National University of Córdoba
Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
Argentina's oldest university, founded by the Jesuits in 1613, tuition-free and home to 1918's University Reform.
- Students
- 168,371
- 157,559 undergraduates
- Tuition
- Free
- 2027
- Founded
- 1613
- QS World Ranking
- 801-850
- 2027 edition
About UNC
The National University of Córdoba (UNC) grew out of the Jesuit Colegio Máximo, where higher studies began in 1613. A papal brief of 1621 and a royal decree of 1622 gave it the power to award degrees, making it the oldest university in Argentina, and the reason Córdoba is nicknamed "La Docta". Its original buildings on the Jesuit Block (Manzana Jesuítica) in the city centre are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The student-led University Reform of 1918, which pushed for autonomy and co-governance, began here and spread across Latin America.
In 2024 it had about 150,000 degree students, 7,500 students on shorter pregrado programmes and 10,800 postgraduates, taught in 15 faculties from Medical Sciences and Law to Mathematics, Astronomy, Physics and Computing (FAMAF) and Languages. Most faculties are in Ciudad Universitaria, a large campus south of the city centre, and the university also runs two secondary schools, university hospitals and an astronomical observatory.
Undergraduate study is free under the university statute (a 2025 national decree lets public universities charge foreign students without permanent residence, but UNC had announced no such fee as of September 2026), and admission is not competitive in the way Anglo-American admissions are: applicants pre-register with a faculty and complete its levelling course (ciclo de nivelación). UNC suits independent students comfortable in large public-university classes, taught in Spanish.
Ut portet nomen meum coram gentibus
“Proclaim my name before the people” — university motto
Why students choose UNC
The UNC statute says admission and teaching are completely free, and in December 2024 UNC said it would not charge foreign students, although a 2025 national decree now allows public universities to charge foreigners without permanent residence.
It offers more than 120 degree programmes across 15 faculties, according to the 2026 UNC careers fair.
Its historic core on the Jesuit Block is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the centre of a large student city.
Graduates include Argentine presidents Carlos Menem and Fernando de la Rúa and LIGO physicist Gabriela González.
Admissions
Entry in 2027 (Argentine academic year starting February/March 2027)
Selectivity
UNC does not publish an acceptance rate. Admission to most degree programmes is open: you pre-register with a faculty and must pass its levelling course (ciclo de nivelación). In 2024, 48,512 people applied to degree and pregrado programmes and 29,414 new students enrolled in degree programmes.
Typical entry requirements
| Argentine secondary school | Completed secondary education, pre-registration with the faculty and passing its ciclo de nivelación. Applicants over 25 without a completed secondary certificate follow a separate route. |
|---|---|
| Foreign secondary school (Ordinance HCS 5/2023) | Passport or ID; secondary diploma and transcript qualifying you for higher education, apostilled (Hague Convention) or legalised at an Argentine consulate; certified translation into Spanish if needed; a signed commitment to regularise your immigration status. The secondary certificate must then be validated by Argentina's Ministry of Human Capital within 12 months of pre-registration. |
| English language | Teaching is in Spanish. Applicants from non-Spanish-speaking countries must present the CELU certificate (Certificado de Español Lengua y Uso) at intermediate level with the grade 'muy bueno' when they pre-register. UNC's PECLA programme runs Spanish courses for foreigners. |
Deadlines
- UNC scholarships for new students and university residence (Beca de Apoyo Económico para Ingresantes, Beca de Residencia) Non-binding Next deadline · In 13 days12 to 19 October 2026
Applications for the 2027 cycle; results due 18 December 2026.
- Pre-registration (preinscripción) for degree and pregrado programmes Non-bindingFirst three weeks of December 2026 (exact dates set by each faculty)
Done online in SIU Guaraní with each faculty. The ciclo de nivelación follows before classes start.
UNC says pre-registration takes place every year in the first three weeks of December, with each faculty setting its own dates. The faculty dates for 2027 entry were not yet published when checked. The scholarship dates come from UNC's 2026-27 schedule.
How to apply
Pre-register online through the SIU Guaraní system on the dates set by your chosen faculty (usually the first three weeks of December), uploading your documents, then take the faculty's ciclo de nivelación. Foreign applicants upload apostilled school documents, a CELU certificate if needed, and the signed migration commitment. Students from outside Mercosur receive a regular-student certificate for their study visa only once they have met every entry requirement.
What admissions looks for
- A completed secondary education certificate (or its foreign equivalent, apostilled and later validated by the Argentine ministry).
- Passing the faculty's ciclo de nivelación, which covers the basic knowledge the degree assumes.
- For non-Spanish speakers, a CELU Spanish certificate at intermediate level with the grade 'muy bueno'.
- For residence and financial-support scholarships, social and economic need, assessed by UNC's Social Service Department.
Tips for applying to UNC
- 1 Check your faculty's pre-registration dates early: they fall in December and differ between faculties.
- 2 If you finished school abroad, start the apostille and the Argentine secondary-school validation early, because UNC blocks your academic record if validation is missing after 12 months.
- 3 Students from outside Mercosur should note that UNC does not issue regular-student certificates or enter data into the immigration system between 20 December and 15 February.
- 4 Apply for the new-student scholarship and the residence scholarship between 12 and 19 October 2026 if you need help with living costs.
Costs & financial aid
2027 · figures in ARS
Undergraduate teaching is free under the UNC statute (see the note on foreign students without permanent residence). UNC's Secretariat of Student Welfare offers economic-support scholarships for new and advanced students, food, sports and connectivity grants, and a Residence Scholarship. In 2025 UNC opened its first residence for new students from all faculties: 135 places in shared rooms in the city centre, with 11-month grants awarded on socio-economic criteria.
- Free (UNC statute, Art. 82)
- Undergraduate tuition
- 135 places, 11-month scholarships; 327 applications in the first round
- University residence for new students (opened 2025)
- 36,358 students in the UNC scholarship programme and other scholarships
- UNC and other scholarships (2024)
Academics
Academic calendar: The UNC statute sets the academic year from the second half of February to the first half of December, with at least seven months of classes; the Superior Council fixes each year's calendar
Law (Abogacía)
Law has been taught at Córdoba since 1791 and produced presidents Carlos Menem and Fernando de la Rúa.
Physics and Astronomy (FAMAF)
Taught in the Faculty of Mathematics, Astronomy, Physics and Computing; UNC physics graduate Gabriela González later served as spokesperson of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, and the university runs the Córdoba Astronomical Observatory.
Architecture, Urbanism and Design
One of UNC's 15 faculties, teaching both in Ciudad Universitaria and at a city-centre site on Avenida Vélez Sársfield.
Medicine
Taught in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, which works with UNC's university hospitals.
Social Communication
Novelist Camila Sosa Villada (Las malas) studied social communication at UNC's School of Information Sciences, the forerunner of today's Faculty of Communication Sciences.
Public Accounting and Economics
Taught in the Faculty of Economic Sciences in Ciudad Universitaria, where former Córdoba governor Juan Schiaretti qualified as a public accountant.
Research
- In 2024 UNC had 553 category I-II and 3,313 category III-V teacher-researchers, and 1,124 research projects funded by its Science and Technology Secretariat.
- It runs 145 research and service centres and institutes, 25 libraries and 17 museums.
- UNC operates the Córdoba Astronomical Observatory, university hospitals, a blood-products laboratory (Laboratorio de Hemoderivados) and a blood bank.
- Ecologist Sandra Díaz, a Linnean Medal winner and Foreign Member of the Royal Society, graduated from UNC and is a professor there; UNC also manages the Vaquerías nature reserve.
Schools & faculties
- Faculty of Medical Sciences
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Economic Sciences
- Faculty of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences
- Faculty of Mathematics, Astronomy, Physics and Computing (FAMAF)
- Faculty of Chemical Sciences
- Faculty of Architecture, Urbanism and Design
- Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities
- Faculty of Psychology
- Faculty of Languages
- Faculty of Dentistry
- Faculty of Agricultural Sciences
UNC does not publish a graduate employment rate. In 2024 it had 7,291 graduates across all levels, 5,445 of them from degree (grado) programmes.
Student life
UNC has a large student body, and most faculties sit in Ciudad Universitaria, a big campus south of the city centre. Student participation runs deep: the 1918 University Reform began in Córdoba, and students elect representatives to faculty councils and the Superior Council. The yearly Muestra UNC careers fair drew more than 180,000 visitors to campus over three days in 2026. The Comedor Universitario (university canteen) has a site in the new residence, and welfare scholarships cover food (Beca Nutrirse), sport and connectivity, with the Jardín Deodoro for students who have children.
- Birthplace of the 1918 University Reform, whose history UNC keeps alive through the Casa de la Reforma.
- Historic Jesuit Block, UNESCO World Heritage, with the university's founding buildings and the Colegio Nacional de Monserrat.
- Muestra UNC 2026: more than 180,000 visitors and over 150 activities in three days.
- UNC recently welcomed 165 exchange students from 19 countries, and its PECLA programme teaches Spanish to foreigners.
Housing. Most students rent privately. Since 2025 UNC has had a residence in the city centre with 135 places in shared rooms for new students from all faculties, awarded through the Residence Scholarship, and the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences has its own residence at its field campus.
Location
Córdoba is the capital of Córdoba Province, in central Argentina, and one of the country's main student cities: its nickname "La Docta" comes from the university. The colonial centre, including the Jesuit Block and the university's founding buildings, is within walking distance of downtown, while most faculties are in Ciudad Universitaria, south of the centre. The Muestra UNC careers fair alone brought more than 180,000 visitors to campus in 2026.
Nearest airport: Ingeniero Aeronáutico Ambrosio Taravella International Airport (COR)
Notable alumni
- CM Carlos MenemPresident of Argentina 1989 to 1999; law graduate (1955)
- FR Fernando de la RúaPresident of Argentina 1999 to 2001; law graduate
- JS Juan SchiarettiGovernor of Córdoba Province 2015 to 2023; qualified as a public accountant in the School of Economic Sciences
- GG Gabriela GonzálezPhysicist and LIGO Scientific Collaboration spokesperson 2011 to 2017; BSc in physics (1988)
- SD Sandra DíazEcologist, Linnean Medal winner and Foreign Member of the Royal Society; UNC graduate
- MU Martín UribeColumbia University economist; BA from UNC
- LM Laura MatusevichMathematician; undergraduate degree from UNC
- CS Camila Sosa VilladaNovelist (Las malas) and actress; studied social communication
Frequently asked questions
Is the National University of Córdoba free for international students?
Undergraduate study is free under Article 82 of UNC's statute, and in December 2024 UNC said it would not charge foreign students. Since decree DNU 366/2025, though, public universities may charge foreign students who lack permanent residence, and the government restated this in July 2026. No UNC fee for them had been announced as of September 2026, so confirm with UNC. You still pay your own living and immigration costs.
Does UNC have an entrance exam?
There is no national entrance exam. Each faculty runs a ciclo de nivelación (levelling course) that you must pass before starting the degree.
When do you apply to UNC for 2027?
Pre-registration takes place online in SIU Guaraní, usually in the first three weeks of December, on dates set by each faculty. Classes start in February or March.
Do I need to speak Spanish to study at UNC?
Yes. Teaching is in Spanish, and applicants from non-Spanish-speaking countries must present a CELU certificate at intermediate level with the grade 'muy bueno'.
What is UNC's QS ranking?
UNC is in the 801-850 band of the QS World University Rankings 2027.
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.
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