Pontificia Universidad Javeriana

Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, often called La Javeriana by its students, is a private Colombian university run by the Society of Jesus. Founded in 1623, it ranks among the country’s oldest and most traditional institutions. Its main campus is in Bogotá, with a second location in Cali, and it has historically served the Colombian upper class. The university is part of a global Jesuit network that includes 33 institutions in Latin America and 167 worldwide.

Main Campus in Bogotá

The Bogotá campus covers 445 acres and contains 45 buildings, 18 cafeterias, a hospital, a bookstore, a parking block for 1,200 vehicles, and a travel agency. It sits in the Chapinero locality, bordering Parque Nacional Enrique Olaya Herrera, Carrera Séptima, and the Eastern Hills.

The Cali campus in Pance offers 18 schools grouped into four faculties. Its Law School earned high-quality accreditation from the Ministry of National Education in August 2010. The Cali campus also hosts branches of the Bolsa de Valores de Colombia and Temple University’s Fox School of Business.

The university holds high-quality institutional accreditation, granted for eight years in June 2003. It has 21 undergraduate programs with high-quality accreditation and eight more in advanced stages of the process. Graduate programs are recognized through Qualified Registries, with over 87 programs available. In the 2023 QS World University Rankings, La Javeriana placed 382nd globally, 18th in Latin America, and third in Colombia.

History

The institution traces its origins to a Jesuit college established in Santafé de Bogotá in 1604. By 1623, the Audience and Archbishop recognized its academic degrees, and students—including Pedro Claver—received their diplomas. This became the University and Academy of Saint Francis Xavier. The Jesuits were expelled from Spanish colonies in 1767, closing the university’s first chapter.

After 163 years, a restoration act was signed. In 1937, the School of Economics and Legal Sciences reopened, followed by other faculties. In 1970, after community requests, the university launched a program in Pance, Cali, initially called the Cali Branch, offering degrees in business, engineering, and psychology.

The Bogotá campus has developed steadily since the 1950s. Key buildings include Edificio Emilio Arango (1951), home to central administration; Hospital Universitario San Ignacio (1955); Edificio Félix Restrepo (1954), housing programs in bacteriology, law, and philosophy; and the Architecture workshops (1958). Female housing was added in 1959. The Jesús María Fernandez building opened in 1976 and now holds the main library.

The 1980s and 1990s saw the construction of engineering, law, and political science buildings, as well as a lecture hall and a parking structure. In 2000, the university expanded southeast with the Pedro Arrupe building for theology, a sports center, and the Manuel Briceño building for psychology, social sciences, and philosophy. Since 2008, a master plan has guided infrastructure development alongside strict ecological policies, adding the Comparative Biology Building (2009), the Faculty of Arts Building (2014), the Jorge Hoyos building (2016, nicknamed “The Arc”), and the ATICO Center (2009), a high-tech facility for arts and communication.