University of Talca

The University of Talca is a public university split between the Chilean cities of Talca, Santiago, Santa Cruz, Linares, and Curicó.

Established in 1981 after a merger between the University of Chile and State Technical University, it was one of the many manifestations of a growing desire for greater diffusion of higher education institutions outside of the capital, Santiago. Historically, most UT students have been the first in their family to go to university, and it has outreach centres in three of its cities.

The laid-back city of Talca, 250km south of Santiago, is one of Chile’s oldest, and was where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1818. As with many other towns and cities sin the region, it enjoys stunning views of the Andes mountains. 

The relatively small city of Curicó plays host to the second biggest campus and the majority of UT’s engineering courses. Safe, modern and affordable, Santiago is also Chile’s cultural capital, adorned with museums, galleries and street art. UT’s Santiago campus is a hub for postgraduate students but also teaches undergraduate law, political science and public administration, business engineering, and control management engineering. Its Colchagua Campus in the small town of Santa Cruz, nestled in Chile’s wine country in between Santiago and Talca, trains professional technicians. Linares, 50km south of Talca, offers agricultural management, fruit-growing and viticulture-based programmes.

UT has ranked among the leading universities in Chile and performs well compared to other universities in Latin America. It holds a strong belief in internationalisation and is keen to increase the number of mobility placements available to students.