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Universidad Industrial de Santander

Universidad Industrial de Santander

Quick facts

City
Bucaramanga
Country
Colombia
Type
Public
Founded
1948
Students
25,602
National ranking
#6
Tuition (international)
COP 14,007,240
Guide score
7.2/10

Official website: www.uis.edu.co

Overview

The Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS) is Santander's public university. It opened in 1948 to train engineers for the region's oil and manufacturing industries, and engineering is still its core. In 2022 MEN renewed its institutional acreditación de alta calidad for ten years, the maximum (Resolución 014043). By its 2025 management report, 60 programmes are accredited: 28 undergraduate and 32 postgraduate.

Rankings:

SNIES counts 25,602 students for 2025. QS lists about 29,000 students including postgraduates, of whom around 200 are international. First-time enrolment doubled to about 4,000 in 2025-1, and UIS targets 30,000 students by 2030.

The main campus, Ciudad Universitaria (Carrera 27 with Calle 9), is a large, green site in central Bucaramanga. The Health faculty sits next to the Hospital Universitario de Santander. Regional sedes operate in Barrancabermeja, Socorro, Málaga and Barbosa, and the Guatiguará technology park is in Piedecuesta.

Academic programs

The Engineering faculties are the heart of UIS. It is one of Colombia's reference schools for Petroleum, Chemical, Metallurgical, Civil, Mechanical, Electrical/Electronic and Systems Engineering, as well as Geology. Other strengths:

Teaching is in Spanish. The *Reglamento Académico* sets the rules for credits and repeated courses.

Campus life

Ciudad Universitaria has its own sports grounds, pool, gym and cultural groups. Student politics is active, and assemblies sometimes delay the calendar. Bucaramanga, the "Ciudad Bonita", is mid-sized, warm and safer and calmer than Bogotá or Cali. Food is cheap, with *mute*, *hormigas culonas* and corner *corrientazos* (set lunches). Nightlife centres on Cabecera and Cuadra Play. Weekend trips to Chicamocha canyon, San Gil and Barichara are easy.

Exchange programs

UIS runs two exchange calls a year through the Dirección de Relaciones Exteriores. For 2026-2 the window was 1 April–20 May 2026; for 2026-1 it was 15 August–5 November 2025. You need nomination by your home university under an agreement and B1 Spanish. Exchange students pay no tuition at UIS. The office estimates living costs at about USD 450–550 a month. Links include the German Kospie programme, the MARCA network and an ENIM (France) double degree. Most students enter with a PIP/PID permit if they are visa-exempt, or with a Visa V otherwise.

Admissions

For the 2026-2 intake in Bucaramanga, the registration form was open 6 May–18 June 2026 and results came out on 26 June. You need Saber 11 from 2021 onward with at least 31 in each area. The registration fee is COP 38,100–152,500, depending on Sisbén level. Medicine and some other programmes only admit in the February (2027-1) cycle.

Tuition runs from 1/8 to 8 SMMLV per semester, based on family income, stratum and the fee of the school you attended. Eligible Colombians pay nothing under Gratuidad. Foreigners who cannot document their socioeconomic situation in Colombia pay the maximum of 8 SMMLV, about COP 14.0 million per semester in 2026 (≈ €3,800).

Foreign-schooled applicants need:

Student housing

UIS has no general residences. Students cluster in La Universidad, San Alonso and Mejoras Públicas, all walkable to campus. Furnished rooms cost about COP 500,000–900,000 a month (€135–245), often with utilities and wifi. Coliving buildings charge around COP 1.1 million.

Career services

UIS graduates are heavily recruited by Ecopetrol, the Barrancabermeja refinery, oil service firms, construction and the public sector. The Guatiguará park links research groups with industry. Information pending on formal placement statistics — contributions welcome.

Academic programs

Application deadlines

Exchange

Parlamento Andino member. Inbound exchange via the Dirección de Relaciones Exteriores (incoming@uis.edu.co) with Spanish B1, home-university nomination and no tuition fee under agreements.

Universities in Bucaramanga

Next steps

Sources