HAVANA UNIVERSITY

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The University of Havana or UH was established on September 21, 1721 and is the oldest university in Cuba and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Its language of instruction is Spanish. It was first called “Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Gerónimo de la Habana.” Universities in those days needed a royal or papal authorization in order to be created, hence the “real” and “pontificia.” The two men who gave that authorization were Pope Innocent XIII and King Philip V of Spain.

The university changed its status to become a secular, royal and literary institution in 1842. Its name became “Real y Literaria Universidad de la Habana,” and later on, at the time of the Republicans, the name was changed to “Universidad Nacional.” First established in San Juan de Letrán located in Villa de San Cristóbal in Old Havana, the university was transferred on May 1, 1902 to a hill in the Vedado region of Havana.

The interior of the building was decorated by Armando Menocal y Menocal. The University of Havana is made up of 15 faculties and 14 research centers in different fields such as economics, science, social sciences and humanities. Up to 25 specialties in total are taught at the university.