Universidad del Pacifico (UP) is a private university in the Jesús MarÃÂa District of Lima, Peru.
It was established in 1962 by a group of Peruvian entrepreneurs supported by the Society of Jesus. Ranked as the most prestigious higher education institution in its fields of specialization in Peru (especially in economics), it is also one of the leading institutions of its kind in Latin American and is the first Peruvian university to be AACSB accredited in both undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It is also AMBA accredited.
The Society of Jesus co-founded the university and made the administrative and academic decisions necessary to establish it. Jesuits continue to make strategic decisions for UP, which is a member of the Association of Universities Entrusted to the Society of Jesus in Latin America â twenty-eight universities in fifteen countries of Latin America. The Society of Jesus together with the Board ensures compliance with principles behind the Universidad del Pacifico statutes.
The university specializes in Business Management and Economics.
At the undergraduate level, UP started off by offering bachelor's degrees in Economics, Business Administration and Accounting. In 2008, it became the first university in Peru to offer a management Engineering degree. That same year, Law was added to its degree programs. In 2011 two new departments were opened, International Business and Marketing. At the graduate level, it offers a Master of Business Administration, a Master of Finance and a Master of Economics. In August 2011, the university as well as its Post-Graduate school received the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business) accreditation. The graduate school is called now the Pacìfico Business School.
UP has approximately 5000 students enrolled. The academic year at the undergraduate level consists of two semesters, from late-March to July and mid-August to mid-December, with a 3 to 4 week break between. At the graduate level the academic year consists of three terms: JanuaryâÂÂApril, MayâÂÂAugust, and SeptemberâÂÂDecember. UP cooperates with other agencies to provide service-learning courses.
The university, through the Research Center of the university (Centro de Investigación de la Universidad del PacÃÂfico or CIUP, for short), conducts large-scale research projects within Peru and at the Latin American level, in matters of economic theory and trade, public policy, fiscal policy, environmental issues, human development, civil society, philanthropy, and SMEs development. Some of these are funded by the Kellogg Foundation, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and other regional development agencies.