National University of San Marcos

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National University of San Marcos

Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
Latin: Academia S. Marci Vrbis Regvm in Perv
Former name	Royal and Pontifical University of the City of the Kings of Lima, University of Lima
Motto	Universidad del Perú, Decana de América
Motto in English	University of Peru, Dean of the Americas
Type	Public university
Established	May 12, 1551 (473 years ago)
Founder	Charles I of Spain (founder) Tomás de San Martín (promoter)
Affiliation	National Association of Public Universities of Peru, Association of National Universities of Peru, International Association of Universities, Iberoamerican Association of Postgraduate Universities, Organización Universitaria Interamericana, Red IDi, Association of Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean, Universia, Fudan-Latin America University Consortium, Red Peruana de Universidades Nacionales para la Internacionalización
Endowment	PEN S/. 469,029,428 (FY 2013)[1][2]
Rector	Jeri Ramón Ruffner[3]
Academic staff	3315 (2017)[4]
Students	37 468 (2020)[4][5][6][7]
Undergraduates	30 866
Postgraduates	6 602
Location	Lima ,  Peru 12°03′30″S 77°05′00″W / 12.05833°S 77.08333°W / -12.05833; -77.08333
Campus	Urban, 170 acres (69 ha)
Colors	Gold   White   Metallic blue   Magenta
Mascot	Lion
Website	unmsm.edu.pe

The National University of San Marcos (Spanish: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, UNMSM) is a public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. At the continental level, it is the first officially established (privilege by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) and the oldest continuously operating university in the Americas,^[8] which is why it appears in official documents and publications as "University of Peru, Dean University of the Americas".^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]}

The university had its beginnings in the general studies that were offered in the cloisters of the convent of the Rosario of the order of Santo Domingo —current Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo— around 1548. Its official foundation was conceived by Fray Thomas de San Martín on May 12, 1551; with the decree of Emperor Carlos I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1571, it acquired the degree of pontifical granted by Pope Pius V with which it ended up being named as the "Royal and Pontifical University of the City of the Kings of Lima".^[15][16] Being recognized by the Spanish Crown as the first university in America officially founded by Real cédula, it is also referred to as the "University of Lima" throughout the Viceroyalty.^[17] Throughout its history, the university had a total of four colleges under tutelage: the Colegio Real y Mayor de San Martín and the Colegio Real y Mayor de San Felipe y San Marcos, the Real Colegio de San Carlos —focused on law and letters, derived from the merger of the two previous ones—and the Royal College of San Fernando—focused on medicine and surgery—. In the times of emancipation, it acquired a main role in the formation of several of the leaders managing the independence of Peru.^[18] After the proclamation of independence and during the republic, it maintains both colloquially and formally —in various treaties and documents historical—its name as "University of Lima" until 1946, the year in which its current name and denomination as National and Major University were made official.^[19]

In its 471 years of operation, the University of San Marcos has passed through several locations, of which it maintains and stands out: the "Casona de San Marcos", a historic location of the university with more than 400 years of history —part of the area and of the list of buildings in the Historic Center of Lima that were recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988^{[20][21][22][23]}—and that are currently the venue for the main cultural activities and the granting of high degrees by the university; the current premises of the "San Fernando" Faculty of Medicine, inaugurated in 1901 for the first medical school in the country; and the so-called "University City", which has been its main headquarters since 1960, where most of the faculties, the central library, the university stadium and the rectory are located, and most of the academic and research activities are carried out. All these premises are located in the Cercado de Lima. The University of San Marcos currently has 66 professional schools,^[24] grouped into 20 faculties,^[25] and these in turn in 5 academic areas,^[26] being the Peruvian university that covers the largest number of university subjects. All faculties offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. It also has various centers, institutions, and dependencies; such as its cultural centers, museums, libraries, clinics, and university clinics, editorial fund, among others. In addition, through its "Domingo Angulo" historical archive, the university preserves documents and writings of great historical relevance dating from the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. In 2019, the "Colonial Fund and Foundational Documents of the National University of San Marcos: 1551–1852” was incorporated into the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, in recognition of its significance for the global collective memory.^[27][28]