Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico
Type	Private university
Established	1948
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic
Chancellor	Ruben Gonzalez Medina
President	Dr. Jorge Iván Vélez Arocho
Students	12,000[1]
Location	Ponce , Puerto Rico 18°0′8.81″N 66°37′2.34″W / 18.0024472°N 66.6173167°W / 18.0024472; -66.6173167
Website	www.pucpr.edu

The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico) is a private Roman Catholic university with its main campus in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It provides courses leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate degrees in education, business administration, the sciences, and arts and humanities. It also has campuses in Arecibo and Mayagüez, as well as a satellite extension in Coamo. It is also home to a School of Law and a School of Architecture.^[2] The university also founded a medical school, Escuela de Medicina de Ponce, in 1977, but in 1980 became an independent entity that eventually became the Ponce Health Sciences University.

The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico was founded in 1948 as Universidad Católica de Santa María,^[3][4] but its name was changed to Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico with the graduation of its first class in 1950.^[5] On 25 January 1991, the name was changed again to its current name, after Pope John Paul II bestowed the title of pontifical on the university.^[6]