Universidad de Cartagena

About Universidad de Cartagena

Universidad de Cartagena is an operating public university recognized in Colombia’s national higher-education system. The 2024 SNIES institutional profile identifies it as institution 1205, classifies its academic character as a university, records its sector as official, and shows institutional accreditation. Its legal history reaches back to the decree of 6 October 1827, and the university began operating in the former San Agustín convent in 1828. The institution’s role is broader than that of a single Cartagena campus. Academic activity is distributed among San Agustín, La Merced, Piedra de Bolívar, Zaragocilla, and San Pablo. Distance provision and tutorial centers expand its regional footprint beyond central Cartagena. Applicants therefore need to verify where and how their chosen program is delivered rather than assuming that every course is taught at the historic center campus. The university organizes teaching, research, and public engagement across professional, scientific, humanistic, and health-related fields. Its official service portfolio links undergraduate and postgraduate programs with institutes, laboratories, clinics, consultancies, and observatories. This structure may appeal to students seeking a public institution with both professional education and research activity connected to Caribbean Colombia. Spanish is the recorded language of instruction in the supplied database, so international applicants should plan for Spanish-language study and confirm any program-specific language expectations directly with the relevant academic unit.

Undergraduate admission is organized through intake-specific calls, with separate information for presencial and distance programs. For the presencial 2026-2 call, the university instructed applicants to complete the institutional online form, permitted an application to only one undergraduate program, and charged no application fee. That fee condition belonged specifically to the cited 2026-2 call and should not be assumed for later rounds. Selection uses Colombia’s Saber 11 state examination. The 2026-2 instructions stated a minimum normalized score of 40 out of 100 for undergraduate programs. Meeting that threshold does not by itself establish admission because applicants compete within the available places for their chosen program. Foreign applicants in that call were required to provide a Saber 11 examination taken in Colombia and a validated secondary-school diploma. The cited 2026-2 presencial round published results on 21 July 2026 and is now past. Future applicants should use the next official call rather than reuse its dates. Special-admission applicants must also follow the documentary procedure for their category. Postgraduate admission is program-specific: candidates should check the relevant faculty or graduate center for academic prerequisites, documents, selection stages, and opening status. Registration promotions, such as the limited ExpoPosgrados 2026 fee exemption, do not waive academic or administrative admission requirements.

The academic portfolio spans undergraduate and postgraduate study. Current official material identifies faculties or academic areas covering economic sciences, law and political science, medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmaceutical sciences, engineering, exact and natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences and education. Applicants should use the live program catalogue and the relevant admissions call to confirm whether a course is open, since availability, location, and delivery mode can change by intake. The official ExpoPosgrados 2026 page demonstrates substantial graduate activity. Its 2026-2 offering includes master’s study in areas such as chemistry, nursing, law, environmental engineering, education, humanities, and applied foreign languages. Listed doctoral options include engineering, pharmaceutical sciences, environmental toxicology, tropical medicine, biomedical sciences, science, education, and development studies. The page cautions that a program may not open if institutional conditions for the relevant period are not met. Research infrastructure is particularly visible in health and laboratory sciences. The university’s service portfolio describes molecular-research facilities and an Institute of Immunological Research that supports undergraduate and postgraduate training. That institute hosts a master’s program in immunology and a doctorate in biomedical sciences. Other university laboratories undertake work involving molecular analysis, environmental testing, foods, medicines, and microbiology. These facilities indicate opportunities for research-informed learning, but access, placements, and thesis supervision should be confirmed at program level rather than assumed from the presence of a laboratory.

Key Highlights

• SNIES institution code 1205 is classified as an accredited, official university.
• The institution was created in 1827 and began operating in the San Agustín convent in 1828.
• Academic activity is distributed across multiple Cartagena campuses and regional tutorial centers.

Student Life & Environment

Student support is coordinated through the university’s wellbeing structure and is available across its Cartagena campuses. The official wellbeing site identifies accompaniment services for prioritized populations, socioeconomic support, health support, postgraduate students, and food assistance. These are support channels rather than automatic entitlements; eligibility, documentation, funding, and availability should be checked directly with the relevant office. The university also reports cultural, sporting, physical-health, and mental-health activity through Bienestar Universitario. This gives students routes into organized activities and support beyond their degree, although the available schedule may vary by campus and semester. Because programs are spread across several sites, day-to-day student life is likely to depend heavily on the assigned campus and faculty rather than on one consolidated residential campus. No current official evidence reviewed for this profile established university-operated student residences or a guaranteed housing program. Prospective students should therefore treat accommodation as an independent planning task unless their faculty confirms otherwise. Students considering a regional tutorial center should likewise verify which wellbeing services are delivered locally and which require contact with a Cartagena office.

Location & Surroundings

Universidad de Cartagena is embedded across Cartagena de Indias rather than concentrated at one site. The principal San Agustín address is in the historic center on Calle de la Universidad, and the university also uses the nearby Claustro de La Merced. Other academic sites include Piedra de Bolívar, Zaragocilla, and San Pablo. This dispersed arrangement places some students in heritage buildings in central Cartagena and others in campuses associated with particular academic or health-related functions. Applicants should confirm the precise campus before choosing housing or estimating travel. A location described simply as “Cartagena” may still involve a materially different daily journey depending on the faculty. Regional distance programs may operate through tutorial centers outside the city, including locations in Bolívar and Córdoba, so those offerings should not be treated as equivalent to attendance at a Cartagena campus. The reviewed official sources did not provide a current university estimate for housing, transportation, or general living expenses. Students should compare private accommodation and commuting costs for the campus assigned to their program.

Costs & Career Outcomes

No single current tuition figure can responsibly represent Universidad de Cartagena’s entire portfolio. Charges differ by level, program, and student circumstances, and no verified 2026 university-wide schedule of tuition and living costs was located for this profile. Applicants should obtain a current individual assessment or program quotation before committing, particularly for postgraduate study. Accommodation, transport, food, materials, and administrative charges also require separate budgeting. Eligible students in public undergraduate programs may receive Colombia’s Puedo Estudiar tuition-gratuity benefit. The Ministry of Education’s page, updated in August 2026, says the policy pays ordinary net tuition for eligible students enrolled in public undergraduate programs. Applicants must be admitted and enrolled and must satisfy the policy’s eligibility conditions. The benefit does not automatically cover inter-semester courses, extraordinary or late charges, administrative costs, or other pecuniary rights. International applicants should not assume eligibility solely from admission; they must meet the policy’s documented conditions. Career preparation varies substantially by discipline. The university connects teaching and research with laboratories, institutes, clinics, consultancies, observatories, and extension services, which may provide applied academic settings. However, the reviewed sources did not establish guaranteed internships, placement rates, employer outcomes, or graduate salaries. Prospective students should ask the relevant program about required practice, professional licensing implications, employer partnerships, and recent graduate destinations.