The list of universities established in the viceroyalties of the Hispanic America comprises all universities established by the Spanish Empire in the Americas from the settlement of the Americas in 1492 to the Wars of Independence in the early 19th century.

The transfer of the European university model to the overseas colonies in the Americas represented a decisive turning point in the educational history of the continents:

The Christian mission of the Indians and the increasing demand for skilled hands in the administration of the rapidly growing empire made the Spanish colonists realize the need to offer a university education on soil in the Americas.Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, pp. 218f. The foundation of a university required, following the medieval tradition, either a papal bull (or papal brief) or a royal privilege granting the right to confer academic degrees to the students. Usually a bestowment from both clerical and secular authorities was sought and achieved.Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, p. 216 Universities were all subjected to the king's supervision, only San Nicolas in Bogotá held the status of a private university.

The new foundations modeled their charters mainly on that of the University of Salamanca, the oldest and most venerable Spanish university.Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, p. 215 The curriculum of smaller universities was confined to the artes, a kind of basic studies, and Catholic theology (plus church law). A leading role was assumed by the gradually evolving full universities which additionally offered courses in medicine and jurisprudence, thus comprising all four classic faculties. The influential first universities were founded in the viceroyalties centers Santo Domingo, Lima and Mexico City. When it became apparent that the vast distances of the Spanish realm required a greater geographical spread of universities, they contributed to the creation of further foundations.

A key role in the development of the university system was played by the Catholic orders, especially by the Jesuits, but also the Dominicans and Augustinians. The founding and operation of most universities resulted from the – usually local – initiative of one of these orders, which sometimes quarreled openly over the control of the campus and the curriculum. The (temporary) dissolution of the Jesuit order in the late 18th century proved to be a major setback for the university landscape in Latin America, several of the suppressed Jesuit universities were reopened only decades later.

The successful export of the university, a genuine European creation,Rüegg 1993, pp. 13f. to another continent demonstrated its "extraordinary effectiveness and adaptability" as the highest educational institution and marked the beginning of its universal adoption in the modern age (see also List of the oldest universities).Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, pp. 231f. Yet there is no denying that at the end of the colonial era the intellectual and academic life in the younger colonial colleges of the British territories appeared more vital. Nevertheless, the Spanish universities in the Americas fulfilled their primary task, the education of the clerical and secular viceroyalty elite, and could thus assume an important function in aiding the development of the young republics after the separation from the motherland.

In Portuguese Brazil, by contrast, no university existed far beyond the colonial period (the first was established as late as 1912 in Curitiba as University of Paraná).Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, pp. 220f. The lower local demand for theological and legal specialists was largely met by Jesuit colegios, while students aspiring to higher education had to take up studies overseas at the University of Coimbra. Instead of universities for general studies, the Portuguese favored the creation of professional academies to respond to the local needs of technicians and skilled professionals, including creating the first school of higher studies in engineering of the Americas.

List The list is sorted by the date of recognition. At places where more than one university was established, the name of the institution is given in brackets.

16th century

Founded University Modern country 1538Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, p. 218Jílek 1984, pp. 325–339La Historia de las Universidades Hispanoamericanas: Período Hispano. Rodríguez Cruz, Águeda María. Bogotá, Colombia, Instituto Caro Y Cuervo, 1973.AVR: Reg. Suppl., n. 2304, fol. 199. Facs.: BELTRÁN DE HEREDIA, La autenticidad de la bula “In apostulatus culmine” base de la Universidad de Santo Domingo, puesta fuera de discusión, 1955, entre págs. 40 y 41. Ed.: BELTRÁN DE HEREDIA, 1. c., págs. 41-43)The Hispanic American Historical Review. Vol. 26, No. 4 (Nov., 1946), pp. 513-515 1558 Universidad Santo Tomás de AquinoUniversity foundation year and status open to dispute Dominican Republic 1551 National University of San Marcos Peru 1551 Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico Mexico 1552Tünnermann 1991, pp. 26, 35–38 La Plata or CharcasUniversity status open to dispute Bolivia 1558 Santo Domingo (Santiago de La Paz y de Gorjón) Dominican Republic 1580 Saint Thomas Aquinas University Colombia 1586 Quito (San Fulgencio) Ecuador

17th century

Founded University Modern country 1613Universidad Nacional de Córdoba: Orígenes National University of Córdoba Argentina 1620 Central University of Ecuador Ecuador 1621 Santiago (San Miguel) Chile 1621 Cuzco (San Ignacio de Loyola) Peru 1621 University of Saint Francis Xavier Bolivia 1623 Pontifical Xavierian University Colombia 1624Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, p. 219 Mexico 1676 University of San Carlos of Guatemala Guatemala 1677 San Cristóbal of Huamanga University Peru 1685 Santiago (Rosario) Chile 1690 National University of San Antonio Abad in Cuzco Peru 1694 Bogotá (San Nicolás) Colombia 1696 Central University of Ecuador Ecuador

18th century

Founded University Modern country 1721 University of Havana Cuba 1721 Central University of Venezuela Venezuela 1733Roberts, Rodriguez & Herbst 1996, p. 220 Asunción Paraguay 1738 Royal University of San Felipe Chile 1744Tünnermann 1991, p. 26 University of Cauca Colombia 1749 Panama 1749 Chile 1791 University of Guadalajara Mexico

19th century

Founded University Modern country 1806 University of the Andes, Venezuela Venezuela 1812 National Autonomous University of Nicaragua Nicaragua 1828 National University of Saint Augustine Peru

See also List of universities in South America History of European research universities

Notes

References

Sources Jílek, Jubor (ed.): "Historical Compendium of European Universities/Répertoire Historique des Universités Européennes", Standing Conference of Rectors, Presidents and Vice-Chancellors of the European Universities (CRE), Geneva 1984 Roberts, John; Rodriguez Cruz, Agueda M.; Herbst, Jürgen: "Die Übernahme europäischer Universitätsmodelle", in: Rüegg, Walter (ed.): Geschichte der Universität in Europa. Bd. II: Von der Reformation zur Französischen Revolution (1500–1800), C. H. Beck, München 1996, , pp. 213–232 Roberts, John; Rodriguez Cruz, Agueda M.; Herbst, Jürgen: "Exporting Models", in: Ridder-Symoens, Hilde de (ed.): A History of the University in Europe. Vol. II: Universities in Early Modern Europe (1500–1800), Cambridge University Press, 1996, , pp. 256–284 Tünnermann Bernheim, Carlos: "Historia de la Universidad en América Latina. De la Época Colonial a la Reforma de Córdoba", Editorial Universitaria Centroamericana, 1991, Rüegg, Walter: "Foreword. The University as a European Institution", in: Ridder-Symoens, Hilde de (ed.): A History of the University in Europe. Vol. I: Universities in the Middle Ages, Cambridge University Press, 1992, , pp. XIX–XX Guinness World Records Limited 2021. First University in the New World. Recuperado de https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-university-in-the-new-world