Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo
Overview
National University of Chimborazo (Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo - Unach) is located in Riobamba, a city of Chimborazo Province, located at the center of Ecuador. Riobamba is part of the Andes and it is characterized by its multiple opportunities for adventure tourism across all the mountains that surround the city. The most important one is the Chimborazo, an ice-capped inactive volcano; there is also easy access for trekking or climbing in other mountains, such as the Altar and Carihuairazo.
The constitution of Ecuador was signed in Riobamba and this is why the city is also recognized for its cultural heritage. The city has steady weather throughout the year with a temperature between 8 to 19-celsius degrees.
The National University of Chimborazo is recognized for its academic offering at the graduate and undergraduate levels. The quality of its teaching model relies on the multiple opportunities for experimentation and knowledge application to solve social development problems, with a focus on the rural population. The University infrastructure contains laboratories in each building in order to engage students with plenty of opportunities for training, according to the specific needs of their academic program.
The main teaching language is Spanish, which is Ecuador's official language. However, students are required to learn a second language and they can freely choose between English, French, or Quichua. This training is offered by the University’s Academic Unit of Linguistic Competences. Students must demonstrate competency in a second language as a graduation requisite
The National University of Chimborazo has four campuses:
Campus: "Edison Riera"
Located on Av. Antonio José de Sucre, Km. 1 ½, Riobamba - Guano road. It is the largest campus, where three of the four University’s schools operate: School of Engineering; Political and Administrative Sciences, and the School of Health Sciences. The main administrative offices are also a part of this campus.
It is the oldest campus of the university, located at the south of Riobamba on Av. Eloy Alfaro and 10 de Agosto street. The School of Education, Human Sciences and Technologies and the Office of Graduate Studies and Research operate on this campus.
Campus: "Center"
It is located on Duchicela and Princesa Toa streets. The Dentistry program is the only one that operates on this campus. In addition to its academic facilities, it has one of the most beautiful historical buildings of Riobamba, called “Casona Universitaria”, which is a house from the early 20th century.
Campus: "Guano"
It is one of the future projects of the National University of Chimborazo. This space will hold laboratories and spaces for experimentation. It will also have two 8-story buildings with classrooms, a library, green areas, multipurpose fields, and a bioterium. This campus will be located in Guano, a city that is 15 minutes away from Riobamba.
Each one of the campuses has inclusive pedestrian access for students. All entrances have wheelchairs ramps, as well as elevators, bicycle paths, and parking lots. Due to the health emergency caused by COVID-19, all the spaces comply with the respective biosafety protocols.
UNACH has two libraries; one of them is located at the “La Dolorosa” campus and the other one is at the “Edison Riera” campus. There is one laboratory for Environmental and Industrial Services and one laboratory for Materials Control, both of them are located in the Engineering School building. The School of Health Sciences has one space for practice through its Dentistry Clinics that provide free service to the academic community. This service is also open for the whole city; students of the higher levels of the Dentistry program apply their knowledge providing free care to those who require it.The University also offers free legal advice, with the support of its Law Program to the whole community. It has three offices located across Riobamba. There is also a Free Psycho-pedagogical office, where children from 7 to 12 years old can receive attention for their specific learning difficulties. They receive treatment and advice with the support of the School of Education. In addition, Unach students are part of sports activities.
The university has a semi-Olympic swimming pool, two coliseums, a basketball and soccer field, a space for contemporary dancing; a running field, and a gym. The university carries out cultural activities in its theater which has a space for 1031 people, divided into two floors.Within the university, there are small bookstores and coffee shops, where healthy eating prevails. UNACH is a smoke-free institutionRegarding connectivity, Internet Service, and Advanced Network, the Institution has a capacity of 2,250 Megabits per second, distributed between its three campuses. Students have easy access to online learning platforms, its technological infrastructure allows up to 7000 concurrent users to work at the same time.
The University’s virtual learning environment is a fundamental tool in its education model. All the students have free access to the Office365 platform, which has made it possible to enhance academic activities. In the same way, Unach has specialized software licenses offered for free to its academic community, such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Zoom, LEXIS Legal Consultation System, SPSS Statistical System, Microsoft Campus Agreement, Microsoft Power BI licenses, Matlab. The university also has a special agreement with CISCO - UNACH. In addition, there is a management system of Scholarships and Financial Aid for Undergraduate and Postgraduate, a Teacher Evaluation System, Academic Control Computer System, Student Welfare System, Research, and Linkage System, among others.
During 2019, UNACH received 11,099 undergraduate students, 76 of them were international, representing 0,68% of the total university population. The nationalities represented at the university are the following:
Country of origin
Number of students
GERMANY
6
ARGENTINA
4
BOLIVIA
3
BRAZIL
1
CANADA
1
COLOMBIA
14
CUBA
3
SPAIN
14
UNITED STATES
8
ENGLAND
1
ISRAEL
1
ITALY
4
MEXICO
1
PERU
4
VENEZUELA
11
TOTAL
76
UNACH students can develop creative skills of the following types: sports through different disciplines such as soccer, basketball, volleyball, judo, gymnastics, and cultural skills such as dance, theater, and music.
In addition, students can enroll in different clubs related to specific areas of knowledge for leisure and also complement their professional and academic training.
UNACH does nothave accommodation for students within its facilities. However, wheninternational students or faculty members are enrolled with the university, the administrative staff helps them to find the right housing, through theCoordination of National and International Relations.
In Ecuador, since 2012, the admission process to public third level education has been regulated through an admission test called “Ser Bachiller”. Starting in 2019, the National Leveling and Admission System (SNNA), through an update of its policies, allowed public universities to create their own complimentary admission processes. Therefore, the test’s grade stopped being the only resource to apply to an undergraduate program at a public Ecuadorian university. Under this frame, Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo implemented the "UNACH Complimentary Admission Process", which exhaustively assesses the academic record of students' secondary education as well as the affirmative actions reported on their application. The registration dates for the Ser Bachiller test are determined by the National Secretariat of Higher Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation (SENESCYT). The test is offered twice a year and the registration is open at https://eaes.ec in January and June.
The application system is meritocratic, neither SENESCYT nor UNACH determine access to the University. Admission to a specific program depends on a competition based on the Ser Bachiller test grade and the student's high school academic record. If a student is admitted, he will receive an admission offer and it is his responsibility to accept it and enroll in the leveling courses before starting his first semester of studies.
For foreign students, it is essential that during the enrollment process in the EAES exam they have their visas and immigration permits ready to begin their studies in Ecuador. In addition, the homologation of the High School degree must be carried out with the Ministry of Education before registering at Unach. Foreign students have the same rights as an Ecuadorian student in terms of admissions, scholarships, and free tuition
The National University of Chimborazo grants scholarships to at least 10% of its students, in compliance with Art. 77 of the Ecuadorian Organic Law of Higher Education.
Students can apply to scholarships under the following categories:
• High academic performance
• Disabilities
• High performance (athletes)
In addition, students can apply for economic aid due to socioeconomic status, which is granted to all regular students who are enrolled without distinction of nationality. The only condition is to meet all the requirements established in Unach’s Regulations for Scholarships and Economic Aid. Students can apply for scholarships at the beginning of each semester.
565 UNACH alumni who graduated in the period of April - September 2019, were asked the following question: After graduation, how long did you take to get a job related to your profession? 56.11% (317 graduates) did so in less than 6 months, 14.87% (84 graduates) took between 7 and 12 months; 3.01% (17 graduates) obtained a job in a period longer than 12 months.
Students were also asked: In which industry do you work? 36.28% (205 graduates) work in the health, 36.11% (204 graduates) work in the service sector, 15.40% (87 graduates) work in the education, 7.26% (41 graduates) work in commerce and trade, 2.12% (12 graduates) work in the financial sector, 1.59% (9 graduates) work in the industrial sector, 0.71% (4 graduates) work in the security and defense sector, while 0.53% (3 graduates) work in the environment sector.
The Office of Student and University Welfare is responsible for providing an environment of respect to ethical values, physical, psychological and sexual integrity of students, teachers, servers, and workers of the Univesity. It also provides vocational and professional guidance services, education loans, scholarships, financial aid, medical-dental services, among others.The University’s Academic Office is in charge of maintaining the connection between the university and its alumni network. Its goal is to strengthen the University's relationship with its graduate students. It also creates agreements with companies and organizations that can support a student’s professional development after their graduation.
Programs available
Undergraduate Faculties/Departments and Programs
Faculty of Education, Human Sciences and Technologies
- Basic education
- Graphic design
- Initial education
- Pedagogy of Arts and Humanities
- Pedagogy of Experimental Sciences-Chemistry and Biology
- Pedagogy of Experimental Sciences-Informatics
- Pedagogy of Experimental Sciences-Mathematics and Physics
- Pedagogy of History and Social Sciences
- Pedagogy of Language and Literature
- Pedagogy of National and Foreign Languages
- Pedagogy of Physical Activity and Sport
- Psychopedagogy
Faculty of Engineering
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Political and Administrative Sciences
University Highlights
Total students - 6,939
Total faculty staff - 572
Total students - 6,939
Total faculty staff - 572
Campus Locations
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