel Otero SilvaNovelist and journalist; studied civil engineering at UCV
- RK Ruth de KrivoyEconomist and President of the Central Bank of Venezuela 1992-1994; economics degree (1964), the first woman to graduate summa cum laude
- SB Soledad BravoSinger; studied architecture and philosophy at UCV, where she began performing
Frequently asked questions
Can foreign students study at the Central University of Venezuela?
Yes. Foreign-educated applicants can take part in SIMADI if their diploma and grades are legalised by Venezuela's Ministry of Education and they meet the ID and SNI-OPSU registration requirements. UCV also admits foreign students under cultural agreements with other countries and admits children of accredited diplomats.
How do you get into UCV?
Through SIMADI, UCV's single admission system: you register online, upload documents, pay a registration fee and take an online test of verbal and logical-numerical reasoning; your score is combined with your secondary-school average.
When is the UCV admission process?
The 2026 SIMADI registration ran from 13 April to 24 May 2026. The 2027 dates have not yet been published; check UCV's Secretaría pages.
Can I study at UCV online from abroad?
You can take part in the SIMADI process from another country, but no UCV degree is 100% online, so admitted students must study in Venezuela.
Why is the UCV campus a World Heritage Site?
UNESCO inscribed the Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas in 2000. Designed by Carlos Raúl Villanueva, it integrates modern architecture with murals and sculptures by leading artists.
Sources & methodology
Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.
- UCV: Reseña histórica
- UCV: Home page (patrimonio, motto, faculties, research units)
- UCV: Ciudad Universitaria, Patrimonio de la Humanidad
- UCV Secretaría: Admisión de estudiantes de pregrado
- UCV Secretaría: Sistema de Ingreso por Mérito Académico y Diagnóstico Integral (SIMADI)
- UCV Secretaría: Convenios culturales para estudiantes extranjeros
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