Diego Portales University (Chile)

Universidad Diego Portales (UDP) was founded in 1982. It was an initiative of the founders of the Professional Institute of Sales and Advertising (IPEVE) which at that time had been in existence for almost 20 years (1963). In 1983, the university embarked on its academic programme with the creation of three faculties: the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Administrative Sciences, and the Faculty of Psychology. In 1989, two new faculties were created: the Faculty of Information and Communications and the Faculty of Engineering Sciences. In 1991, the university decided to undergo the process of national accreditation with the aim of attaining the status of Autonomous University. On March 18, 1993, the Superior Council for Education in plenary session ratified Universidad Diego Portales as successfully fulfilling its institution mission, for which it was designated as having “Full Institutional Autonomy”, authorized to bestow all categories of academic degree and title independently. Since 1993, the university has embarked on consolidation and growth in its academic programme. In 1994, degree courses in Advertising and Design were transferred from IPEVE to Universidad Diego Portales, and the Bachelor of Arts degree programme was introduced. In 1999, the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Fine Arts was created and the Faculty of Humanities founded.

In 2002, Universidad Diego Portales took a step in its growth with the creation of new programs and its incursion into two new fields of knowledge: Health and Education. UDP that same year designed a plan for long-term infrastructure growth, involving the issue of a Security Bond guaranteed by the World Bank for approximately US$25 million, thus becoming the first educational institution to use this type of financing.

In 2004 Universidad Diego Portales became one of the first private universities to achieve institutional accreditation as a university from the National Undergraduate Accreditation Commission (CNAP) in three areas: Institutional Management, Undergraduate Teaching, and Equipment and Infrastructure.