Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina

About Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina

UNALM traces its origin to the National School of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, organized in 1901 and officially inaugurated on 22 July 1902. The school initially operated at the Santa Beatriz estate, moved to La Molina in 1933, and was recognized as a university under Law 13417 in 1960, adopting the name Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. SUNEDU lists it among Peru’s public and institutionally licensed universities. The university has a specialized identity centered on the biological, agricultural, environmental, food, forestry, fisheries, animal, and water sciences. Its academic scope also includes economics, business management, and statistics and informatics, allowing students to connect production and natural-resource questions with management and data analysis. Official 2026 admissions material confirms twelve undergraduate professional programs, while the graduate school remains active at master’s and doctoral levels. UNALM’s institutional model joins teaching with research, extension, and engagement with productive sectors. The physical setting reinforces that model: official campus planning documents describe three sectors totaling 193.13 hectares, with most existing faculties, laboratories, research units, and emblematic buildings on the 160.03-hectare main campus. Prospective students should expect a focused public university whose strongest common thread is the sustainable management and use of biological and natural resources. Most degree-seeking students will need strong Spanish proficiency because the database record identifies Spanish as the instructional language and the reviewed official admissions information does not advertise general English-taught degree pathways.

Undergraduate admission is conducted through defined routes rather than a single universal application. The official fee page identifies routes including the ordinary competition, external transfer, the secondary-school first-places category, applicants completing the final stage of secondary education, and selected PRONABEC Beca 18 applicants. The 2026-I vacancy resolution distributes places by program and route, including the ordinary competition and UNALM’s pre-university center. Vacancies not filled in certain special categories are not automatically reassigned. For the ordinary process, applicants first complete an online pre-registration and then pay for the mandatory applicant guide and admission examination. Charges vary according to the admission route and whether the applicant’s prior school or university was publicly or privately managed. Candidates should rely on the page for their specific 2026 process because dates, available places, and amounts can change between intakes. Graduate admission is separate. For a master’s program, the graduate school requests university transcripts, a registered bachelor’s degree or professional title, identification, a résumé, a short proposed research profile, and any program-specific materials. Doctoral applicants need an eligible master’s degree, relevant master’s records, English-language knowledge, a prospective UNALM research adviser’s acceptance, a research profile, a documented résumé, and two academic recommendations. Foreign qualifications must be registered or recognized by the appropriate authority. Not every graduate program necessarily participates in every intake, so candidates must check the 2026-II program list before applying.

Undergraduate study is organized across eight faculties and twelve professional programs. The 2026-I vacancy schedule lists Agronomy, Biology, Environmental Engineering, Meteorological Engineering and Climate Risk Management, Forestry Engineering, Economics, Statistics and Informatics, Business Management Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Animal Science, Fisheries, and Food Industries. The mix is unusually concentrated around agricultural production, ecosystems, climate, food, water, forests, animals, and aquatic resources, with supporting options in economics, management, and statistics. UNALM’s degree regulations confirm that it awards the academic degree of Bachiller after undergraduate study. The cited regulation describes a curriculum of at least ten academic semesters and also addresses research, language, and co-curricular requirements, although applicants and enrolled students should verify which graduation provisions apply to their entry cohort. Professional titles are distinct credentials under Peru’s university framework and should not be confused with the bachelor’s degree. The graduate school offers master’s and doctoral education. Its 2026 materials list master’s fields including agricultural economics, agribusiness, food technology, nutrition, environmental sciences, forestry and forest-resource management, water resources, applied statistics, aquaculture, sustainable agriculture, and irrigation and drainage. Eight doctoral programs appear in the 2026-I registration guide: Sustainable Agriculture, Animal Science, Food Science, Biological Sciences and Engineering, Economics of Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, Water Resources, Nutrition, and Environmental Engineering and Sciences. The National Agricultural Library supports study and research through physical and digital information services, an institutional repository, and access to theses and research publications. Students comparing programs should examine each current curriculum, laboratory access, fieldwork expectations, and graduation rules rather than assuming that similarly named engineering or science degrees share the same structure.

Key Highlights

• Public university listed and licensed by SUNEDU
• Institutional history dates to an official inauguration in 1902
• Present university name and status were established in 1960
• Three campus sectors total 193.13 hectares

Student Life & Environment

Student support is coordinated through the university’s Directorate of University Welfare. Its current service structure includes medical care, student affairs, sports, cultural activities, and the university dining hall. UNALM’s institutional quality system also identifies social assistance, medical services, dining, sports programs, and counseling as formal welfare processes. These services give students several points of contact beyond their faculty, although eligibility, schedules, and capacity should be confirmed directly for each semester. The campus environment includes academic and research buildings as well as sports, cultural, dining, and green spaces. A late-2025 university report described improvements to the semi-Olympic swimming pool and children’s pool and a new procurement process for nutritionally balanced dining services. Because implementation and operating conditions can change, students should check whether particular facilities are open before relying on them. International mobility is available through UNALM’s interinstitutional and global-affairs office. Its guidance distinguishes self-funded exchanges from scholarship-supported mobility and notes that students must satisfy both UNALM and host-university requirements. Scholarships may not cover every expense, while agreements can reduce some academic costs. Exchange participation therefore requires advance planning for insurance, travel documentation, living expenses, academic recognition, and the dates established by the destination institution.

Location & Surroundings

UNALM’s principal campus is at Avenida La Molina s/n in the district of La Molina, in eastern Lima. The university has occupied the La Molina site since 1933. Official planning documentation describes access through major avenues including Javier Prado and Constructores, placing the campus within metropolitan Lima while giving it a more expansive physical setting than a compact central-city institution. The property is divided into three campus sectors. The 160.03-hectare main sector contains most existing classrooms, faculties, laboratories, research centers, and institutional buildings. Two additional sectors of 13.62 and 19.48 hectares are associated with planned research and innovation development. Agricultural land, open areas, and research facilities are central to the setting rather than incidental amenities. Students should evaluate commuting time carefully because Lima’s traffic can make travel duration differ substantially from straight-line distance. Applicants planning to live off campus should compare routes to La Molina and verify current public-transport options at the times their classes or laboratory sessions are scheduled. The reviewed sources do not establish a generally available on-campus housing guarantee, so accommodation should be investigated independently and early.

Costs & Career Outcomes

UNALM is a public university, but applicants should not interpret that classification as a complete cost estimate. The current undergraduate admissions page lists a mandatory applicant guide costing S/104 and separate examination charges that depend on the route and the public or private status of the applicant’s previous institution. For the ordinary competition, the cited page lists examination charges of S/416 for applicants from publicly managed schools and S/591 for those from privately managed schools. These are application-process charges, not verified annual tuition figures. No sufficiently current, comprehensive official schedule covering tuition, recurring academic fees, housing, food, transport, books, insurance, and personal expenses for every undergraduate and graduate category was found in the reviewed sources. Graduate program costs can also differ by program. Students should therefore request a written cost breakdown for their exact program and 2026 intake and budget separately for living in Lima. International students should also account for document recognition, immigration requirements, insurance, and currency movements. Career preparation is closely tied to UNALM’s subject mix. Programs lead toward professional and research work connected with crops, livestock, food production, fisheries, forests, water, climate, environmental management, economics, business operations, and statistical analysis. Laboratories, research units, field-oriented study, and exchange opportunities may help students build applied experience. However, the reviewed sources do not provide current, comparable graduate employment rates, employer lists, or salary outcomes, so no earnings claim or placement guarantee should be inferred.