and
Francisco de Paula Santander, founders of the University of Cartagena In 1826, General Francisco de Paula Santander's decree cleared the way for the creation of a university in the Caribbean region of Colombia and Cartagena de Indias was chosen as its location. On October 6, 1827, the Liberator
Simón Bolívar formalized the establishment of the University of Magdalena and the Isthmus, as Panama was part of Colombia at that time. Subsequently, due to territorial and political changes, the University of Central Magdalena became the University of Cartagena, initially based in the Cloister of St. Augustine, offering only two undergraduate programs: Law and Medicine. In the 1950s, the current university shield was officially adopted. In 1989, the university inaugurated the Health Campus, relocating the faculties of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Chemistry. In 2001, the Faculty of Science and Engineering moved to the Stone Bolivar Campus, followed by the Faculty of Economics in 2003. In 1993, the university established distance learning through the Regional Centers for Distance Education (CREAD). The university offers programs in the municipalities of Simití, Santa Rosa del Sur, Carmen de Bolívar, San Estanislao, Turbaco, and San Marcos Magangué. == Undergraduates ==