The
Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (
USAC,
University of San Carlos of Guatemala) It is the biggest, most prestigious, and oldest university of Guatemala, also it is the fourth founded in
the Americas.
The transcendence of its students and itself has been seen in many important times, since the ,
Guatemalan Revolution,
Guatemalan Civil War, and even today.
The main campus is located on University City, zone 12 of
Guatemala City, being the biggest one of Central America]]. It also has several extension branches on every region of the country, and a metropolitan center where the Medicine and Physiology Faculties operate.
History
It was decreed a university on January 31, 1676 by royal command of King
Charles II of Spain. It had previously been known as the Escuela de Santo Tomás (School of Saint Thomas), founded in 1562 by the priest
Francisco Marroquín. The University finally gained international acceptance by Official Decree from
Pope Innocent XI, on June 18, 1687.
In the early years, from the 16th to 19th centuries, it offered studies in
civil and
liturgical law,
theology,
philosophy,
medicine and
indigenous languages. In the 20th century it produced some of the best writers in Guatemalan literature, including 1967 Nobel Prize winner
Miguel Ángel Asturias.
During the Repression years (1962-1996) and the
Guatemalan Civil War (early 1960s to 1995), the University was at the forefront of the fight of the people against military dictatorship.
The university offers...
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