National Autonomous University of Mexico
Traces to 1553. Heir to the colonial royal university, its campus is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Overview
The Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico opened in 1553, making UNAM's lineage the oldest in North America. Closed in the 19th century, it reopened as the modern autonomous university in 1910 under Justo Sierra. The 1950s Ciudad Universitaria, a unified modernist campus with Rivera and Siqueiros murals, earned UNESCO listing. Octavio Paz and Alfonso Garcia Robles, both Nobel laureates, studied here. With some 360,000 students across the system, UNAM is among the largest universities in the world. Its central library mosaic tower defines Mexico City's skyline.
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