Central American University – Managua (Universidad Centroamericana – UCA) is a private Catholic university located in Managua, Nicaragua. It was founded in July 1960 by the Society of Jesus on land donated by the Somoza family and was the first private university in Central America. It numbers among its alumni Daniel Ortega, who did not graduate, Daisy Zamora, and Ernesto Leal. On August 16, 2023, the government seized the university and renamed it Universidad Nacional Casimiro Sotelo Montenegro. (Another Jesuit institution called "UCA" was founded in El Salvador in 1965 and is more fully named Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas.)
Academics
Courses
Faculty of Law
Law degree
Faculty of Humanities and Communication
Degree in communication
Degree in psychology
Bachelor of Social Work and Development Management
Degree in teaching English as a foreign language
Degree in sociology
Bachelor of Arts and Philosophy
Faculty of Science, Technology, and Environment
Architecture
Information systems engineering
Network engineering and telecommunications
Industrial engineering
Environmental engineering
Civil engineering
Degree in graphic design
Faculty of Business Economics
Master in business administration
Degree in applied economics
Degree in public accounting and auditing
Degree in finance
BA in marketing
Centers of learning
Centro Superior de Idiomas (CSI) at UCA offers a variety of programs open to all who are interested in studying languages: English (for children, adolescents, and adults as well as ESL), German, French, Japanese,) Russian, and Spanish for foreigners. An MA in English is also offered.
Center for Molecular Biology (CBM) was established at the Faculty of Science and Technology at UCA in 1999 with financial help from the Pew Foundation, New England Biolabs, WHO, and the University of California San Francisco. As the first molecular research center in Nicaragua it addresses human, economic, and industrial development as well as environmental, agricultural, and health issues. It has grown to include a DNA diagnostic utility for the police and the judicial system, paternity tests, and numerous other programs including graduate education. It organizes the National Biotechnology Congress which includes Nobel prize winners among its participants, and helps shape public policy.
Artistic groups
Cocurricular activities include classes which meet several hours a week: chorus, lyric singing, artistic dance, experimental theater, group singing and vocal technique, and creative writing.
Exchange programs
In 2016 UCA had exchange programs with 51 universities in 20 countries worldwide.
Job placement
The University assists students and alumni to make contact with private and public institutions for both temporary internships and more permanent placement. At the same time UCA strives to provide solutions to problems facing various institutions and businesses in the country, thereby contributing to the development of the country.
Sports
UCA treats sports as integral to the formation of students and a means whereby the university models healthy living. UCA offers students the opportunity to learn and develop their talents in 11 different sports: volleyball, table tennis, basketball, indoor soccer, karate, taekwondo, judo, chess, tennis, sambo, and self-defense. Sports with intramural tournaments are basketball, volleyball, indoor soccer, table tennis, and chess. Seventy percent of the students who play on UCA interscholastic teams also play on various national teams. The UCA volleyball coach Rene Quintana is the Central American representative for the International Commission of NORCECA Volleyball Championships. She has been recognized in the national hall of fame for coaching 23 national championship teams over the past 30 years.
Spirituality
Workshops for reflection and personal growth. These are open to students, graduates, teachers, and university workers.
Systemic Family Configurations: transgenerational, therapeutic techniques used for personal and group processes.
UCA Healthy promotes care of one's health and facilitates healthy lifestyles in the UCA community.
Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, an ordered sequence of meditations and contemplations fostering a greater awareness of God in one's life.