The second oldest university is the University of the Andes. Established in 1810 as the "Real Universidad de San Buenaventura de Mérida de los Caballeros", its origins date back to 1785 when Fray Juan Ramos de Lora [es] founded a priest school in the city of Mérida.[2] The University of Zulia—the third-oldest university—was founded in 1891 when the Federal College of Maracaibo was converted into a university. The government ordered the closure of the university for political reasons in 1904, and it remained closed until 1946.[3] The University of Carabobo is the last to be founded before the twentieth century by being established in 1892 and dating back to 1833 when the College of Carabobo was created by presidential decree.[4]
The first private university established in the country was the Andres Bello Catholic University, founded in 1953 as the "Catholic University of Venezuela" under the government of Marcos Pérez Jiménez.[5] The development of the Nueva Esparta University begun when the Nueva Esparta College was established in 1954. After major improvements over the structure, the university was formally re-appointed under its current name.[6] Originally designed as an extension of the Andres Bello Catholic University in 1962, the Catholic University of Táchira was established as an autonomic university in 1982, becoming the second catholic university in the country.[7] The Metropolitan University's foundation dates back to 1960, when entrepreneur Eugenio Mendoza led a civil group to develop an institution "skilled to capacitate, with modern criteria, young students from all social classes." The university was finally established in 1970.[8]
List
Public
Public universities with foundation date and location
A Most universities have main headquarters and several additional campuses spread across the country where additional careers are taught. This column only lists the main headquarters' location.
C The Universidad Católica Santa Rosa was originally entitled "Universidad Santa Rosa" at the time of its foundation in 1999. The name was changed in 2003.[36]
^"Reseña Histórica" (in Spanish). Universidad Nacional Experimental de Guayana. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
^"Historia de la Institución" (in Spanish). Universidad de Los Llanos Centrales Rómulo Gallegos. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
^"Reseña Historica" (in Spanish). Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora. Archived from the original on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
^"Acerca de la UGMA" (in Spanish). Universidad Nororiental Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
^"Historia" (in Spanish). Universidad Panamericana del Puerto. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.