Universidad Francisco Marroquín

Universidad Francisco Marroquín ("Francisco Marroquín University") is a private, secular, university in Guatemala City, Guatemala that was founded in 1971. According to the school's website, "[t]he mission of Universidad Francisco Marroquín is to teach and disseminate the ethical, legal and economic principles of a society of free and responsible persons." The website also states that UFM "has the most rigorous entrance requirements in the country."

Started by members of Centro de Estudios Economico-Sociales ("Center for the Study of Socioeconomics") with $40,000 and 125 students, UFM now (as of 2005) boasts almost 1700 undergraduate students, 474 graduate students, 450 medical/dental students, and 130 non-degree-seeking students.[1] The university also offers instruction via the distance learning program, referred to by its acronym: IDEA. In 1998, the distance learning program had more than 10,000 students enrolled. The language of instruction is Spanish, but since many course texts and some lectures are in English, students are expected to be proficient in that tongue as well.

According to Milton Friedman, UFM is "...a first-rate university that is having a significant effect on the climate of opinion in Latin America. I know of hardly any comparable success story..."

General Information

Mission statement The mission of Universidad Francisco Marroquín is to teach and disseminate the ethical, legal and economic principles of a society of free and responsible persons.

Characteristics Founded in 1971. Private, secular, coeducational, nonresidential, nonprofit.

Degrees awarded Associate, profesorado (for secondary school teachers), licenciatura (licentiate), magister (artium and scienciae), M.D., D.D.S, doctorate.

Academic disciplines Architecture, business administration, clinical nutrition, dentistry, economics, education, international relations, law, medicine, political studies, public accounting, psychology, social sciences.

Academic calendar The academic year in Guatemala begins in January and ends in November. Undergraduate programs operate on a semester system; graduate on a quarter system. Most undergraduate programs have a six-week semester break, from the beginning of June to mid-July. Commencements are in May and November.

Admissions policy UFM targets the brightest students for admission and it has the most rigorous entrance requirements in the country. The University is emphatic that selection of students be based solely on academic criteria. No information on ability to pay, ethnic, religious, or other affiliations is requested at any point in the admissions process. Students of all religions are represented, as are members of Guatemala's Maya ethnic community. Women generally comprise between 47% and 50% of the student body.

Enrollment Enrollment 2007 Total degree programs 2,650 Undergraduate 1,709 Graduate 451 Medical/Dental 490

Language of instruction Spanish. Knowledge of English is required of all students at the undergraduate level (acceptable TOEFL or ELASH score is a degree requirement). Students at this level are expected to be able to handle reading assignments and lectures in English. Many key texts used at the University are available only in English and this is often the language of instruction in seminars, courses and lectures given by visiting professors.

Governing boards Board of trustees (fifty members) and board of directors (nine members).

Degrees

In Guatemala, as in most of Latin America, the educational system concentrates students in their academic or professional discipline from the time of admission. Following secondary school, students are admitted to a particular school or department and, beginning the first year, follow a prescribed program leading to a degree.

Undergraduate Licenciatura degree (Licentiate)In most of Latin America, the degree that is most commonly awarded to undergraduate students is called licenciatura. Traditionally, it includes several more academic credits than a B.A. or B.S. Disciplines:Architecture; business administration; clinical nutrition; economics; education; international relations; law; political studies; public accounting and auditing; psychology (clinical and industrial).

M.D. / D.D.S. Students are admitted directly into medical and dental schools as high school graduates. They follow a three-year program of basic science studies, upon completion of which they receive a B.S. degree. This is followed by four years of medical or three of dental studies, and one year of internship for medical students (none for dental students). Upon completion, graduates receive an M.D. or D.D.S. degree.

Associate degree Disciplines: Art history; personnel administration.

Profesorado degree The profesorado is a specialized degree for secondary school teachers. In many cases, it is required for employment. Disciplines: Art history; computer studies; social sciences and language.

Graduate Master degree Disciplines: Business administration (MBA); entrepreneurial economics; international political economy; international relations; finance and taxation; management of human resources; social sciences. The MBA program offers the possibility of online and/or traditional classroom instruction. The entrepreneurial economics and the international political economy programs are available only through online instruction. The former also requires two weeks of traditional classroom instruction at the School of Management in Boston University.

Master degree in the following medical specialties: internal medicine; ophthalmology; pediatrics; radiology.

Doctoral degree Economics; law; social sciences

Specialization The Department of Psychology offers specialization programs that work as a platform for a master's degree abroad. Disciplines: Psychobiology; learning skills.

Academic Disciplines

Areas of instruction include:

• architecture
• business administration
• clinical nutrition
• dentistry
• economics
• education
• international relations
• journalism
• law
• medicine (internal medicine; ophthalmology; pediatrics; radiology)
• nutrition
• political studies
• accounting
• psychology
• social sciences

Departments

Ludwig von Mises Library Webpage (in Spanish): [[2](http://www.biblioteca.ufm.edu.gt/quienessomos/default.asp)] The library at UFM has 100,000 visitors annually and is the most extensive collection of works on liberty in Latin America. There is a collection of the private libraries of prominent intellectuals and collectors: Jose Cecilio del Valle, founding father of Central American independence. Carlos Elmenhorst, collector of Central American books and maps. William Hutt, South African author and economist. Gordon Tullock, co-founder of the school of Public Choice Sir Alan Walters, economic advisor to Margaret Thatcher.

At the beginning of the New Millenium the Library started offering access to digital resources. It is subscribed to other services in this area including EBSCOHost databases, Oxford Scholarship Online, xRefer Plus and UpToDate, MDConsult and others.

The library was chosen amongst all the libraries around the World within the 10 libraries to receive the Elsevier donation of 670 titles. The library site received a Golden Award in Guatemala for the best educational website.

Henry Hazlitt Center Webpage (in Spanish): [[3] (http://chh.ufm.edu/)] The purpose of the Henry Hazlitt Center is to coordinate the courses of Economic Process (I,II and III)and Social Philosophy (Hayek, and the Austrian School) that are offered to all the students at UFM in Pregrad level, in all the schools. It also offers seminars and lectures for professors in order to improve their academic and pedagogic skills.

Arboretum Webpage (in Spanish): [[4](http://arboretum.ufm.edu/)] Awakening and cultivating the love for nature and conservation of plants and animals in the Campus. The land where the University Francisco Marroquin stands, is a remnant of the Montano Forest, pine and Encino trees, that used to cover Guatemala’s surface. The beautiful gardens that the University has have been carefully designed to integrate native and exotic species that have been admired by students and visitors. Since the beginning preservation of this forest was a priority to the point where the Ludwig von Mises Library arquitectural design of the buildings was done so the trees were kept as intact as possible. We decided to take our effort much further and this is why the Arboretum was created so now we are preserving and studying many species.

New Media Department Webpage (in Spanish): [[5] (http://www.newmedia.ufm.edu/)] CREATION, IMPLEMENTATION & EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF DIGITAL RESOURCES The New Media Department specializes in streaming audio and video conferences in English and Spanish on topics related to classical liberal thought. Sampler MILTON AND ROSE FRIEDMAN’S Free to Choose series (in Spanish) http://www.newmedia.ufm.edu.gt/freetochoose JAMES BUCHANAN conference at UFM for the opening of Latin America’s first Public Choice center (2001) http://www.newmedia.ufm.edu.gt/buchanan VERNON SMITH honorary doctorate ceremony at UFM (2004) http://www.newmedia.ufm.edu.gt/vsmith Interview in 2002 of MILTON AND ROSE FRIEDMAN for the MPS General Meeting in London http://www.newmedia.ufm.edu.gt/miltonross The New Media digital library includes 1,500 hours of digitized and indexed educational material, and receives over 1,000 visitors daily from around the world.

Popol Vuh Museum Webpage: [[6] (http://www.popolvuh.ufm.edu/eng/#)] The Popol Vuh Museum offers its visitors a unique journey through Guatemalan history, illustrated by one of the best collections of prehispanic and colonial art in the country. The museum is a scientific, private, non lucrative organization part of Universidad Francisco Marroquín. The museum’s objectives include: conservation, investigation and the popularization of Guatemala’s cultural and archeological heritage.

Journals

• Apuntes de Economía y Política (Public Choice Newsletter)
• Arquitemas (Journal of the School of Architecture)
• Eleutheria (Philosophy Department)
• Laissez-Faire (Economics Journal)
• Revista de la Facultad de Derecho (Law Review)

Notable Recipients of Honorary Degrees from UFM

• José María Aznar (former Prime Minister of Spain)
• James M. Buchanan (Nobel Prize in Economics laureate)
• Michael DeBakey (Heart surgeon)
• Michael Deaver (Reagan Advisor)
• Steve Forbes (Publisher)
• Viktor Frankl (Psychologist)
• Milton Friedman (Nobel Prize in Economics laureate)
• Friedrich Hayek (Nobel Prize in Economics laureate)
• Jeane Kirkpatrick (Ambassador)
• Václav Klaus (former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic)
• Mario Vargas Llosa (Novelist)
• William Middendorf, II (Ambassador)
• Robert Sirico (Clergyman, founder of the Acton Institute)
• John Stossel (Award-winning television news host, writer, and author.)
• Vernon Smith (Nobel Prize in Economics laureate)

See also

• List of universities in Guatemala

External links

• Universidad Francisco Marroquín - Francisco Marroquin University
• UFM - Biblioteca Ludwig von Mises
• UFM - New Media Department
• ATLAS LIBERTAS - UFM Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged"
• article about the Francisco Marroquin University in French
• Viennese Party at The Francisco Marroquin University, New Media
• UFM Arboretum
• Libertate Viam Facere. Objectivism and Ayn Rand
• CADEP (Center for the Analysis of Public Choice Decisions)
• Henry Hazlitt Center