University of Buenos Aires Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
University of Buenos Aires
Universidad de Buenos Aires

Motto	Argentum virtus robur et studium (Latin)
Motto in English	Argentine virtue is strength and study
Type	Public
Established	1821; 203 years ago (1821)
Budget	US$700 million (2015)
Rector	Alberto Barbieri
Academic staff	28,943 (2004)
Students	328,361 (2012)
Undergraduates	297,639 (2004)
Postgraduates	30,000 (2018)
Location	Buenos Aires , Argentina
Campus	Urban
Colors

The University of Buenos Aires (Spanish: Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one of the most prestigious universities in the region. It has educated 17 Argentine presidents, produced four of the country's five Nobel Prize laureates, and is responsible for approximately 40% of the country's research output. The QS World University Rankings currently places the UBA at number 66 in the world.

The university's academic strength and regional leadership make it attractive to many international students, especially at the postgraduate level. Just over 4 percent of undergraduates are foreigners, while 15 percent of postgraduate students come from abroad. The Faculty of Economic Sciences has the highest rate of international postgraduate students at 30 percent, in line with its reputation as a "top business school with significant international influence."

The University of Buenos Aires enrolls more than 328,000 students and is organized into 13 independent faculties. It administers 6 hospitals, 16 museums, 13 scientific institutes, 6 interdisciplinary commissions, 5 high schools, the Ricardo Rojas Cultural Center, the Cosmos Cinema, the University of Buenos Aires Symphony Orchestra, and Eudeba (Editorial Universitaria de Buenos Aires), the country's largest university press.

Undergraduate programs at the University of Buenos Aires are free of charge for everyone, regardless of nationality. Tuition from postgraduate programs helps fund the UBA's social mission to provide free university education for all.

Common Basic Cycle

Entry to any of the available programs of study in the university is open to anyone with a secondary school diploma; in most cases, students who have successfully completed high school must pass a first year called CBC, which stands for Common Basic Cycle (Ciclo Básico Común). This program was designed to ensure a standardized academic background for all students seeking undergraduate degrees at the UBA.

The CBC consists of 6 or 7 subjects (which vary depending on the chosen faculty's program of study), each having a duration of one semester (March–July or August–November), and are often taken in groups of 3 or 4 subjects per semester. Thus, it's possible for the Cycle to take only one year, though students are given up to three years to finish it. Potential students of economics, instead, take a 2-year common cycle, the "CBG" (General Basic Cycle), comprising 12 subjects.

Only upon completion may the student enter the chosen faculty; until then, they must attend courses in different buildings depending on where they are available.