History

The University Center of the Coast - CUC

 The Centro Universitario de la Costa origins in May 1994, when the University of Guadalajara starts the University Net, in the disposition to create educational spaces in the state of Jalisco, generated  six thematic centers and eight regional centers placed in the most dynamic zones, backed by an educative tradition of more than 200 years, which allowed that they were authentic factors of socioeconomic takeoff.

The University is established by a model of higher education to impulse social and cultural development in the region of Puerto Vallarta, attending the demand of townships of Talpa de Allende, Cabo Corrientes, Mascota, Tomatlán, San Sebastián del Oeste, and the southern part of Nayarit state.

As an answer for the educative demand in the local community, and the existence of competent human resources for the quality teaching, they are established careers like Tourism, Administration, Public Accounting and Law Attorney, where in the year of 1997 the career of Psychology and the Specialty in Family Therapy are added, which in 1998 became a Master’s degree, unique of the University Net at national level.

During the management period of 1994-1998 in charge of Dr. Armando Soltero Macías, the first cycle of Latin-American cinema opens, the cinema shows begin and the Festival of the Arts is consolidated as the most significant event in Puerto Vallarta in cultural terms. In the same period, the relationship department signed 50 agreements, related to support programs for the productive sector and services, strengthening the university support agreement for the sustained growth of Jalisco in the North Coast Region, increasing the business chairs in Puerto Vallarta for the first time.

In the year of 1998, the University Center of the Coast worked with 9 researchers related to oceanography coast areas, marine, and terrestrial ecology, seismology, aquaculture, and systemic family therapy, research was related to natural resources, seismology, psychology, and others, aiming to the environmental and social problems of Puerto Vallarta.

In 1999, already counting with a registration of 1,260 students, the careers of Engineering in Telematics and Civil Engineering begin, in the year of 2000, the Bachelor of Architecture and the Engineering in Multimedia Communication are offered, as well as the Masters in Administration, Law, and Taxes, later, in 2002, the degree in Design for Graphic Communication, thus increasing the enrollment to a total of 2,546 students.

In the year of 2003, the Degree in Computing, the Masters in Technologies for Learning, Sustainable Development and Tourism and Geophysics, as well as doctorates in Sustainable Development and Geophysics are offered, adding a total of 11 bachelor degrees and 9 postgraduate courses.

In this period, the infrastructure of the University Center grew significantly with works such as the EDULAB building, the inauguration of "Radio Universidad" and "Juan Luis Cifuentes Lemus" Auditorium with the capacity to promote massive events, housing a total of 643 people; In addition, a university bus was purchased, the bandwidth was expanded to 100% in the network, and the "Reptilario Cipactli" was build.

The University Center of the Coast had already celebrated 41 collaboration agreements among which stand out: The agreement with the University of Oviedo, Spain, the computer company Cisco Systems, The City Council of Puerto Vallarta and the INEGI.

In 2006, the General Council approved the Academic-Administrative Restructuring, with 3 divisions, of Social and Economic Studies, of Engineering and Biological Sciences and Health. What allowed that in 2007 the careers of Surgeon and Obstetrician, Degree in Nursing and Degree in Biology were offered.

Currently, the Centro Universitario de la Costa of the Universidad de Guadalajara has 4,630 students, 14 educational programs at the undergraduate level, where 8 are accredited, also offers 8 postgraduate programs, and total 88 full-time professors which 19 are members of the National System of Researchers (SNI), reflecting improvement in the quality of teaching.

We keep growing and our purpose is to meet as much as possible the demand for quality education of the population of Puerto Vallarta, which has increased to more than 2,000 applicants per semester, and to achieve this we continue working with infrastructure works such as engineering workshops, the central library that is projected as one of the largest and most complete in the region, and the academic building for decision making.