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Universidad San Gregorio de Portoviejo

Universidad San Gregorio de Portoviejo

Quick facts

City
Portoviejo
Country
Ecuador
Type
Private
Founded
2000
Students
4,500
National ranking
#34
Tuition (local students)
US$1,760
Guide score
5.8/10

Official website: www.sangregorio.edu.ec

Overview

The Universidad San Gregorio de Portoviejo (USGP) is a private university created by Ley 2000-33 (Registro Oficial 229, 21 December 2000), building on a local extension of the Universidad Laica Vicente Rocafuerte that dated from 1968; classes began on 5 March 2001. Its rector described it in 2025 as having about 3,000 undergraduates and 1,500-1,600 postgraduate students — the 4,500 figure above is that approximate total, not an audited count. USGP is CACES-accredited (164-SE-33-CACES-2020, extended by 216-SO-29-CACES-2025) and ranks 34th in Ecuador and 5,745th worldwide in Webometrics July 2026, ahead of several public universities in this region.

The campus is at Av. Metropolitana Eloy Alfaro y Av. Olímpica in Portoviejo, capital of Manabí. The city is inland on the coastal plain, hot and humid (roughly 25-32 °C), with a rainy season around January-April and a strong local food culture — Manabí cuisine (viche, tonga, bolones) is famous across Ecuador. Safety is a real concern: the observatory OECO recorded a homicide rate of about 48 per 100,000 in Portoviejo canton in the first half of 2025, and Manabí is among the most violent provinces. Stick to known neighbourhoods, use registered taxis and avoid walking at night.

Academic programs

USGP is strongest in health sciences: Medicine (ten semesters plus a rotating internship), Nursing, Dentistry, Nutrition, Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy and Psychology. Other programmes include Law, Communication, Performing Arts, Early Childhood Education, Architecture, Graphic Design, Civil Engineering and Risk Management, plus a large postgraduate portfolio.

Campus life

A compact urban campus with a mostly local, Manabí student body. Beaches at Crucita and San Clemente and the city of Manta are within about an hour. Portoviejo was heavily rebuilt after the 2016 earthquake and has new parks and riverside areas, but nightlife is modest.

Exchange programs

The Relaciones Internacionales office runs mobility calls (e.g. Movilidad 2026 for Dentistry). Highlights: an Architecture double degree with the Università degli Studi della Basilicata (Matera, Italy), requiring B2 Italian and supported by scholarship; an agreement with the Università di Ferrara; and health-sciences cooperation with UPDS (Bolivia). More than 20 students have gone on mobility to Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and Italy. Inbound procedures are not published — contact the office directly.

Admissions

As a private university, USGP admits students directly; the public Registro Nacional and SENESCYT allocation do not apply. It follows the Costa academic calendar: periods of April-September and October-March. There is no gratuidad. Published 2026 fees: Physiotherapy USD 160 enrolment + USD 1,600 per semester (USD 1,760, ≈€1,500), which is the tuition figure above; Medicine USD 200 + USD 3,000 per semester (≈€2,700). No separate foreigner rate is published.

Degree-seeking foreigners need the visa de residencia temporal de estudiante (Cancillería, USD 50 + USD 80, apostilled criminal record, proof of means, admission letter) and a homologated school diploma; postgraduate applicants register their foreign degree with SENESCYT.

Student housing

USGP runs an Alquiler Estudiantil page listing landlord contacts. Classifieds show rooms near the universities from about USD 140/month (≈€120), furnished suites around USD 200 (≈€170) and rooms with meals around USD 300 (≈€255).

Career services

Information pending — contributions welcome. Health students do clinical training in Manabí hospitals, but no employability data or careers office details were found.

Academic programs

Application deadlines

Exchange

Outbound and inbound mobility through the Relaciones Internacionales office, incl. an Architecture double degree with the Università della Basilicata (Italy). Listed in the Parlamento Andino / Uniwords network. Teaching in Spanish.

Next steps

Sources