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Escuela Superior de Administración Pública

Escuela Superior de Administración Pública

Quick facts

City
Bogotá
Country
Colombia
Type
Public
Founded
1958
Students
19,603
Tuition (local students)
COP 0
Guide score
6.7/10

Official website: www.esap.edu.co

Overview

The Escuela Superior de Administración Pública (ESAP) is Colombia's national public school of government. It was created by Article 17 of Ley 19 de 1958. Its job is training people who work in, or want to work in, the Colombian state. The sede central is at Calle 44 #53-37 in the CAN government district of Bogotá. Its reach is national: 16 territorial directorates and a distance programme delivered in about 311 municipalities through local centres (CETAPs). MEN figures compiled by El Observatorio de la Universidad Colombiana put enrolment at 19,603 students in 2025.

ESAP does not yet hold CNA institutional accreditation. In March 2026 (24–26 March) it reached the external peer-review stage for the first time; the outcome was pending at the time of writing. Its Administración Pública Territorial programme is accredited (renewed by Resolución 8902 of 29 May 2023, for six years). We found no U-Sapiens or Scimago position for ESAP, so no ranking position is given here.

Academic programs

The offer is narrow and deliberate:

Teaching is in Spanish and very focused on Colombian public law, budgeting and territorial policy: ideal for studying the Colombian state, limiting for anyone wanting a broad curriculum.

Campus life

The Bogotá sede is a compact, government-district campus, not a leafy university town. Student life is shaped by public-policy debate, student representation and events such as the CLACSO 2025 conference, which ESAP co-hosted. Many evening students already work in public administration. Sports and cultural activity run through Bienestar Universitario. Details of facilities and clubs are thin online: Information pending — contributions welcome.

Exchange programs

The Oficina de Internacionalización (internacional@esap.edu.co) manages agreements. Documented examples include:

ESAP does not publish an open call or a course catalogue for incoming individual exchange students. Contact the office through your home university before planning a semester.

Admissions

Admission is centralised. Registration is free. Applicants must have Saber 11 results, or a foreign equivalent recognised by ICFES under Resolución 139 de 2020. A foreign bachillerato must be apostilled and convalidated with the MEN; this is free and takes about 15 working days. The 2026-1 intake admitted 3,854 new students; no applicant total is published, so no acceptance rate is given.

On fees, Colombians in strata 1–3 without a professional degree get Matrícula Cero (Acuerdo 004 de 2025). Others pay according to certified income, and the maximum rate applies if no income is certified. No separate figure for foreigners was found. Anyone other than a visa-exempt short stayer (up to 180 days) needs the Cancillería Visa V Estudiante.

Student housing

ESAP has no residences. Most students rent rooms in Teusaquillo, Palermo, La Soledad or Chapinero. These areas are close to the CAN and to TransMilenio on Calle 26 and the NQS. Listings in late 2026 cluster around COP 650,000–950,000 per month for a furnished room, with an overall range of roughly 480,000 to 1.2 million.

Career services

ESAP's value is its link to the state. Graduates move into municipal, departmental and national public administration and into oversight bodies, and many evening students are already public servants. We found no structured career-services unit or published employment statistics: Information pending — contributions welcome.

Academic programs

Application deadlines

Exchange

Parlamento Andino partner; inbound mobility runs through the Oficina de Internacionalización under specific agreements (for example INAP Dominican Republic and the INPAE network), with no open call for individual foreign exchange students published.

Universities in Bogotá

Next steps

Sources