Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, founded in 1966, is a
private university dedicated to finding, educating, and
graduating the young men and women that Guatemala desperately
needs to provide the talent, ideas and man power necessary to
develop the society and economy of this growing country.
Universidad del
Valle produces professionals as well as trained technicians -
responsible problem solvers who can address the challenges of a
developing country. It educates professionals who can help
Guatemala manage its priceless natural resources, promote an
appreciation for its rich history and cultural diversity;
improve its educational and health care systems; modernize its
agriculture and food production; and above all else, secure for
it a strong position in the world economy of the 21st.
century. Universidad del Valle is building Guatemala’s future.
For this purpose,
the University’s academic programs are conceived and developed
in response to the needs of the Guatemalan people; it offers a
distinctive curriculum combining the broad, liberal arts
approach of U.S. colleges with specialized training in the
applied sciences. For almost forty years, Universidad del Valle
has led the way in designing instruction, research, and outreach
to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for Guatemala’s
economic, cultural and scientific growth.
For the
fulfillment of its academic role, the University welcomes
professors, professionals, and students chosen for their
intellectual capacity and their interest and dedication to
academic tasks.
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Universidad del Valle de Guatemala states the following as
its guiding principles:
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To
educate comprehensive/honest human beings.
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Intellect is one of the most important human qualities that
allows discussion, understanding of oneself, society, and
nature, through the development of thoughts,
conceptualizations, and analysis, as well as the formulation
of theories that bring about human progress.
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Science, which is perfectible, represents the best descriptive
and demonstrative tool for understanding how the universe
works.
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Education is one of the most important agents for the
development of society and individuals.
Support to research in topics related to the foreseeable
development of the country and commitment of research to
education.
Excellence, resulting from the highest quality standards, is
relevant to all activities related to the community of the
university.
Every member of the university community is free to express
his thoughts and principles, within universal guidelines for
respect and using the appropriate communication channels.
Freedom to teach and to investigate is supported.
Academic activity is guided by scientific truth, ethics,
respect for life and for others; it is free from economic and
social prejudices, and stresses the rational use of natural
resources and the conservation of national heritage.
The
university values and respects all members of its community
and acknowledges their rights and obligations as human beings,
Conduct of each member of the university community must be
honest and in accordance with the law, standards and
commitments acquired within and outside the university.
Fairness, as an
essential value, will be part of the university’s tasks.
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Educate human beings and conduct research in
an environment of freedom, in such a way as to allow the
development of critical and ethical judgement; obtain, generate,
and disseminate scientific and technological knowledge, and
social conscience, for the benefit of the community, the
Guatemalan society and humanity.
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To be in Guatemala the most prestigious
education institution in science, technology, humanities, and
education, by virtue of its high academic level, its research,
the excellence of its graduates, the quality of its members, and
its contribution to solving national problems.
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Universidad del
Valle de Guatemala comprises five academic units, each one
headed by a dean:
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University
College
-
School of
Science and Humanities
-
School of Social
Sciences
-
School of
Education
-
School of
Engineering
-
Research Institute
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University College:
-
Baccalaureatus
in Scientiis (BS)
-
Baccaalaureatus
in Artibus (BA)
School of Science and Humanities:
Licenciatura* degree in the following majors:
(*) Licenciatura
is a five-year undergraduate degree program, with thesis work.
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Biology
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Biochemistry and
Microbiology
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Ecotourism
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Physics
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Letters
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Mathematics
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Nutrition
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Chemistry
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Pharmaceutical
Chemistry
School of Social Sciences:
Licenciatura* degree in the following majors:
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Anthropology
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Archaeology
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History
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Psychology
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Sociology
School of Education:
Specialized Teaching Certification in:
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Education for
children with special needs
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Education for
children with learning disabilities
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Elementary
School Education
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Intercultural
Bilingual Elementary Education
Secondary School Certification in the following major areas:
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Biology and
Chemistry
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History and
Social Sciences
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English
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Language and
Literature
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Mathematics and
Physics
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Mathematics and
Computer Sciences
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Music
-
Population and
Environmental Sciences
Licenciatura* degree in the following majors:
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Education
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Health Education
-
Music
-
Psycho-pedagogy
School of Engineering:
Licenciatura* degree in the following majors:
-
Civil
Engineering
-
Electronics
Engineering
-
Agriforest
Engineering
-
Food Science
Engineering
-
Computer Science
Engineering
-
Industrial
Engineering
-
Mechanical
Engineering
-
Mechatronical
Engineering
-
Chemical
Engineering
Master’s Degree Programs
School of Science and Humanities:
School of Social Sciences:
-
Development of
local power and decentralization
-
Human Resources
Management
-
Counseling
School of Education:
-
Education
Management
-
Curriculum
Development
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Assessment,
Evaluation and Research in Education
School of Engineering:
-
Economy and
Business Administration (jointly with Texas A&M University)
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The Research
Institute was founded in 1977 and currently, it has 8 centers
and 17 specialized laboratories. In addition, there are 5
independent support units.
Center for Environmental Studies
This center does research related to ecology and the Guatemalan
biodiversity and their relationship to human activities in order
to develop basic data that will promote the preservation,
sustainable use, and monitoring of the natural resources of the
country.
Center for Agricultural and Forestry Research
The principal areas
of research in the Soil Laboratory, the Plant Protection
Laboratory, and the Applied Entomology Laboratory include:
soil, plant protection, and forestry production. Soil studies
include topics in physics, chemistry, microbiology/biochemistry,
soil fertility, and plant nutrition. The area of plant
protection investigates new technologies for the quick diagnosis
of diseases and provides training to various institutions, also
advises technicians and agriculturists in the application of
biological control technologies.
Center for Studies of Food Science and Technology
This center
develops research activities to establish the physical,
chemical, nutritional, and biological composition of both
conventional and unconventional foods, raw or processed, as well
as agro-industrial products and byproducts.
Center for Applied Information Technology
The Center Applied Information Technology develops projects that
apply new information and communications technologies to solve
existing problems in the country. The Center has two separate
units: the administration of the Country Code top Level Domain
.GT, and the department of Interactive Technologies. The
department of Interactive Technologies integrates current
information and communication technologies with the educational
process through assisted learning by the use of computers and
electronic communications.
Center for Health Studies
The objectives of this center are to perform multidisciplinary
field and laboratory studies of important diseases that affect
humans in the following principal areas: malaria/dengue, Chagas
disease, leishmaniasis, diseases transmitted by food and water
(water and sanitation), acute respiratory diseases, and
HIV/AIDS. The Center trains students in advanced laboratory
methods and provides health officials outside the university
with information and training in public health related matters.
In addition, the Center is the institutional counterpart for all
activities in Guatemala of the Medical Entomology Research and
Training Unit/Guatemala, a field research station of the
Division of Parasitical Diseases, National Centers of Infectious
Diseases, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) of the United
States.
Center for Archaeological and Anthropological Research
The main objective
of the Center for Archaeological and Anthropological Research is
to promote archaeological and anthropological research in the
country, activity that includes the development of an
archaeological information bank to be used by Guatemalan and
foreign students and professionals.
Center for the Research in Civil Engineering and Earth Science
It focuses its
activities on certain areas related to the design and
construction of civil works. Tests are conducted on
natural-size structures, soil studies are made and applications
are suggested to structural systems like houses, extending these
recommendations to the surroundings of the geographic areas of
the constructions themselves.
Center for Research in Education
The Center for Research in Education performs evaluations of
student performance at the national level, relating the results
obtained with different variables, such as the geographic
location and ethnicity. It provides a significant number of
schools with educational tools and carries-out intensive
training of teachers and directors. The Center offers a wide
variety of standardized instruments used for the evaluation of
professionals of psychology and pedagogy in educational, human
resources, and clinical areas.
The five independent support units are:
a)
The
Systematic Entomology Laboratory
has an Arthropod Collection started in 1975, which was
registered with the National Council of Protected Areas, in
1996. The collection provides information on biology, ecology,
diversity, systematic biogeography, phylogenetics and evolution
of the taxa stored to all interested individuals.
b)
The
Herbarium
was founded in 1974 in the Biology Department. In 1990, a
formal reference collection was established, open to the public,
and turned into the official herbarium of the Universidad del
Valle, being registered as UVAL in the world registry of
herbaria Index Herbariorum.
c)
The
Advanced Chemistry Instrumentation Laboratory
was founded in 1987 and supports research and teaching in
analytical chemistry inside and outside of the Universidad del
Valle. It has modern equipment for atomic absorption, high
resolution liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, infrared,
ultraviolet, and visible spectroscopy, and metal detection by
electrochemical techniques.
d)
The
Biochemical Engineering Laboratory, created recently, does research with microorganisms, for the biological
production of intermediate and final products, for the
production of microbial biomass for specific use in agriculture,
and in the biodegradation of chemical compounds, toxic for
humans and persistent in the environment.
Support Unit of Mathematical Analysis
provides support in the design of experiments and sampling
procedures, and statistical analysis of experimental data.
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Universidad del
Valle de Guatemala offers financial assistance to students on a
need-assessment basis, upon academic performance and interests.
Financial assistance may be in the form of scholarships, student
loans, and stipends. In most cases, students who receive
financial assistance must provide some type of service to the
University, also determined on an individual basis.
SCHOLARSHIPS:
The University
offers partial or full scholarships, which can be requested
through the Financial Aid Office. Students who are granted
scholarships must maintain an excellent academic record.
STUDENT LOANS:
The students in
need of partial or full financial assistance for the payment of
tuition and fees can request a student loan through the
Financial Aid Office. They must pay back the loan in accordance
with agreement signed by the student and the University.
STIPENDS:
Students with
excellent academic records may request a stipend in exchange for
a service useful to the University. This service, whenever
possible, must be related to the student’s academic area and
must be carried out under the supervision of a designated
teacher or supervisor.
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UVG’S EXTERNAL
CAMPUS
PROESUR
Established in 1995, this is located in Santa
Lucía Cotzumalguapa, department of Escuintla.
Vision
To improve the quality of life of the
Guatemalan population south coast area, through the improvement
of education.
Mission
I accordance to the principles and purposes
of the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, PROESUR contributes
to the economical and social development of the South Coast
through excellent educational programs, research, and the
science and technology transfer, in response to the interests
and needs of the population from the region.
Objectives
Provide development opportunities in the
local area.
Improve education
Strengthen the social, economical, and
cultural growth and development in the region.
Provide opportunities to the community for
professional growth.
Programs:
1.
American School of the South –CAS- (Bilingual High
School)
It was the first educative program which
Proesur started. Currently, it has an over 300 hundred student
population and offers maternal, pre-elementary, elementary,
junior school, and high school levels.
2.
The Technological Institute, ITEC,
Offers the youth who graduate from ninth year
the option to study the four-year to obtain the High School when
completing the second year and the Associates Bachelor Degree at
the completion of the fourth year in one of the following
specialties:
Mechatronics, Export Agricultural Product,
Industrial and Electronic Industrial. The program develops its
component of workshops with the support of INTECAP.
Currently, it has a student population of
over one hundred youths (men and women).
3.
Teaching Certificate Specialized in Primary Education
It is an intermediate university career,
which provides theoretical and practical information that allows
the future professor to be capable of creating a renovated
school system.
4.
Master Degree Programs
Seeks the formation of highly trained
professionals to increase the production levels in specific and
interest areas in the region. Currently the Master Degree in
Agroindustrial Administration is offered.
Other educational opportunities:
·
Language Center –CEI-
That Language Center starts as a felt
necessity from the parents of the students at CAS. It expands
to other sectors. Currently, it attends over 250 students,
children, youth, and adults. In 2,003 a new sede opened in the
municipium of Tiquisate.
·
The Continuing Education
program –EDUCON-
This is an education program oriented to the
ones who cannot attend to regular superior education; it works
through training oriented to specific sector or the public in
general regarding any required subject.
One of their most representative training
programs is the one that is developed jointly with the Sugar
Foundation with the approval of the Ministry of Education, it is
oriented to 91% (6,000 directors and professors) of all
professors in service at an elementary level from the public
sector in the South Coast.
This program complements itself with a
follow-up program at the location in sample schools in the South
Coast. Through this program, the teacher is supported directly
in the classroom, training necessities are detected, directors
of every school form the control group that is advised.
With the support of AID, Educon develops
during the second semester of the current year a program
oriented to youth in social risk and women form the communities
in the South Coast.
The program is focused on the axes of
productivity and
entrepreneurship.
It attends over 200 youths (men and women)
and 100 women in modular programs which are developed on
Saturdays at 8 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon.
Cultural opportunities:
·
Cultural Council
This program is the institutional link that
researches, promotes, forms, spreads, and preserves the local
culture. It has a Board of Directors conformed by honorable
women in the region who in an ad-honorem manner give their time
and effort to reach the objectives.
One of the more meaningful projects that is
currently being developed is the work with children and youth in
the region through the PROESUR/Cotzumalguapa coir, as a first
level. A future with this base group will conform the local
Infant-youth Orchestra. This program has the support of the
Youth and Music Foundation though Licda. Isabel Ciudad
Real.
·
Museum of Culture in the South
Coast
It has as a mission “the research, formation,
projection and service within the archeological context of the
region”.
UVG – Altiplano
In 1999
UVG-Altiplano was established in the highlands of Guatemala in
Sololá.
UVG -Altiplano is a model of strategic
alliance, which is unique in the country. The Government,
private sector and the civil society participate with the
purpose of developing the region. UVG Altiplano is located on
the site of a former military base, now converted to a campus of
learning and development.
Programs:
1.
Technological
Institute of Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (ITEC-UVG)
It is an innovating program addressed to the
15 and 16-year-old youth who have concluded the basic cycle.
Its purpose is to provide a technical education at a university
level with a 4-year duration inn the following specialties:
Agro-forestry, Horticulture and Tourism.
2.
Teaching Certificates specialized in:
Primary Education:
Is an intermediate university career which
provides with theoretical-practical formation
which allows the future professor to be able
to create a renewed scholar system.
Intercultural Bilingual Primary Education:
It is an intermediate university career which
includes courses of general formation, psycho-social and of
specialization in the study area. It has as an objective that
its graduates are guides to their students in the effective use
of the maternal language and then that they can transfer their
knowledge with the use of a second language.
Other educational opportunities:
Universidad del
Valle de Guatemala created the Continuous Education Program (EDUCON)
as a practical training option for persons in the South Coast
and Highland, that due to time and resources reasons, it is not
feasible for them to continue a superior education career.
A volunteer
program that works within the frame of EDUCON, where the last
Saturday of every month training and exchange journeys will be
held regarding different themes.
Cultural opportunities:
·
Cultural Council UVG – ALTIPLANO
This council was
convoked by the university with the purpose of contributing to
the cultural development of the region, before the demand that
is expressed by tourism in this matter. The program is a
research forum of cultural promotion and diffusion in the
Highland, especially in the Department of Sololá.
