Universidad La Gran Colombia

Datos rápidos
- Ciudad
- Bogotá
- País
- Colombia
- Tipo
- Privada
- Fundada en
- 1951
- Estudiantes
- 7235
- Matrícula (estudiantes locales)
- 6.857.256 COP
- Nota media de la guía
- 6,2/10
Web oficial: www.ugc.edu.co
Resumen
The Universidad La Gran Colombia (UGC) is a private, non-profit university in Bogotá's historic centre. It was founded on 15 November 1950 by Julio César García Valencia and a group of teachers and students, began classes in February 1951, and received legal recognition in 1953. Its Catholic-humanist and Bolivarian identity is still part of its mission. The main Bogotá buildings are in La Candelaria (Carrera 6 # 12B-40 and nearby). A second branch, the Seccional Armenia in Quindío, has its own campus, Ciudadela del Saber La Santa María.
SNIES counts 7,235 students for 2025 across both branches, about 1,350 fewer than in 2024. Its own 2025 report counts about 8,700 when continuing education is included. It does not appear in QS Latin America or U-Sapiens, and we found no current Scimago position.
Accreditation status:
- Law is accredited for six years (Resolución 025374, December 2025).
- Architecture is accredited (Resolución 1071, 2023).
- Institutional multicampus accreditation: the CNA peer visit took place on 12–14 November 2025, and the decision was still pending at the time of writing.
Oferta académica
The Bogotá branch offers about 17 undergraduate programmes across five faculties:
- Law and Political and Social Sciences, the historic core.
- Economic and Business Sciences: Business Administration, Accounting and Economics.
- Education Sciences: *licenciaturas* (teaching degrees) in areas such as mathematics, languages and social sciences.
- Architecture.
- Engineering: Civil and others.
It also runs *especializaciones* and master's programmes, mainly in law, education and management. All teaching is in Spanish.
Vida en el campus
UGC is not an enclosed campus. It is a cluster of buildings in the city centre, surrounded by other universities, cafés, bookshops, museums, the Plaza de Bolívar and La Candelaria's bars. Sports space is limited, and Bienestar runs clubs and cultural groups. The centre is lively by day. At night some streets empty out, so move in groups and use app taxis.
Intercambios
The ORII runs an annual call for foreign students. Your home ORI nominates you, you send the application with your transcript and study plan, and non-native speakers need B1 Spanish. Under agreements you usually pay no tuition. Published partners include UAM Xochimilco (Mexico) and Universidade Católica Portuguesa. The Armenia branch reports several hundred incoming and outgoing mobilities, many of them virtual or short-term. The full agreement list is on the ORII page.
Admisión
Degree applicants register online, provide Saber 11 results and complete an interview or entrance process that depends on the programme. The current 2026-2 and 2027-1 dates were not clear from the sources. Information pending — contributions welcome.
Tuition in 2026 is COP 6,857,256 per semester for Law (≈ €1,850) and COP 7,828,632 for Architecture. These are moderate for a private university in Bogotá. No separate rate for foreigners is published.
Foreign degree-seekers need:
- an apostilled secondary diploma and MEN convalidación;
- ICFES recognition of their exam;
- a Visa V Estudiante from Cancillería;
- a *cédula de extranjería* from Migración Colombia.
Alojamiento
UGC has no residences. Budget rooms in La Candelaria and Las Aguas cost about COP 700,000–1,000,000 a month (€190–270). Teusaquillo and Chapinero cost a little more and are quieter. Both are a short TransMilenio ride away.
Empleabilidad
The university runs a graduate office and a job board. Law and education graduates mostly go into litigation, notaries, public administration and schools. Information pending on employability figures — contributions welcome.
Oferta académica
- Law
- Architecture
- Civil Engineering
- Business Administration
- Public Accounting
- Economics
- Political and Social Sciences
- Education and Teaching Degrees
Plazos de solicitud
- fall: Information pending
- spring: Information pending
Intercambio
Parlamento Andino partner. Inbound exchange through the ORII (relaciones.internacionales@ugc.edu.co) requires nomination by a partner university and Spanish B1.
Universidades en Bogotá
Siguientes pasos
Fuentes
- ugc.edu.co/
- cpv.ugc.edu.co/bogota/inicio/nosotros
- ugc.edu.co/bogota/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/INFORME-DE-GESTION-2025-UGC.pdf
- ugc.edu.co/bogota/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Presentacion-Rendicion-de-cuentas-2
- ugc.edu.co/bogota/inscripciones/pregrados
- ugc.edu.co/bogota/convocatoria-extranjeros-orii/
- cpv.ugc.edu.co/bogota/internacionalizacion-orii/convenios-orii
- elquindiano.com/noticia/260717/ugc-armenia-avances-en-proyeccion-internacional-e
- universidad.edu.co/las-50-ies-mas-grandes-del-pais-por-numero-de-estudiantes-en-
- cuartofacil.com/blog/zonas-de-bogota-ideales-para-vivir-si-eres-estudiante-2026
- cancilleria.gov.co/v/estudiante