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Universidad Internacional del Ecuador

Universidad Internacional del Ecuador

Quick facts

City
Quito
Country
Ecuador
Type
Private
Founded
1996
Students
6,300
International students
2.2 %
National ranking
#28
Tuition (local students)
US$3,555
Guide score
6.9/10

Official website: www.uide.edu.ec

Overview

The Universidad Internacional del Ecuador (UIDE) is a private university that began activities in October 1992 and was legally created by a law published in July 1996. Its main campus sits on 38 hectares at Av. Jorge Fernández y Av. Simón Bolívar, on the ridge between Quito and the Cumbayá and Los Chillos valleys. The campus has a botanical garden, sports facilities and residences. UIDE also has a Guayaquil campus (Urbanor, Av. Las Aguas), a new Loja campus (Jipiro, opened August 2024, capacity about 1,500), a research station in Galápagos and an online division.

Since 2021 UIDE has been affiliated with Arizona State University ("powered by ASU"). It also holds ANECA institutional certification from Spain and a QS Stars rating. It is accredited by CACES (Resolution 147-SE-33-CACES-2020), extended by Resolution 216-SO-29-CACES-2025. In Webometrics July 2026 it ranks 28th in Ecuador and 5,143rd worldwide. Its QS profile shows the 301-350 band in QS Latin America (2025 edition) and reports 6,300 students, 137 of them international (≈2.2%).

Academic programs

Six schools cover:

Teaching is in Spanish, with some English-taught courses available to exchange students.

Fees (2026, per semester, Quito campus):

The same Law degree costs about USD 2,835 in Guayaquil and USD 1,624.30 in Loja, which makes Loja markedly cheaper. No separate foreigner fee is published.

Campus life

The Quito campus feels like a self-contained university park, with green space, courts, gyms, cafeterias and the botanical garden. It is also far from the city: most students commute by car, university routes or ride-hailing, and nightlife means going into Cumbayá or north Quito. A buddy programme pairs international students with locals.

Exchange programs

The Office of International Programmes receives semester and year students from partner universities and also accepts direct applicants. Support includes:

Health insurance is mandatory, and a local plan at about USD 3/day is offered. UIDE lists over 100 exchange destinations for its own students.

Admissions

UIDE, as a private university, admits students directly and does not use the public quota process. The 2026-2 semester starts 31 August 2026, with ordinary enrolment 27 July to 21 August. Foreign degree-seekers must homologate their secondary diploma with the Ministerio de Educación (apostilled and translated). They then apply for the student temporary residence visa via Cancillería's e-VISAS with a passport valid 6+ months, an apostilled criminal record, proof of means and a UIDE admission letter. The visa is valid for the length of studies, up to two years per grant. Check with the consulate whether a one-semester exchange requires it.

Student housing

There are three routes:

Information pending on current residence prices — contributions welcome. As a Quito reference, student rooms near Universidad Central list at USD 120-180/month (≈ €100-155). Cumbayá is noticeably pricier.

Career services

UIDE promotes employability through ASU-linked programmes and compulsory internships. Information pending on graduate outcome data — contributions welcome.

Academic programs

Application deadlines

Exchange

Office of International Programmes hosts partner exchange students with a free 40-hour Spanish course, homestays or campus residences; also listed in the Parlamento Andino / Uniwords network.

Universities in Quito

Next steps

Sources