Central University of Venezuela
Encyclopedia
The Central University of Venezuela (or Universidad Central de Venezuela in Spanish) is a premier public University
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 of Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 located in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...

. Founded in 1721, it is the oldest university in Venezuela and one of the oldest in the Western Hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...

 .

The main university campus, Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas
Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas
The University City of Caracas is the main Campus of the Central University of Venezuela. It was designed by the Venezuelan architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000...

, was designed by architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

 Carlos Raúl Villanueva
Carlos Raúl Villanueva
Carlos Raúl Villanueva was the most prominent Venezuelan architect of the 20th century and one of the great Modernists. He played a major role in the development and modernization of Caracas, Maracay and other cities across the country...

 and it is considered a masterpiece of urban planning and was declared a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

 by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 in 2000.

Origins

The origin of the university goes back to Friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...

 Antonio González de Acuña (1620–1682), a Peruvian Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 who studied theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 at the Universidad de San Marcos and founded in 1673 the Seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

 Saint Rose of Lima in Caracas named after the first Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 Saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

 born in the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

. In the following years, Friar Diego de Baños y Sotomayor, broaden the scope of the seminary by creating the School and Seminary of Saint Rose of Lima in 1696. Yet, in spite of the creation of the seminar, students who wished to obtain a university degree had to travel great distances to attend universities located in Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...

, Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

 or Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

. Given such harsh circumstances, the Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 of the Seminary, Francisco Martínez de Porras and the people of Caracas requested the royal court in Madrid the creation of a university in Venezuela (then part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada
Viceroyalty of New Granada
The Viceroyalty of New Granada was the name given on 27 May 1717, to a Spanish colonial jurisdiction in northern South America, corresponding mainly to modern Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. The territory corresponding to Panama was incorporated later in 1739...

). As a result, on 22 December 1721 Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...

 signed in Lerma a Royal Decree that transformed the School-Seminary into the Universidad Real y Pontificia de Caracas. The Royal Decree was concurred by Pope Innocent XIII
Pope Innocent XIII
Pope Innocent XIII was pope from 1721 until his death.He was born Michelangelo Conti in Poli, near Rome. Like Pope Innocent III , Pope Gregory IX and Pope Alexander IV , he was a member of the family of the Conti, counts and dukes of Segni...

 with a Papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....

 in 1722. The university offered degrees in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, Theology, Canon law
Canon law (Catholic Church)
The canon law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. It lacks the necessary binding force present in most modern day legal systems. The academic...

 and Medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

. Until 1810, when the Seminary of Saint Bonaventura located in Mérida
Mérida, Mérida
Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, Venezuela, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the principal cities of the Venezuelan Andes...

 became the Universidad de Los Andes
Universidad de Los Andes (Venezuela)
The University of the Andes is the second-oldest university in Venezuela, whose main campus is located in the city of Mérida, Venezuela...

, the Universidad Real y Pontificia de Caracas was the only university existing in the country.

Republican Years

Until the end of the 18th century, the official papal and royal censorship on books was largely ignored in Venezuela, a situation which allowed the smuggling of the works by Rousseau, Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...

, Diderot, Montesquieu, Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...

, Helvetius, Grotius in the ships belonging to the Guipuzcoana Company
Guipuzcoana Company
The Real Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas was a Spanish trading company in the 18th century, operating from 1728 to 1785, which had a monopoly on Venezuelan trade...

. This might have helped to educate and enlighten a generation of Venezuelans such as Simón Rodríguez
Simón Rodríguez
Simón Rodríguez , known during his exile from Spanish America as Samuel Robinson, was a South American philosopher and educator, notably Simón Bolívar's tutor and mentor....

, Francisco de Miranda
Francisco de Miranda
Sebastián Francisco de Miranda Ravelo y Rodríguez de Espinoza , commonly known as Francisco de Miranda , was a Venezuelan revolutionary...

, Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...

 and Andrés Bello
Andrés Bello
Andrés de Jesús María y José Bello López was a Venezuelan humanist, poet, lawmaker, philosopher, educator and philologist, whose political and literary works constitute an important part of Spanish American culture...

 who composed the forefront of ideas of self-determination and independence from Spain in Latin America by Fr. Baltasar de los Reyes Marrero and other faculty members at the University. Until 1812, the University supported the republican cause. However, between 1814 and 1821 the stage was set for a violent ideological prosecution against all of those within the university, students and professors, who collaborated with the independence movement. The Rector José Manuel Oropeza y Torre, a defender of the monarchical rule, exhorted all in the academic environment to defend the Spanish King and ordered religion over revolution as the official ideological doctrine of the University. However, this all ended with the triumph of the independence movement and from 1826 the "Universidad de Caracas" adopted the name of "Universidad Central de Venezuela" by separating itself from the Saint Rose Seminary and moving to the Saint Francis
Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...

 Convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...

. The Royal constitution was displaced by the Republican Statutes proclaimed by Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...

 on 24 June 1827. The new statutes gave the institution a secular character and transferred the main authority to the Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

.

In May 1827 José María Vargas
José María Vargas
José María Vargas was the 4th President of Venezuela from 1835–1836.-Life and career:...

 becomes Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 and begins the development of a complete economical (based on the Haciendas Chuao, Cata and La Concepción donated by Bolívar) and ideological autonomy that could guarantee freedom of speech and the end of discriminations of incoming students based on race, faith or economical status. During the middle of the 19th century the University suffered from the same power-driven disputes that lead to the Federal War until 1869, when the University was intervened by President Antonio Guzmán Blanco
Antonio Guzmán Blanco
Antonio Leocadio Guzmán Blanco was President of Venezuela for three separate terms, from 1870–1877, from 1879–1884, and from 1886–1887....

 as part of his program modernizing the country. A commission to reorganized the university and its library was formed by the Rector Carlos Arvelo, Juan José Aguerrevere, a mathematician, Joaquín Boton, professor of philosophy, Adolf Ernst, distinguished Prussian scientist and the political scientist Lucio Siso. Yet, President Antonio Guzmán Blanco
Antonio Guzmán Blanco
Antonio Leocadio Guzmán Blanco was President of Venezuela for three separate terms, from 1870–1877, from 1879–1884, and from 1886–1887....

 also ordered in 1883 the sale of all the land and Haciendas donated by Bolívar, taking away Vargas' hope of economical autonomy and making the University -until this day- dependent exclusively on the National Budget.

20th century

On December 1908, Juan Vicente Gómez
Juan Vicente Gómez
Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón was a military general and de facto ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He was president on three occasions during this time, and ruled as an unelected military strongman for the rest of the era.-Early years:Gómez was a barely literate cattle herder and...

 came into power with a coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

 against the government of Cipriano Castro
Cipriano Castro
José Cipriano Castro Ruiz was a high ranking member of the Venezuelan military, politician and the President of Venezuela from 1899 to 1908...

. Gómez stayed in power until his death in 1935, and during this time the Dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...

, having ambivalent feelings about the purpose of educating free minds when he could hire foreigners to exercise any technical requirements for the nation, decided to close the University from 1912 to 1922. When the University reopened, the Rector Felipe Guevara Rojas had reorganized the traditional division of only a few Schools and separated them accordingly into modern Departments.

1928 became a very important year for the University since a group of students, known as the Generation of 1928
Generation of 1928
The Generation of 1928 was a group of Venezuelan students who led protests in Caracas in 1928 against the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez. Many politicians prominent in Venezuela's transition to democracy took part in the protests...

, organized a series of events during the "Students Week" protesting the Dictatorship which culminated in an attempt to overthrow Gómez on 7 April of that year. This heterogeneous group, which shared a common front against Gómez, was conformed by people like Rómulo Betancourt
Rómulo Betancourt
Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello , known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was President of Venezuela from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1964, as well as leader of Accion Democratica, Venezuela's dominant political party in the 20th century...

, Miguel Otero Silva
Miguel Otero Silva
Miguel Otero Silva , was a Venezuelan writer, journalist, humorist and politician. Remaining a figure of great reference in Venezuelan literature, his literary and journalistic works were strictly related to the social and political history of Venezuela.-Life:Born in Barcelona, Anzoátegui State,...

, Juan Oropeza
Juan Oropeza
Juan Oropeza Riera was a Venezuelan lawyer, diplomat, writer, educator and political science expert. He was born in Carora in the state of Lara, and was the younger brother of pediatrics pioneer, Pastor Oropeza Riera....

, Isaac Pardo and Rodolfo Quintero. Most of them were jailed after the events or went into exile without being able to finish their studies.

The University continued to be at the forefront of the democratization of the country when in 1936, then President Eleazar López Contreras
Eleazar López Contreras
José Eleazar López Contreras was President of Venezuela . López was a general and one of Juan Vicente Gómez's collaborators.Eleazar López was the only child of Col. Manuel Maria López and Catalina Contreras...

, ordered a decree suspending the Constitutional rights and declaring a general censorship of the press because the oil workers decided to start a strike (an unprecedented deed at the time). The Rector of the University, Francisco Antonio Rísquez, lead the protest that followed through the streets of Caracas against the policies of López Contreras. By 1942, the student population had been growing steadily for decades without any significant expansion of the University. Instead several Schools, like Medicine, were moved to other buildings around the city. The administration
Administration (government)
The term administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to jurisdiction.-United States:In United States usage, the term refers to the executive branch under a specific president , for example: the "Barack Obama administration." It can also mean an executive branch agency...

 of President Isaías Medina Angarita
Isaías Medina Angarita
Isaías Medina Angarita was a Venezuelan military and political leader, president of Venezuela from 1941 until 1945....

 felt the need to move the University to a larger and more modern location where it could function as coherent whole. The government bought the Hacienda Ibarra and the responsibility of the main design was given to the architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva
Carlos Raúl Villanueva
Carlos Raúl Villanueva was the most prominent Venezuelan architect of the 20th century and one of the great Modernists. He played a major role in the development and modernization of Caracas, Maracay and other cities across the country...

 after a visit to the University City of Bogotá
University City of Bogotá
The University City of Bogotá , also known as the White City , is the flagship campus of the National University of Colombia, located near Teusaquillo, in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the largest university campus in Colombia, with an overall area of and a constructed area of , giving it ample green...

 convinced the authorities of the Ministry of Public Works that, in order to avoid constructing a group of heterogeneous buildings, the design should be under one architect that could develop one consistent complex.

The new campus was going to become a vast urban complex of about 200 ha. and included a total of 40 buildings. Villanueva worked closely with 28 of the most important avant-garde artists of the time, from both Venezuela and the rest of the world, to build what continues to be one of the most successful applications of Modern Architecture
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...

 in Latin America. Villanueva's guiding principle was the creation of a space where art and architecture cohabited in harmony in a "Synthesis of Arts". Among some of the most important pieces present in the University are the "Floating Clouds" by Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing mobile sculptures. In addition to mobile and stable sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry, jewelry and household objects.-Childhood:Alexander "Sandy" Calder was born in Lawnton,...

, murals by Victor Vasarely
Victor Vasarely
Victor Vasarely was a Hungarian French artist whose work is generally seen aligned with Op-art.His work entitled Zebra, created by Vasarely in the 1930s, is considered by some to be one of the earliest examples of Op-art...

, Wifredo Lam
Wifredo Lam
Wifredo Óscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla , better known as Wifredo Lam, was a Cuban artist who sought to portray and revive the enduring Afro-Cuban spirit and culture...

, Fernand Léger
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...

 and sculptures by Jean Arp
Jean Arp
Jean Arp / Hans Arp was a German-French, or Alsatian, sculptor, painter, poet and abstract artist in other media such as torn and pasted paper....

 and Henri Laurens
Henri Laurens
Henri Laurens was a French sculptor and illustrator.-Early life and education:Born in Paris, Henri Laurens worked as a stonemason before he became a sculptor...

. The Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas
Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas
The University City of Caracas is the main Campus of the Central University of Venezuela. It was designed by the Venezuelan architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000...

 was declared World Heritage by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

, and it is the only modern University campus designed by a single architect to receive such high honor.
In 1958, after the fall of dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was a soldier and Presidents of Venezuela from 1952 to 1958.-Career:Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was born in Michelena, Táchira State. His father, Juan Pérez Bustamante, was a farmer; his mother, Adela Jiménez, a schoolteacher...

, a government commission established a new law for the universities. The new law came into place on 5 Dec and it guaranteed a principle of autonomy that would allow both faculty and students to study and work in an environment of freedom and tolerance for all currents of thought. This very important legal foundation was however abused during the 1960s when guerrilla rebels, supported by Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

 took refuge inside the University campus to escape prosecution from the government. This tense situation came to a stalemate in 1969 when students asking for a reform took over the University. Finally, on 3 October 1970, the administration of President Rafael Caldera
Rafael Caldera
Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez was president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999.Caldera taught sociology and law at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party...

 ordered the University to be raided by the military and Rector Jesús María Bianco was forced to resign. The University reopened in 1971 with a new Rector and a new plan for renovation.

In terms of the academic development of the modern university, the second half of the 20th century was a time when the Central University's faculty body benefited greatly from the influx of European immigrants. Many intellectuals settled in Venezuela after the end of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

 and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and found jobs at the University. Those scientists and humanists helped develop the current lines of research and teaching at the University and educated many of the present generation of faculty members.

Organization and Degrees

The University is currently organized in 11 Schools (Facultades) which are subdivided in 40 Departments (Escuelas) according to specific areas of study.

All Schools offer undergraduate degrees at the level of Licenciatura (5 years) and graduate degrees at the level of Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

 (2 years) and PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 (3–4 years) from the Graduate School. The Graduate School, founded in 1941, offers 222 different specializations, 109 Master's degrees and 40 PhDs.
  • Architecture and Urban planning
  • Agronomy
  • Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
    Civil engineering
    Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

  • Geodesic Engineering
    Geodesy
    Geodesy , also named geodetics, a branch of earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space. Geodesists also study geodynamical phenomena such as crustal...

  • Electrical Engineering
    Electrical engineering
    Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...

  • Hidrometeorologic Engineering
    Hydrology
    Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability...

  • Geophysical Engineering
    Geophysics
    Geophysics is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the geological applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and...

  • Geological Engineering
    Geology
    Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

  • Mining Engineering
    Mining engineering
    Mining engineering is an engineering discipline that involves the practice, the theory, the science, the technology, and application of extracting and processing minerals from a naturally occurring environment. Mining engineering also includes processing minerals for additional value.Mineral...

  • Metallurgic Engineering
    Metallurgy
    Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...

  • Mechanical Engineering
    Mechanical engineering
    Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...

  • Petroleum Engineering
    Petroleum engineering
    Petroleum engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the activities related to the production of hydrocarbons, which can be either crude oil or natural gas. Subsurface activities are deemed to fall within the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry, which are the activities of...

  • Chemical Engineering
    Chemical engineering
    Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...

  • Humanities and Education
  • Art
    Art
    Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

  • Education
    Education
    Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

  • History
    History
    History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

  • Library Science
    Library science
    Library science is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and other areas to libraries; the collection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information resources; and the...

  • Literature
    Literature
    Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

  • Geography
    Geography
    Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...

  • Philosophy
    Philosophy
    Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

  • Psychology
    Psychology
    Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

  • Social communication
    Social communication
    The term social communication refers to using the so-called social media. However there is no standardised definition yet recognised. Generally communication requires a social nexus of at least two entities in a technical or just social relation...

  • Modern Languages
  • Law and Government
  • Law
    Law
    Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

  • Political Science
    Political science
    Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

  • Medicine
  • Bioanalysis
    Bioanalysis
    Bioanalysis is a sub-discipline of analytical chemistry covering the quantitative measurement of xenobiotics and biotics in biological systems.-Modern bioanalytical chemistry:Many scientific endeavors are dependent upon...

  • Medicine
    Medicine
    Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

  • Nutrition
    Nutrition
    Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....

  • Nursing
    Nursing
    Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....

  • Social Sciences and Economy
  • Anthropology
    Anthropology
    Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...

  • Administration
  • Economy
    Economy
    An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...

  • International Studies
    International studies
    International Studies generally refers to the specific University Degrees and courses which are concerned with the study of ‘the major political, economic, social, cultural and sacral issues that dominate the international agenda’...

  • Statistics
    Statistics
    Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....

  • Sociology
    Sociology
    Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

  • Social Work
    Social work
    Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...

  • Odontology
  • Pharmacy
  • Sciences
  • Biology
    Biology
    Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

  • Chemistry
    Chemistry
    Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

  • Computer Science
    Computer science
    Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...

  • Geochemistry
    Geochemistry
    The field of geochemistry involves study of the chemical composition of the Earth and other planets, chemical processes and reactions that govern the composition of rocks, water, and soils, and the cycles of matter and energy that transport the Earth's chemical components in time and space, and...

  • Physics
    Physics
    Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

  • Mathematics
    Mathematics
    Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

  • Veterinary

Research ranking

The Ranking Iberoamericano de Instituciones de Investigacion based on the Institute for Scientific Information
Institute for Scientific Information
The Institute for Scientific Information was founded by Eugene Garfield in 1960. It was acquired by Thomson Scientific & Healthcare in 1992, became known as Thomson ISI and now is part of the Healthcare & Science business of the multi-billion dollar Thomson Reuters Corporation.ISI offered...

 ranked the Central University of Venezuela as the most productive research institution in the country and as the 20th most productive in Latin America.
Other top 25 positions were reached in the following areas:
  • 8th in Law
  • 10th in Social Sciences
  • 12th in Psychology and Education
  • 15th in Physiology and Pharmacology
  • 16th in Philology and Philosophy
  • 16th in Food technology
  • 18th in Mathematics
  • 18th in Medicine
  • 21st in Plant and Animal Biology
  • 21st in History and Art
  • 22nd in Architecture and Civil Engineering
  • 22nd Molecular Biology


In 2010, according to University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP), it is the best university in Venezuela and 805th university in the world.

Notable alumni

See also UCV alumni

Humanists

  • Francisco de Miranda
    Francisco de Miranda
    Sebastián Francisco de Miranda Ravelo y Rodríguez de Espinoza , commonly known as Francisco de Miranda , was a Venezuelan revolutionary...

     (1750–1816) General, political thinker; fought in the main three revolutionary wars of the 18th century, American
    American Revolutionary War
    The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

    , French
    French Revolution
    The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

     and South American
    South American Wars of Independence
    The Latin American Wars of Independence were the various revolutions that took place during the late 18th and early 19th centuries and resulted in the creation of a number of independent countries in Latin America. These revolutions followed the American and French Revolutions, which had profound...

    .
  • Andrés Bello
    Andrés Bello
    Andrés de Jesús María y José Bello López was a Venezuelan humanist, poet, lawmaker, philosopher, educator and philologist, whose political and literary works constitute an important part of Spanish American culture...

     (1781–1865) Poet, lawmaker, philosopher, educator and philologist.
  • Juan Germán Roscio
    Juan Germán Roscio
    Juan Germán Roscio , was a Venezuelan lawyer and politician of Italian background, served as the secretary of foreign affairs for the Junta of Caracas, and the main editor of the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence,. Roscio was also the chief architect of the Venezuelan Constitution of 1811.-...

     (1763–1821) Lawyer, main redactor of the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence
    Venezuelan Declaration of Independence
    The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by a congress of Venezuelan provinces on July 5, 1811 through which Venezuelans made the decision to break away from the Spanish Crown in order to establish a new nation based on the premises of equality of individuals, abolition of...

    .
  • Andrés Eloy Blanco
    Andrés Eloy Blanco
    Andrés Eloy Blanco Meaño was an important Venezuelan poet, politician, member of the Generación del 28, and one of the founders of Acción Democrática ....

     (1896–1955) Poet.
  • Miguel Otero Silva
    Miguel Otero Silva
    Miguel Otero Silva , was a Venezuelan writer, journalist, humorist and politician. Remaining a figure of great reference in Venezuelan literature, his literary and journalistic works were strictly related to the social and political history of Venezuela.-Life:Born in Barcelona, Anzoátegui State,...

     (1908–1985) writer, journalist and co-founder of the newspaper El Nacional
    El Nacional
    El Nacional is a Venezuelan publishing company under the name C.A. Editorial El Nacional, most widely known for its El Nacional newspaper. It, along with Últimas Noticias and El Universal, are the most widely read and circulated daily national newspapers in the country, and it has an average of...

    .

Scientists

  • Lisando Alvarado (1858–1929) ethnologist, linguist.
  • José Gregorio Hernández
    José Gregorio Hernández
    José Gregorio Hernández, SFO [er-NAHN-des] was a Venezuelan physician. Born in Isnotú, Trujillo State, Venezuela, he went on to reach legendary status, more so after his death....

     (1864–1919) physician.
  • Eduardo Röhl (1891–1959) naturalist, founder of the brewery "El Águila" in 1927.
  • Alfredo Jahn
    Alfredo Jahn
    Dr. Alfredo Jahn Hartman was a Venezuelan civil engineer, botanist and geographer. Jahn was a member of the Academy of History, the Academy of Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Naturalist of Venezuela and the Venezuelan Society of Natural Sciences and achieved the Order of the Liberator. He was...

     (1867–1940) engineer, anthropologist.
  • José González-Lander
    José González-Lander
    Jose Gonzalez-Lander was a Caracas, Venezuela born engineer credited for leading the planning, design and construction of the Caracas Metro during an uninterrupted period of more than thirty years, from 1966 to 1997.Mr...

     (1933–2000) engineer, chief designer of the Caracas Metro
    Caracas Metro
    The Caracas Metro is a mass rapid transit system serving Caracas, Venezuela. It is constructed and operated by Compañía Anónima Metro de Caracas, a government-owned company that was founded in 1977 by José González-Lander who headed the project for more than thirty years since the early planning...

    .

Politicians

  • Alfredo Peña
    Alfredo Peña
    Alfredo Antonio Peña is a Venezuelan journalist and politician.-Journalism career:He studied journalism at the Central University of Venezuela and became well known after he was hired as the director of the newspaper El Nacional...

     (b. 1944) journalist, member of the constitutional assembly which drafted the 1999 Venezuelan Constitution, mayor of Caracas
    Caracas
    Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...

     (2000).
  • Teodoro Petkoff
    Teodoro Petkoff
    Teodoro Petkoff Malec is a Venezuelan politician, ex-guerrilla, journalist and economist. One of the most prominent politicians on the left in Venezuela, Petkoff began as a communist but gravitated towards liberalism in the 1990s. As Minister of Planning he oversaw President Rafael Caldera's...

     (b. 1932) congressman, co-founder of the political party MAS
    Movement for Socialism (Venezuela)
    Movement for Socialism is a center-left political party in Venezuela.-History:The Movement for Socialism is a social-democratic political party in Venezuela. MAS was founded in 1971 by a faction of the Communist Party of Venezuela, with a view to emphasising a socialist message...

     and current chief editor of the newspaper "Tal Cual".
  • Ali Rodriguez
    Alí Rodríguez
    Alí Rodríguez Araque is a Venezuelan politician, lawyer, and diplomat.- Biography :He is the leader of the party Patria Para Todos and has occupied various positions in the government of President Hugo Chávez, such as oil advisor, General Secretary of OPEC, President of Petróleos de Venezuela ,...

     (b. 1937) secretary-general of OPEC
    OPEC
    OPEC is an intergovernmental organization of twelve developing countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular meetings...

     (2000) and chairman of Petroleos de Venezuela PDVSA.
  • Irene Sáez (b. 1961) mayor of Chacao, governor of Nueva Esparta
    Nueva Esparta
    Nueva Esparta State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. It comprises Margarita Island, Coche, and the largely uninhabited Cubagua.The state is the smallest one in area, and is located off the northeast Caribbean coast of Venezuela. It is the only insular state of Venuezuela...

    , Miss Universe
    Miss Universe
    Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....

     1981.

Businessmen

  • Lorenzo Mendoza Fleury (1897–1969) founder of Empresas Polar
    Empresas Polar
    Empresas Polar is a Venezuelan corporation, that started as a brewery founded in 1941 by Lorenzo Alejandro Mendoza Fleury in Antímano, Caracas. It is the largest and best known brewery in Venezuela, but has since long diversified to an array of industries, mostly related to food processing and...

    , a prize in his name honors scientific research.
  • Eladio Lárez
    Eladio Lárez
    Eladio José Lárez Villamizar is a Venezuelan businessperson and TV Presenter. He is the President of Radio Caracas Televisión , which until its removal from the public airwaves on 27 May 2007, was the most watched television channel in Venezuela.-Biography:Eladio Lárez was born in Carúpano in the...

     (b. ) president of Radio Caracas Television
    RCTV
    Radio Caracas Televisión Internacional is a Venezuelan cable television network headquartered in the Caracas neighborhood of Quinta Crespo. It was sometimes referred to as the Canal de Bárcenas. Owned by Empresas 1BC, RCTV Internacional was inaugurated as Radio Caracas Televisión on 15 November...

    .
  • Miguel Enrique Otero (b. 1950) (also faculty for five years) chairman and owner of the newspaper El Nacional
    El Nacional
    El Nacional is a Venezuelan publishing company under the name C.A. Editorial El Nacional, most widely known for its El Nacional newspaper. It, along with Últimas Noticias and El Universal, are the most widely read and circulated daily national newspapers in the country, and it has an average of...

    .

Presidents of Venezuela

  • José María Vargas
    José María Vargas
    José María Vargas was the 4th President of Venezuela from 1835–1836.-Life and career:...

    , (also Rector, faculty and alumni) scientist (1835–36).
  • Andrés Narvarte
    Andrés Narvarte
    Andrés Narvarte was President of Venezuela as interim caretaker .Lawyer and politician, son of Joaquín Narvarte y Descarga and María Josefa Pimentel y de la Mota, was born in La Guaira, 1781. Vice-president of the Republic and President of Venezuela...

    , lawyer (1836–37).
  • Pedro Gual Escandon
    Pedro Gual Escandon
    Pedro José Ramón Gual Escandón , was a Venezuelan lawyer, politician, journalist and diplomat...

    , lawyer (1859, 1861).
  • Guillermo Tell Villegas
    Guillermo Tell Villegas
    Guillermo Tell Villegas , was interim President of Venezuela in 1868, 1870 and 1892.-Early career:...

    , lawyer (1868–69, 1870, 1892).
  • Guillermo Tell Villegas Pulido
    Guillermo Tell Villegas Pulido
    Guillermo Tell Villegas Pulido , was a Venezuelan lawyer, journalist and politician. Acting president of Venezuela in 1892, during the crisis of the Revolución Legalista , led by Joaquín Crespo....

    , lawyer (1892).
  • Antonio Guzmán Blanco
    Antonio Guzmán Blanco
    Antonio Leocadio Guzmán Blanco was President of Venezuela for three separate terms, from 1870–1877, from 1879–1884, and from 1886–1887....

    , lawyer (1879–1884).
  • Raimundo Andueza Palacios
    Raimundo Andueza Palacios
    Raimundo Ignacio Andueza Palacio , was President of Venezuela , and member of the Liberal Party.-Early life and career:...

    , lawyer (1890–1892).
  • José Gil Fortoul
    José Gil Fortoul
    José Gil Fortoul was a writer, historian, politician and member of Venezuelan positivism, appointed as Provisional President in 1913...

    , political scientist (1913–1914).
  • Juan Bautista Pérez
    Juan Bautista Pérez
    Juan Bautista Pérez , was a Venezuelan lawyer, magistrate and President between 1929 until 1931.Graduates as lawyer at the Central University of Venezuela near 1895, practicing his profession in the town of Villa de Cura, Aragua state...

    , lawyer (1929–1931).
  • Rómulo Betancourt
    Rómulo Betancourt
    Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello , known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was President of Venezuela from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1964, as well as leader of Accion Democratica, Venezuela's dominant political party in the 20th century...

    , (not finished) (1945–1948).
  • Rómulo Gallegos
    Rómulo Gallegos
    Rómulo Ángel del Monte Carmelo Gallegos Freire was a Venezuelan novelist and politician. For a period of some nine months during 1948, he was the first cleanly elected president in his country's history....

    , (not finished) writer (1948).
  • Germán Suárez Flamerich
    Germán Suárez Flamerich
    Germán Suárez Flamerich was President of Venezuela from 1950 to 1952.Flamerich was a lawyer, college professor, diplomat, and politician. He was president of the "Junta de Gobierno" 1950-1952, after the assassination of Carlos Delgado Chalbaud. His parents were J.M. Suárez and Clorinda Flamerich...

    , (also Faculty) lawyer (1950–52).
  • Edgar Sanabria
    Edgar Sanabria
    Edgar Sanabria Arcia was a Venezuelan lawyer, diplomat, and politician, member of the provisional Government Junta, after the overthrow of Marcos Pérez Jiménez on 23 January 1958, and interim President of Venezuela in 1959....

    , (also Faculty) lawyer (1959).
  • Raúl Leoni
    Raúl Leoni
    Raúl Leoni Otero was President of Venezuela from 1964 until 1969. He fought against the dictators Juan Vicente Gómez and Marcos Pérez Jiménez, and was a charter member of the Acción Democrática party....

    , (not finished) (1964–1969).
  • Rafael Caldera
    Rafael Caldera
    Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez was president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999.Caldera taught sociology and law at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party...

    , (also Faculty) political scientist (1969–1974), (1994–1999).
  • Carlos Andrés Pérez
    Carlos Andrés Pérez
    Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez , also known as CAP and often referred to as El Gocho , was a Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. His first presidency was known as the Saudi Venezuela due to its economic and social prosperity thanks to...

    , (not finished) (1974–1979), (1989–1993).
  • Luis Herrera Campins
    Luis Herrera Campins
    Luis Antonio Herrera Campins was President of Venezuela from 1979 to 1984. He was elected to one five-year term in 1978. He was a member of the COPEI party.- Early Life and career:...

    , (not finished) (1979–1984).
  • Jaime Lusinchi
    Jaime Lusinchi
    Jaime Ramón Lusinchi is a Venezuelan politician who was the President of Venezuela from 1984 to 1989. His term was characterized by an economic crisis, growth of the External debt, populist policies, currency depreciation, inflation and corruption that exacerbated the crisis of the political...

    , physician (1984–1989).
  • Ramón José Velásquez
    Ramón José Velásquez
    Ramón José Velásquez Mujica is a Venezuelan political figure. He served as Acting president of Venezuela between 1993 and 1994. He is known as a historian, journalist, lawyer, politician and entertainer of companies for his knowledge of the "national life".Velásquez was born in Táchira,Venezuela...

    , (also Faculty) historian (1993–94).

Notable faculty

See also UCV faculty

18th Century

  • Lorenzo Campins y Ballester
    Lorenzo Campins y Ballester
    Lorenzo Campins y Ballester . Campins y Ballester was a Spanish born physician considered to be the founder of the formal studies of modern medicine in Venezuela. He studied medicine at the Real y Pontificia Universidad de Gandía...

     (1726–1785) Spanish born scientist, founder of the studies of medicine.
  • Fr. Baltasar de los Reyes Marrero (1752–1809) (also alumnus) began the teaching of modern science and philosophy based on the theories of Newton
    Isaac Newton
    Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...

    , Kepler
    Johannes Kepler
    Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. A key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution, he is best known for his eponymous laws of planetary motion, codified by later astronomers, based on his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican...

    , Copernicus, Stahl, Lavoisier
    Antoine Lavoisier
    Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier , the "father of modern chemistry", was a French nobleman prominent in the histories of chemistry and biology...

    , Locke
    John Locke
    John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...

    , Condillac
    Étienne Bonnot de Condillac
    Étienne Bonnot de Condillac was a French philosopher and epistemologist who studied in such areas as psychology and the philosophy of the mind.-Biography:...

    , Leibniz and Wolff
    Christian Wolff (philosopher)
    Christian Wolff was a German philosopher.He was the most eminent German philosopher between Leibniz and Kant...

    . In 1789 he was convicted by the Crown as an infidel
    Infidel
    An infidel is one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of a particular religion – especially in reference to Christianity or Islam....

     for teaching doctrines forbidden by the King.

19th Century

  • José Rafael Acevedo (1800–1864) mathematician.
  • Juan Manuel Cajigal y Odoardo
    Juan Manuel Cajigal y Odoardo
    Juan Manuel Cajigal y Odoardo was a Venezuelan mathematician, engineer and statesman.Orphaned at age 7, he was raised in Spain by his cousin-once-removed, Field Marshal Juan Manuel Cajigal, former captain general of Venezuela and Cuba...

     (1803–1856) mathematician.
  • Fermín Toro
    Fermín Toro
    Fermín Toro y Blanco was a politician, diplomat and author. His remains were located at the Panteón Nacional on 23 April 1876...

     (1806–1865) politician and linguist.
  • Alejandro Ibarra (1813–1880) scientist.
  • Juan Vicente González (1810–1866) (also Alumni) writer.
  • Cecilio Acosta (1818–1881) (also Alumni) writer, journalist.
  • Adolf Ernst
    Adolf Ernst
    Adolf Ernst was a Prussian born scientist. Ernst settled in Venezuela in 1861, where he taught at the Central University of Venezuela...

     (1832–1899) Prussian born scientist, started the teaching of natural history
    Natural history
    Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...

     based on Charles Darwin
    Charles Darwin
    Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...

     and Lamarck.
  • Luis Razetti
    Luis Razetti
    Luis Razetti was a Venezuelan physician....

     (1862–1932) (also Alumni) physician, began the teaching of modern surgery in Venezuela and wrote an influential code of ethics for the practice of medicine.

humanities

  • Abraham Abreu
    Abraham Abreu
    Abraham Abreu is a Venezuelan harpsichordist and pianist . He earned a Masters of Music from Yale University in harpsichord and piano performance before becoming an internationally celebrated concert performer...

     (b. 1939), pianist and harpsichordist.
  • Mario Briceño Iragorry
    Mario Briceño Iragorry
    Mario Briceño Iragorry , was a Venezuelan intellectual and cultural analyst. He was also a notable writer, politician, journalist, lawyer, historian, diplomatic and teacher. He won the National Prize for Literature in 1948...

     (1897–1958) writer.
  • Rafael Cadenas
    Rafael Cadenas
    Rafael Cadenas is a Venezualean poet, and essayist.He teaches at the Central University of Venezuela.-Awards:* Conac's essay prize .* National Prize for Literature ....

     (b. 1930) poet.
  • Manuel Caballero
    Manuel Caballero
    Manuel Antonio Caballero Agüero was a notable Venezuelan historian, journalist, best-selling author and professor of contemporary Venezuelan History at the Central University of Venezuela....

     (1931–2010) (also alumni) historian, journalist.
  • Gustavo Herrera
    Gustavo Herrera
    Gustavo Herrera Grau , was a Venezuelan lawyer and diplomat. Being born in 1890, were his parents Aureliano Hernandez Irigoyen and Dolores Grau Duarte, studied primary in the German Catholic School of Caracas administrated by teachers Luis Ezpelosín and Agustin Aveledo, in 1916 graduates as Doctor...

     (1890–1953) lawyer and diplomat.
  • Gaston Diehl
    Gaston Diehl
    Gaston Diehl was a French professor of art history and an art critic.-Biography:Diehl graduated from the Institut d'Art et d'Archéologie in 1934 and the Ecole du Louvre in 1936...

     (1912–1999) French art historian, recipient of the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film in 1950.
  • Juan David García Bacca
    Juan David García Bacca
    Juan David García Bacca , was a Spanish-Venezuelan philosopher and university professor....

     (1901–1992) Spanish born philosopher; translator of the complete works of Plato.
  • Gertrude Goldschmidt
    Gertrude Goldschmidt
    Gertrude Goldschmidt also known as Gego, was a modern Venezuelan artist and sculptor. Gego's most popular works were produced in the 1960s and 1970s, during the height of popularity of Geometric abstract art and Kinetic Art...

     (1912–1994) German born artist.
  • Eugenio Imaz (1900–1951) Spanish born philosopher.
  • Ernesto Mayz Vallenilla
    Ernesto Mayz Vallenilla
    Ernesto Mayz Vallenilla is a Venezuelan philosopher. He was born in Maracaibo and graduated from high school in Liceo Andrés Bello, Caracas. He graduated in philosophy and literature from Universidad Central de Venezuela in 1950, where he also obtained his PhD in Philosophy.He studied in the...

     (b. 1925) (also alumni) philosopher, rector of the Universidad Simón Bolívar
    Universidad Simón Bolívar
    Simón Bolívar University or USB, is a public institution located in Miranda State, Venezuela with scientific and technological orientation....

    .
  • Juan Nuño
    Juan Nuño
    Juan Antonio Nuño Montes was a philosopher, writer and university professor.After leaving Spain in 1947, Nuño settled in Venezuela where he studied philosophy at the Central University of Venezuela. In 1951 he studied at the University of Cambridge and the University of Paris...

     (1927–1995) (also alumni) Spanish born philosopher.
  • Manuel García Pelayo
    Manuel García Pelayo
    Manuel García Pelayo , prominent Spanish political scientist and jurist. He was the founder of the modern Department of Political Science of the Central University of Venezuela and was elected President of the Constitutional Court of Spain in 1980.Born in Corrales del Vino, Zamora Province, García...

     (1909–1991) Spanish born political Scientist, elected president of the Constitutional Tribunal of Spain in 1980.
  • Manuel Pérez Vila
    Manuel Pérez Vila
    Manuel Pérez Vila, , was a Spanish born Venezuelan historian and professor. Graduated of Arts from the University of Bordeaux and of professor at the University of Toulouse, arrived in Venezuela in late 1948, starting his activity as researcher. Was part of the modernization of Venezuelan...

     (1922–1991) Spanish born historian.
  • Pedro Antonio Ríos Reyna
    Pedro Antonio Ríos Reyna
    Pedro Antonio Ríos Reyna was one of the most important Venezuelan classical musicians.Spent his childhood in Caracas and studied at the Fermín Toro Grammar school...

     (1905–1971) classical musician.
  • Federico Riu
    Federico Riu
    Federico Riu Farré was a philosopher and university professor.Riu was born in Spain where he worked from an early age as a teacher in the small towns of his province. He emigrated to Venezuela in 1947 and became a Venezuelan citizen in 1954...

     (1925–1985) (also alumni) Spanish born philosopher.
  • Angel Rosenblat
    Ángel Rosenblat
    Ángel Rosenblat was a Venezuelan philologist, essayist and hispanist of Polish descent.-Life:...

     (1902–1984) Polish born philologist.
  • Mariano Picón Salas
    Mariano Picón Salas
    Mariano Federico Picón Salas, an influential Venezuelan diplomatic, cultural critic and writer of the 20th century, was born in Mérida on January 26, 1901 and died in Caracas on January 1, 1965. Among his books, his collection of essays on history, literary criticism and cultural history are...

     (1901–1965) writer, cultural critic.
  • José Antonio Ramos Sucre
    José Antonio Ramos Sucre
    José Antonio Ramos Sucre was a Venezuelan poet, professor, consul and erudite. He is a member of the Sucre family of Venezuela and the great-great-nephew of Antonio José de Sucre...

     (1890–1930) (also alumni) poet, writer.
  • Oscar Sambrano Urdaneta
    Oscar Sambrano Urdaneta
    Oscar Sambrano Urdaneta was a Venezuelan writer, essayist and literary critic, specialized in the life and work of Andrés Bello.Sambrano Urdaneta was born at the town of Boconó, Trujillo state...

     (b. 1929) writer, essayist and literary critic.
  • Guillermo Sucre
    Guillermo Sucre
    Guillermo Sucre Figarella , is a Venezuelan poet and literary critic born in Tumeremo in the state of Bolivar. He is also a member of the notable Sucre family like his uncle Jose Antonio Ramos Sucre and his older brothers General Juan Manuel Sucre Figarella and Senator Leopoldo Sucre...

     (b. 1933) (also alumni) literary critic.
  • Arturo Uslar Pietri
    Arturo Uslar Pietri
    Arturo Uslar Pietri , was a Venezuelan intellectual, lawyer, journalist, writer, television producer and politician.- Life :...

     (1906–2001) (also alumni) writer and historian, winner of the Prince of Asturias Award
    Prince of Asturias Awards
    The Prince of Asturias Awards are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Prince of Asturias Foundation to individuals, entities or organizations from around the world who make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, and public affairs....

     (1990) and Rómulo Gallegos Prize
    Rómulo Gallegos Prize
    The Rómulo Gallegos International Novel Prize was created on 6 August 1964 by a presidential decree enacted by Venezuelan President Raúl Leoni, in honor of the Venezuelan politician and President Rómulo Gallegos, the author of Doña Bárbara....

     for Best Novel (1991).
  • Carlos Raúl Villanueva
    Carlos Raúl Villanueva
    Carlos Raúl Villanueva was the most prominent Venezuelan architect of the 20th century and one of the great Modernists. He played a major role in the development and modernization of Caracas, Maracay and other cities across the country...

     (1900–1975) architect, one of the great Modernists
    Modern architecture
    Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...

    .
  • Pedro León Zapata
    Pedro León Zapata
    Pedro León Zapata is a prominent Venezuelan artist, humorist and cartoonist.-Biography:In 1945 he entered the "Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Caracas" but in 1947 he abandons the school to join the foundation of the "Taller La Barraca de Maripérez" where he will exhibit his first works...

     (b. 1929) artist and humorist.

sciences

  • Jacinto Convit
    Jacinto Convit
    Jacinto Convit García is a Venezuelan Medic and Scientist. In 1987, he received a Prince of Asturias Award in the Scientific and Technical Research category....

     (b. 1913) (also alumni) nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1988 for his research on the cure of Leprosy
    Leprosy
    Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...

    .
  • Werner Jaffé
    Werner Jaffé
    Werner Gunter Jaffé Fellner was a chemist and university professor. Jaffé was born in Frankfurt. He received his doctoral degree at the University of Zurich under the supervision of the Nobel Prize winner Paul Karrer. After graduating, Jaffé arrived in Venezuela in 1940 and became a professor at...

     (1914–2009) founder of the National Institute of Nutrition. Studied under Nobel prize winner Paul Karrer
    Paul Karrer
    Paul Karrer was a Swiss organic chemist best known for his research on vitamins. He and Walter Haworth won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1937.-Early years:...

    .
  • Humberto Fernández Morán
    Humberto Fernández Morán
    Humberto Fernández-Morán Villalobos was a Venezuelan research scientist born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, renowned for inventing the diamond knife, significantly advancing the development of electromagnetic lenses for electron microscopy based on superconducting technology, and many other scientific...

     (1924–1999) contributed to the development of the electron microscope
    Electron microscope
    An electron microscope is a type of microscope that uses a beam of electrons to illuminate the specimen and produce a magnified image. Electron microscopes have a greater resolving power than a light-powered optical microscope, because electrons have wavelengths about 100,000 times shorter than...

     and was the first researcher to introduce the concept of cryoultramicrotomy.
  • Tobías Lasser
    Tobías Lasser
    Tobías Lasser , was a recognized Venezuelan botanist, being a fundamental pillar in the creation of the Botanical Garden of Caracas, the School of Biology and the Faculty of Sciences of the Central University of Venezuela...

     (1911–2006) (also alumni) botanist, founder of the Botanical Garden of Caracas, the modern School of Sciences and the Department of Biology.
  • Fuad Lechín (b. 1928), nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2001 for the development of new treatments of bronchial asthma and myasthenia gravis
    Myasthenia gravis
    Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune neuromuscular disease leading to fluctuating muscle weakness and fatiguability...

     discovered by his research group.
  • Marcel Roche
    Marcel Roche
    Marcel Roche Dugand was a physician, scientist and scientific leader.He was born into a wealthy family of French origin. His father, Luis Roche was a well known urbanist. His secondary education was conducted in Paris, France, graduating in 1938...

     (1920–2003) physician, winner of the Kalinga Prize
    Kalinga Prize
    The Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science is an award given by UNESCO for exceptional skill in presenting scientific ideas to lay people...

    , governor of the International Atomic Energy Agency
    International Atomic Energy Agency
    The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...

     (1958–1960) and founding member Third World Academy of Sciences
    Third World Academy of Sciences
    TWAS, until 2004 named Third World Academy of Sciences and now TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world, is a merit-based science academy uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable development in...

    .
  • Augusto Pi Sunyer (1879–1965) Spanish born physician, started the studies of microbiology in Venezuela.
  • Marco Aurelio Vila (1908–2001) Spanish born geographer.

18th Century

  • Francisco Martínez de Porras (1725–1732)
  • José Ignacio Mijares de Solórzano (1732–1734)
  • Gerónimo de Rada (1734–1739)
  • Carlos Francisco de Herrera (1739–1740)
  • Blas Arraéz de Mendoza (1740–1741)
  • Juan Pérez Hurtado (1741–1744)
  • Bonifacio de Frías Abadino ( 1744–1746)
  • Gabriel Ramón de Ibarra (1746–1749)
  • Carlos Francisco de Herrera (1749–1758)
  • Francisco de Ibarra (1758–1771)
  • Bartolome Antonio de Vargas (1771–1772)
  • Domingo de Berroterán (1772–1785)
  • José Domingo Blanco (1785–1787)
  • José Ignacio Romero (1787–1789)
  • Juan Agustín de la Torre (1789–1791)
  • Domingo Rogerio Briceño (1791–1793)
  • José Antonio Osío (1793–1794)
  • Tomás Hernández Sanabria (1794–1795)
  • Juan Vicente Echevarría (1795–1797)
  • José Antonio Felipe Borges (1797–1799)
  • José Vicente Machillanda (1799–1801)

19th Century

  • Domingo Gómez de Rus (1801–1803)
  • Nicolás Antonio Osío (1803–1805)
  • José Bernabé Díaz (1805–1807)
  • Gabriel José Lindo (1807–1809)
  • Tomás Hernández Sanabria (1809–1811)
  • Manuel Vicente Maya (1811–1815)
  • Juan de Rojas Queipo (1815–1817)
  • Pablo Antonio Romero (1817–1819)
  • José Manuel Oropeza (1819–1821)
  • Miguel Castro y Marrón (1821–1823)

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  • Felipe Fermín Paul (1823–1825)
  • José Cecilio Avila (1825–1827)
  • José María Vargas
    José María Vargas
    José María Vargas was the 4th President of Venezuela from 1835–1836.-Life and career:...

     (1827–1829)
  • José Nicolás Díaz (1829–1832)
  • Andrés Navarte (1832–1835)
  • Juan Hilario Bosett (1835–1838)
  • Tomás José Sanabria (1838–1841)
  • José Alberto Espinosa (1841–1843)
  • Domingo Quintero (1843–1846)
  • Carlos Arvelo (1846–1849)
  • Tomás José Sanabria (1849–1850)
  • José Manuel García (1850–1852)
  • Antonio José Rodríguez (1852–1855)
  • Guillermo Michelena (1855–1858)
  • Francisco Díaz Flores (1858–1860)
  • Nicanor Borges (1860–1862)
  • Elias Acosta (1862)
  • Calixto Madrid (1862–1863)
  • José Manuel García (1863–1868)
  • Nicanor Borges (1868–1869)
  • Carlos Arvelo, jr. (1869–1870)
  • Alejandro Ibarra (1870–1873)
  • Pedro Medina (1873–1876)
  • Antonio Guzmán Blanco
    Antonio Guzmán Blanco
    Antonio Leocadio Guzmán Blanco was President of Venezuela for three separate terms, from 1870–1877, from 1879–1884, and from 1886–1887....

     (1876–1877)
  • Raimundo Andueza (1877–1879)
  • Angel Rivas Baldwin (1879–1882)
  • Jesús María Blanco Arnal (1882–1883)
  • Manuel María Ponte (1883–1884)
  • Aníbal Dominici (1884–1886)
  • Ezequiel Jelambi (1886)
  • Andrés A. Silva (1886–1887)
  • Jesús Muñoz Tébar (1887)
  • Aníbal Dominici (1887–1888)
  • Martin J. Sanabria (1888–1889)

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  • Agustín Astúriz (1899 - 1890)
  • Elías Rodríguez (1890–1895)
  • Manuel Clemente Urbaneja (1895)
  • Rafel Villacencio (1895–1897)
  • Alberto Smith (1897–1898)
  • Rafel Villacencio (1898–1899)

20th Century

  • Santos Aníbal Dominici (1899–1901)
  • José Antonio Baldó (1901–1905)
  • Laureano Villanueva (1905–1906)
  • Jesús Muñoz Tébar (1906–1908)
  • Luis Razetti (1908)
  • Elías Toro (1908–1910)
  • Alejo Zuloaga Egusquiza (1910–1911)
  • Alberto Smith (1911)
  • Manuel Angel Dagnino (1911)
  • Alberto Smith (1911–1912)
  • Manuel Angel Dagnino (1912)
  • Felipe Guevara Rojas (1912)
  • David Lobo Senior (1922–1924)
  • Alejandro Urbaneja (1924–1925)
  • Diego Carbonell (1925–1928)
  • Juan Iturbe (1928)
  • Plácido D. Rodríguez Rivero (1928–1935)
  • Francisco Antonio Rísquez (1935–1936)
  • Alberto Smith (1936)
  • Salvador Córdova (1936–1937)
  • Antonio José Castillo (1937–1943)
  • Rafael Pizani (1943–1944)
  • Leopoldo García Maldonado (1944–1945)
  • Juan Oropeza
    Juan Oropeza
    Juan Oropeza Riera was a Venezuelan lawyer, diplomat, writer, educator and political science expert. He was born in Carora in the state of Lara, and was the younger brother of pediatrics pioneer, Pastor Oropeza Riera....

     (1945–1946)
  • Santiago Vera Izquierdo (1946–1948)
  • Julio De Armas (1948–1951)

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  • Eloy Dávila Celis (1951)
  • Julio García Alvarez (1951–1953)
  • Pedro González Rincones (1953–1956)
  • Emilio Espósito Jiménez (1956–1958)
  • Francisco De Venanzi (1958–1963)
  • Jesús María Bianco (1963–1970)
  • Rafael Clemente Arraíz (1971)
  • Oswaldo De Sola (1971–1972)
  • Rafael José Neri (1972–1976)
  • Miguel Layrisse (1976–1980)
  • Carlos A. Moro Guersi (1980–1984)
  • Edmundo Chirinos (1984–1988)
  • Luis Fuenmayor Toro (1988–1992)
  • Simón Muñoz (1992–1996)
  • Trino Alcides Díaz (1996–2000)

21st Century

  • Giuseppe Gianetto (2000–2004)
  • Antonio París (2004–2008)
  • Cecilia García Arocha (2008 - )

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See also



Printed References

  • ÁVILA BELLO, JOSÉ. y CONVIT, JACINTO. 1992: “El Instituto de Biomedicina. Evolución reciente”. En: Ruiz Calderón, Humberto et. all. “La ciencia en Venezuela pasado, presente y futuro”. Cuadernos Lagoven. Lagoven, S.A. Caracas Venezuela pp:92-101.
  • BARROETA LARA, JULIO. 1995: “"Nuestra y trascendente Universidad Central de Venezuela"”. Universidad Central de Venezuela, Dirección de Cultura. Caracas – Venezuela.
  • CADENAS, JOSÉ MARÍA. 1994; “Relaciones universidad empresa: una aproximación a su situación en Venezuela”. EN: "Agenda Académica". Universidad Central de Venezuela. Caracas Venezuela.

    • CUENCA, HUMBERTO. 1967: “"La universidad colonial"”. Universidad Central de Venezuela. Caracas – Venezuela.

    • HENRIQUEZ UREÑA, PEDRO. 1955: “"Historia de la cultura en la América Hispánica"”. Colección Tierra Firme. Fondo de Cultura Económica. Ciudad de México – México. 243p.

    • HERRERA Z, HENRY. y ORTA, SOLANGE. 1995: “"Universidad Central de Venezuela"”. En: "Diccionario multimedia de Historia de Venezuela. Fundación Polar. Caracas – Venezuela.

    • LEAL, ILDEFONSO. 1963: “Historia de la Universidad de Caracas (1721–1827) ”. Universidad Central de Venezuela. Caracas – Venezuela.

    • LEAL, ILDEFONSO. 1970: “El Claustro de la Universidad y sus Historia”. Tomo I (1756 - 1774) Estudio preliminar y compilación; Universidad Central de Venezuela. Caracas - Venezuela. 358p.

    • LEAL, ILDEFONSO. 1971: “Universidad Central de Venezuela 1721 - 1971”. Ediciones del Rectorado de la Universidad Central de Venezuela. Caracas - Venezuela. 152p.

    • LEAL, ILDEFONSO. 1979: “El Claustro de la Universidad y sus Historia II”. Tomo I (1721 - 1756) Estudio preliminar y compilación; Universidad Central de Venezuela. Caracas - Venezuela. 362p.

    • LEAL, ILDEFONSO. 1981: “Historia de UCV”. Ediciones del Rectorado de la Universidad Central de Venezuela. Caracas - Venezuela. 544p.

    • LEAL, ILDEFONSO. 1981: “Historia de la Universidad Central de Venezuela, 1721-1981”. Universidad Central de Venezuela. Caracas – Venezuela.

    • LEAL, ILDEFONSO. 1983: “La Universidad de Caracas en los años de Bolívar 1783-1830”. Universidad Central de Venezuela. Caracas -Venezuela 2 volúmenes.

    • MACHADO ALLISON, ANTONIO. 2005: “Memorias 40 años del Instituto de Zoologia Tropical”. Editorial Brima Color. Caracas – Venezuela. 155p.

    • MÉNDEZ Y MENDOZA, JUAN DE DIOS. 1912: “Historia de la Universidad Central de Venezuela”. Tipografía Americana. Caracas. 2 volúmenes.

    • PARRA LEÓN, CARACCIOLO. 1954: “"Filosofía universitaria venezolana 1782-1821"”. Editorial J. B. Madrid – España.

    • TEXERA, YOLANDA. 1992: “La Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad Central de Venezuela”. En: Ruiz Calderón, Humberto et. all. “La ciencia en Venezuela pasado, presente y futuro”. Cuadernos Lagoven. Lagoven, S.A. Caracas Venezuela pp:50-63.

    • UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA. 1990: “Instituto de Zoología Tropical (IZT)”. Universidad Central de Venezuela. Caracas – Venezuela. 16p.

    • UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA. 1978: “UCV prospecto de estudios Facultad de Ciencias. Universidad Central de Venezuela. Caracas – Venezuela. 123p.

    • USLAR PIETRI, ARTURO. 1961: “"La universidad y el país"”. Imprenta Nacional. Caracas – Venezuela.>

    Cartographical References

    • UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA. 1981: “"Plano de Ubicación de las obras de arte de la Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas"”. Universidad Central de Venezuela. Caracas – Venezuela.

    External links


    Aerial Photos

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