About UDLA

The Universidad de las Américas, Puebla (UDLA) has a fifty year old tradition of excellent level of academic teaching expertise in Mexico and abroad. Furthermore, the University has been accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and School (SACS) since 1959. UDLA was founded in 1940 by Henry L. Cain and received the name of Mexico City College. In 1944 the first degrees were awarded, and in 1947 the Graduate School was founded. In 1963 the College became the University of the Americas. By that time, there were three schools: The School of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School, and the Night School. In 1967 the Mary Street Jenkins Foundation and the United States International Agency for Development (USAID) made a significant financial contribution to the building of the actual campus in the State of Puebla, and in 1985 the "Fundación Universidad de las Américas, Puebla" was established.

Faculty

UDLA full time faculty numbered 275 (spring 2002). Twenty five percent hold PH.D.s or other Doctorates and 58 belong to the SNI (National System of Research). In addition, more than 80% of the faculty has obtained their degree from prestigious foreign universities or are internationally well-known Faculty members. The Faculty-student ratio: 27 to 1.

Enrollment

UDLA strives for a student population of optimum size and cultural
diversity. Total enrollment is approximately 8000 undergraduate and graduate students representing most of the Mexican states and 20 countries. Of this total population, 7205 are undergraduate students and 895 are graduate students. They come from several states, and the distribution is the following: 33% are students from the state of Puebla, 26% are students from Mexico City, 36% are students from other states and 4.9% are International Students.

Location

The University is located in one of the oldest cities in the country.
Cholula is a very important archeological site and is located 7200 feet
above sea level in a valley surrounded by mountains, with a temperate and sunny climate. It is only five minutes from Puebla and 120 Kms from Mexico City. The city of Puebla was founded in 1531 by Juan Salmerón and by Fray Toribio de Benavente, and has been recently designated by UNESCO as a treasure of Colonial Architecture; moreover, it is among the five most important cities of Mexico.