At a Glance

Universidad de Chile

Universidad de Chile is the oldest and most important institution of higher education in Chile and one of the most prestigious in Latin America. It is a public and autonomous university, founded in 1842, succeeding the former colonial university of Real Universidad de San Felipe.

Throughout its history professors and alumni alike have signifi cantly contributed to the development of laws, institutions and the social, political, economic, artistic and cultural frame of Chile, and have been a strong influence in other Latin American countries. In its inception the university consisted of five faculties: Humanities & Philosophy, Mathematical Sciences & Physics, Law & Political Sciences, Medicine and Theology.

Today, Universidad de Chile is composed of the main administration, 14 Schools and 4 Interdisciplinary Institutes, with an enrollment of around 23,500 fulltime regular undergraduate students, and more than 5,000 graduate students working for their master's or doctoral degrees, in all areas of knowledge. Undergraduate studies are mainly oriented to professional training, with students obtaining accreditation for professional activity in their fields after five or more years of studies. In investigation the university exercises national leadership, ranking first place amongst all academic institutions and concentrating around 30% of the country's total.

The Law School

The Universidad de Chile School of Law is the country's oldest and most prestigious. Founded in 1843, the School has educated the great majority of Chile's Presidents. Since 1938 the School has been located in the beautiful Bellavista area of downtown Santiago, at the geographical and cultural heart of the city, across the river and overlooking the magnifi cent Andes mountains. It is a place where people from the four cardinal points of our country converge, a traditional place of social encounter. Its main building constitutes one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in Chile. A second building hosts the teachers and departments offices while a third one, known as "Edificio de los Presidentes" - President's Building - was finished in 2007, adding 7,500 new square meters with top state of the art facilities.

More than 350 professors - including full time, part-time and on hourly basis - teach the Law School's 2,000 students in a ten semester program, designed as a semi-flexible curriculum including compulsory, elective and optional courses from our Departments that cover the different areas of Law: Private Law, Public Law, Commercial Law, Labor Law, Economic Law, Procedural Law, International Law, Criminal Law and Legal Science. The School has also a large Clinical Law program that includes South America's first Environmental Law Clinic.

On investigation, the school has created several research centers including the Center of Environmental Law (CDA), the Center of Human Rights (CDH), the Center for Justice Studies (CEJ), and the Center of Studies in Informatic Law (CEDI), all of which regularly host special programs, seminars and publish research publications on cutting edge issues. The recently launched Center on Regulation and Competition (Centro de Regulación y Competencia - RegCom) will deepen the School's compromise with research on innovative branches of the law.

Graduate

The Graduate School provides a modern postgraduate law education based on academic excellence, with the intention of educating highly qualifi ed professionals in the research and study of the law. Current programs -for more than 500 enrolled students - include a Masters Degree in Law (LL.M) with specialization in one of the following areas: Public Law, Private Law, Economic Law, International Law or Law Sciences; a Masters Degree in Tributary Law; a Masters Degree in International Law, Investment and Commerce in conjunction with Heidelberg University; a Masters Degree in Environmental Law; and a Masters Degree in International Contracts and Business Law, in conjunction with the American University, Washington College of Law. Our Masters programs are competitive, offering the best teachers from Chile as well as an array of visiting teachers from abroad.

The Ph.D. Program

After years of a rigorous process of investigation and study, Universidad de Chile has created the first Chilean program to obtain the academic degree of Doctor in Law. The Ph.D. Program aims to contribute to the development of legal knowledge, emphasizing comparative law and incorporating the historic, economic, and philosophical perspectives. The Ph.D. represents an academic opportunity to reflect on law in a universal dimension, but from our cultural and legal experience.

More than 250 years teaching Law, including its predecessor, Real Universidad de San Felipe

More than 2.500 students 2.000 undergraduate and 500 in graduate programs

Infrastructure:20.000 mt2. Including libraries, litigation and computing facilities, and gym

2 Libraries. The General Collection holding 95,000 volumes,the other specialized in The History of the Law composed of another 11,000 items

Ph.D. in Law.The first in the country 7 Masters Programs in Law some with foreigns universities

16 Heads of State. 16 out of 28 Chilean Presidents have graduated from our school, as well as influential people in the legal, political, cultural and social spheres

350 Professors Full-time, part-time and on an hourly basis

Student benefits. 32 Merit scholarships Psychological assistance and Economic funding for cultural, sports and academic activities

International Agreements with the most important law Schools in the world (Harvard, Yale, American, Heidelberg, Paris I y II, amongst others). Exchange programs with economic backup from the school