Universidad de las Américas Puebla

Universidad de las Américas Puebla, commonly known as UDLAP (), is a Mexican private university located in San Andrés Cholula, near Puebla. The university is known for its programs in Finance, Arts and Humanities, Social sciences, Science and Engineering, and Business and Economics. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious universities in Latin America, having been ranked the best private and single-campus university in Mexico by the newspaper El Universal,

thumb|250px|Capilla del Arte (Art Chapel) in the [[Historic Centre of Puebla.]]

Capilla del Arte

The Capilla del Arte (Art Chapel) was opened by UDLAP in the Historic Centre of Puebla district of the city of Puebla. It has a contemporary art gallery, cultural center, and auditorium, for cultural programs of music, dance, theater, film, literature, and arts to connect Puebla society with students, professors and artists.

Academics

Schools and departments

thumb|400px|right|Map of the UDLAP−Universidad de las Américas Puebla campus.

As of December 2005, the School of Social Sciences and the School of Arts and Humanities were combined, as were the School of Engineering and the School of Sciences, to form two new schools as part of an institutional plan to offer students a broader education.

Also, the Economics Department joined the Business School, which changed its name to the School of Economic and Management Sciences. In March 2006, this school again changed its name to its current form.

School of Social Sciences (Escuela de Ciencias Sociales)
School of Arts and Humanities (Escuela de Artes y Humanidades)
School of Engineering (Escuela de Ingeniería)
Science School (Escuela de Ciencias)
Business and Economics School (Escuela de Negocios y Economía)
School of Graduate Studies and Research
Department of International Affairs (Departamento de Asuntos Internacionales)

Research

In Mexico, university research is generally done at public universities or at research-specific institutions. However UDLAP is one of the few private universities in the country to invest a reasonable amount of resources in research. Approximately 25% of the professors at the UDLAP are members of the National System of Researchers. They oversee several subjects at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, facilitating students' involvement in research projects beginning in the first semesters.

UDLAP's research work is reflected in scientific publications. Between 2009 and 2011 there were 364 works produced. There have been 330 publications, which include media articles, refereed articles, conference papers, book chapters and theses.

Rankings

In an annual study presented by the Mexican newspaper El Universal, the UDLAP was given the best grade of the universities in the Metropolitan area of Puebla, above universities such as UPAEP, BUAP or the Ibero Puebla. It is also the fourth-best private university in the country, and the ninth overall. The same study also reported that employers placed the university in second place, only after Mexico's National University, the UNAM, and that in the teacher's evaluation, the Puebla University was placed in third place, after the UNAM and the ITAM.

Sports

thumb|right|250px|Aztecas UDLAP's logo

The Universidad de las Américas' sports teams are called the Aztecs. Their American football team has won three championships in the National League (ONEFA), and currently plays in the Premier League of the CONADEIP. The university was chosen as the site of the third Spanish Real Madrid youth overseas soccer school, and started activities on 7 February 2005. The UDLAP Men's basketball team is the 2006 Puebla State champions.

Track & field

The most important athlete in the history of track & field is Herman Adam, a Mexican athlete born in Poza Rica, 2 August 1965. He has participated in the Olympic Games in Seoul 1988 and in Barcelona 1992, the World Athletics Championship Tokyo 1991, and other international competitions. His athletic disciplines include the 100m, 200m, 400m, long jump, and the 4 × 100 m and 4 × 400 m relays. His record 10.39sec in 100m at CONADEIP is still the world record.

Current teams representing UDLAP in national tournaments include:

Football
Basketball
Soccer
Volleyball
Track and field
Tae Kwon Do

Accreditations

Besides being accredited by the Secretaría de Educación Pública (federal Secretariat of Education), the Universidad de las Américas is also accredited by:

SACS - Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
ABET - Engineering Accreditation Commission
IFT - Institute of Food Technologies
FIMPES - Federación de Instituciones Mexicanas Particulares de Educación Superior
CACEI - Consejo de Acreditación de la Enseñanza de la Ingeniería, A.C.
ACCECISO - Asociación para la Acreditación y Certificación en Ciencias Sociales
CONAET - Consejo Nacional para la Calidad de la Educación Turística A. C.
CACECA - Consejo de Acreditación en la Enseñanza de la Contaduría y Administración
CACEI - Consejo de Acreditación de la Enseñanza de la INgeniería, A.C.
COMAEM - Consejo para la Acreditaciónb de la Educación Médica, A.C.
COMAEF - Consejo Mexicano para la Educación Farmacéutica, A.C.
CONAED - Consejo para la Acreditación de la Enseñanza en Derecho
CNEIP - Consejo Nacional para la Enseñanza e Investigación en Psicología, A. C.
ANPADEH - Acreditadora Nacional de Programas de Arquitectura y Disciplinas de Espacio Habitable A.C.
CAESA - Consejo para la Acreditación de la Educación Superior de las Artes
COMAPROD - Consejo Mexicano para la Acreditación de Programas de Diseño
COAPEHUM - Consejo para la Acreditación de Programas Educativos en Humanidades

University facts

Total Faculty: 763 members, 44% are full-time, 25% belong to the National System of Researchers (SNI)
Study Abroad Programs: International study is offered in more than 300 universities in 30 countries.
International Students: 1,114 international students came to the university as exchange students.

Honoris Causa degrees

The following is a list of some of the Honoris Causa Degrees awarded by the Universidad de las Américas:

Dr. William Richardson: Governor of New Mexico, United States
Dr. José Julián Sidaoui: Deputy Governor of Bank of Mexico
Dr. Mario Molina: Scientist and Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry
Dr. Enrique V. Iglesias: President of the Inter-American Development Bank

University activities

thumbnail|250px|Exhibition in the Capillla del Arte UDLAP.

UDLAP offers a wide range of on-campus events such as academic, cultural and sporting events, which are open to both students and the local community. The UDLAP Nobel Conference is held two times a year. In this conference Nobel Prize Winners are invited to talk about their work and also their experience being Nobel Prize Winners.

On the cultural side UDLAP offers a wide range of activities in different locations. La Casa del Caballero Aguila and La Capilla del Arte UDLAP are two museums of the university offering concerts, art exhibitions and lectures.

Starting in the summer of 2007, UDLAP has been hosting a summer program for uplifting eighth to tenth graders through CTY, the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth.