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Universidad Católica de Santa María

Universidad Católica de Santa María

Quick facts

City
Arequipa
Country
Peru
Type
Private
Founded
1961
Students
23,260
National ranking
#28
Tuition (local students)
PEN 17,900
Acceptance rate
49.8 %
Guide score
7.0/10

Official website: www.ucsm.edu.pe

Overview

The Universidad Católica de Santa María (UCSM) is a private Catholic university founded in 1961 in Arequipa, Peru's second city. It is one of the largest private universities in southern Peru. Press figures compiled for 2025 report about 23,260 enrolled students.

SUNEDU granted UCSM its institutional licence in December 2017. Under Ley 32105 (2024), licences no longer need periodic renewal. Its distance and blended programmes were licensed separately in 2022.

UCSM is not ranked by QS or THE. In SCImago Institutions Rankings 2026 it places 28th in Peru (about 8,400th worldwide), with around 240 Scopus-indexed papers in 2025. Medicine holds international accreditation from COMAEM (Spain), which SINEACE recognises until January 2030. Nursing and Obstetrics are accredited by SINEACE.

Academic programs

There are 12 faculties and about 50 undergraduate programmes: 33 on campus plus 17 blended or distance programmes. Health is the flagship area — Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Obstetrics, Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Psychology, Veterinary Medicine. Law, Business, Accounting, Architecture and a wide engineering offer (Civil, Industrial, Mechanical-Electrical, Mining, Systems, Biotechnology) round it out. Medicine is by far the most demanded programme. Semesters run from March and August, taught in Spanish.

Campus life

The Campus Central is in Umacollo (Urb. San José s/n, Yanahuara district), a few minutes from Arequipa's historic centre. A new health and architecture building on Calle Ernesto Novoa opened in March 2026. UCSM operates eight sites in total. Arequipa is sunny, dry and safe by Peruvian standards, and it's famous for its picanterías. The Colca Canyon and the Misti volcano are on the doorstep. The altitude (about 2,335 m) takes a few days to get used to.

Exchange programs

The Dirección de Cooperación y Relaciones Internacionales (DICRRII, ocai@ucsm.edu.pe, Torre Santa María, 10th floor) runs incoming mobility. UCSM reports 150+ agreements and membership of the RPU, UDUALC, ODUCAL and OUI networks. Students must be nominated by their home university and hold international health insurance. Spanish is required in practice. Application windows and fee waivers depend on each agreement — Information pending — contributions welcome.

Admissions

UCSM's 2027 admission calendar (Resolución 9807-CU-2026) includes:

Medicine includes interviews. According to press figures for 2025, 10,048 applicants and 4,999 admissions gave a rate of about 50%. That rate is not official, and Medicine is far more selective, with 216 admitted from 3,967 applicants.

Foreign diplomas need an apostille and MINEDU convalidation. Stays of a year or more require the Migraciones calidad migratoria de formación residente (online application, S/58.80 fee).

Tuition: UCSM charges *tasas educativas* by escala (A–F, based on your school's fees). New-entrant 2026 rates per instalment are S/2,605–3,470 for Medicine, S/1,120–1,790 for Law, S/1,005–1,605 for Psychology and S/895–1,430 for Administration. The first instalment of each semester includes enrolment. The headline tuition figure (Law, escala A, ×10 instalments ≈ S/17,900 a year, about €4,400) is an approximation. Confirm the number of instalments with UCSM. The 2026 increase of up to 15% drew local criticism. No separate foreigner schedule was found.

Student housing

There are no university residences. Rooms in Yanahuara and around Umacollo list at about S/250–600 per month (≈ €60–150). Small furnished apartments near campus run S/1,450–1,600.

Career services

Health students do clinical rotations in regional hospitals. For engineers, the mining sector around Arequipa is a major employer. Details of the central careers office, job fairs and internship support for international students are pending — contributions welcome.

Academic programs

Application deadlines

Exchange

Incoming mobility via DICRRII for nominated students of 150+ partner institutions (RPU, UDUALC, ODUCAL, OUI networks). Parlamento Andino / Uniwords network member.

Next steps

Sources