The Duoc Foundation of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile—DuocUC (or the University Worker-Peasant Department of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile) is a Chilean higher technical-professional institution, created on November 16, 1968, organized as a Professional Institute, and constituted as a non-profit, autonomous, ecclesiastical foundation and subsidiary of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
The institution is an accredited in Chile, and provides technical and professional degrees through practical and industry-focused programs.
Nowadays it has 20 campuses, more than 103,000 students and ca. 3,169 teachers. Its rector is Carlos Díaz Vergara.
Contents
History
DuocUC was founded in 1968 under the name "University Worker-Peasant Department of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile" (Departamento Universitario Obrero Campesino de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) to give free education to students from lower social backgrounds, children of workers and farmers in particular. This practice was already being conducted by the University of Chile and especially the State Technical University (UTE), which was immersed in the era of university reform university classrooms opened to workers and low-income students who could study technical courses at universities despite economic shortcomings.
Duoc grew rapidly and a year after its foundation it already had one campus and 475 students. The following year, the campuses tripled, and the number of students grew to 3,033. In 1972 DuocUC already had 30,000 students enrolled in its courses and programs. The growth achieved in its early years prompted the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile to give legal autonomy and management, approving the creation of the Duoc Foundation, on 7 September 1973.
Campus
The institution's schools are present in 5 of the 16 Regions of Chile (2023).
The patrimonial and university extension building of Santiago can also be seen virtually.
Schools and programs
Currently, DuocUC has 9 schools distributed over 20 campuses (2023) where Professional and Technical level careers are taught:
School of Administration and Business
School of Communication
School of Construction
School of Design
School of Gastronomy
School of Informatics and Telecommunications
School of Engineering and Natural Resources
School of Health
School of Tourism and Hospitality
Specialization and continuing education
Through the specialization programs, people and companies can opt for different courses, diplomas and also study plans, transforming them into complete study plans that allow the student to articulate and validate careers of the institution or also to focus them on their professional development.
Extension and Branches UC
See the main list with hyperlinks available in: DuocUC on spanish wikipedia.
International Networks
DuocUC is an important actor within the Professional Technical field at a global and national level, being part of important international networks, thus providing opportunities for development and professional improvement to our students and foreign students:
Membership in International Networks
World federation of colleges and polytechnics
International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art Media and Design Archived 2 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine
International Council of Design
International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (WDO)
Audio Engineering Society
Global University Network for Innovation
Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management
International Medical Informatics Association
The Broadcast Education Association
Inter-American Centre for Knowledge Development in Vocational Training
SUNY COIL Network
Design Factory Global Network
International Accreditation
The School of Design became accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) in 2015
In 2015 the English Program at DuocUC achieved the Oxford Quality Gold Category from Oxford University Press
In 2012 our Biomedical Computing program received internacional accreditation by the International Medical Informatics Association.
Collaborative Projects
Design Factory DuocUC Design Factory is a Space of Collaborative Innovation based on the Design Factory model from the Aalto University in Finland. This center encourages the students' training and creativity as the fundamental component of the skills to innovate.
The Design Factory Global Network (DFGN) currently operates in eleven institutions of higher education around the world. The objective of this network and its partner members is to be the leader in international university collaboration, beyond academic boundaries.
Institutional bond
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Archbishop of Santiago
Annexed to Pontifical University, Holy See, Vatican State
Notable alumni
María Elena Swett, Chilean actress.
Patricio "Pato" Escala Pierart, Chilean animator and film producer.
Fernanda Urrejola, Chilean actress.
Christiane Endler, Chilean footballer.