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Universidad Autónoma Tomás Frías

Universidad Autónoma Tomás Frías

Quick facts

City
Potosí
Country
Bolivia
Type
Public
Founded
1892
Students
25,000
Tuition (local students)
BOB 0
Guide score
5.5/10

Official website: www.uatf.edu.bo

Overview

The Universidad Autónoma Tomás Frías (UATF) is Potosí's public autonomous university. It was created by the same law of 15 October 1892 that established the university district of Oruro, and it belongs to the CEUB system. In January 2025 its Dirección de Servicios Académicos was enrolling about 25,000 students (regular and new) across the main seat and provincial sub-seats in the department, including Tupiza, Villazón, Uyuni and Uncía.

UATF appears in the QS Latin America & the Caribbean 2026 ranking only in the open "401+" band, so no numeric rank is stored. No official figure for foreign enrolment is published. Institutional statistics break down students' origin by Bolivian department and show almost all come from Potosí.

Academic programs

Twelve faculties: Artes; Ciencias Agrícolas y Pecuarias; Ciencias Económicas, Financieras y Administrativas; Ciencias Puras; Ciencias Sociales y Humanísticas; Derecho; Ingeniería; Ingeniería Geológica; Ingeniería Minera; Ingeniería Tecnológica; Ciencias de la Salud; and Medicina. Mining and geology are the reason to look at UATF: the city sits beneath the Cerro Rico, and the university has agreements such as the October 2025 one with SERGEOMIN (the national geological-mining service) for internships and theses. Civil Engineering traces its roots to the Instituto Superior Técnico de Minas (1939) and ran a self-evaluation for accreditation in 2025. The most requested carreras are Law, Medicine and Civil Engineering.

Fees. According to the admissions director, the university matrícula itself is Bs 0. Students pay around Bs 25 in university contributions plus a carrera-specific amount for labs, and self-financed carreras charge more. No separate foreigner rate is published, so ask Admisiones y Registros (tel. 6227306) before you apply.

Campus life

Central offices are on Calle Serrudo at Av. Cívica, in the colonial centre. Newer faculties and labs are in the ciudadela universitaria on Av. Las Banderas, where admitted students also register. Potosí is one of the highest cities in the world, at around 4,000 m. Expect thin air, strong UV and sub-zero winter nights. On the other hand, it is a compact UNESCO World Heritage city with a low cost of living and a strong mining-town identity.

Exchange programs

A relaciones internacionales office manages agreements. The documented activity is mostly outbound semester scholarships for top students to universities in Peru, Argentina and Chile, with reciprocal food and lodging for incoming students. UATF's own planning documents list "insufficient mobility scholarships" as a weakness. Information pending on current inbound calls — contributions welcome.

Admissions

Admission is by PSA (Prueba de Suficiencia Académica, usually two sittings per intake), curso pre-universitario, or special routes: excellence, olympiad winners, indigenous applicants (ADIOC), professionals, athletes, and admisión directa por convenio. That last route is the one relevant to foreigners who arrive under an institutional agreement. The second PSA for 1/2026 had 727 registered applicants, and results are published per carrera. No overall acceptance rate is published.

Foreign degree-seekers should expect to validate their secondary diploma (apostille or consular legalisation) and to hold a student visa converted into a DIGEMIG permanencia temporal de estudiante (1–3 years, renewable).

Student housing

There are no residences. Students rent rooms (cuartos) from families around the centre and the Av. Las Banderas area. Information pending on reliable current rent figures — contributions welcome. Heating is rarely included, and a room that gets sun matters here.

Career services

Placement runs through pasantías and trabajo dirigido, often under agreements with mining companies, SERGEOMIN and the Ministerio de Educación (for teaching practice). Information pending on a central careers office — contributions welcome.

Academic programs

Application deadlines

Exchange

Small-scale outbound mobility with universities in Peru, Argentina and Chile via the international relations office; little inbound activity. Parlamento Andino network member. Teaching in Spanish.

Next steps

Sources