Universidad del Valle de Guatemala

Key facts

Checked against the sources listed at the bottom of this page on 8 November 2026.

About Universidad del Valle de Guatemala

UVG is a private, not-for-profit and secular university founded in 1966 by a private foundation that had previously overseen the American School of Guatemala.^[1] The university’s own history page says it began as an initiative of the parents’ association of that school and has operated for more than 55 years.^[8]

It has three campuses: the Central campus in Guatemala City; the Sur campus in Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa, Escuintla; and the Altiplano campus in Sololá.^[2] The history page says the Sur campus opened in 1995 and the Altiplano campus began operating in 2000, on a former military base closed under the 1996 Peace Accords.^[8] The campus page says the Sur campus was built in 1994 and the Altiplano campus in 2000.^[2] The sources differ by a year on Sur, so we do not give a single opening date.

On enrolment, the history page says UVG has more than 4,000 students across its three sites, while Wikipedia’s infobox gives about 3,000 with no year. We use the university’s figure.^[8][1] UVG says it is the only Guatemalan university with institutional accreditation from the French agency Hcéres, and that its engineering programmes are accredited by ACAAI, the Central American accreditation agency for architecture and engineering programmes.^[9]

How is UVG ranked?

UVG is in the 1201–1400 band of the QS World University Rankings 2027 (published 18 June 2026). A Panamanian newspaper report on the edition lists it as “Rango 1201-1400”, and the XuanXiao profile shows the same band, unchanged from 2026.^[3][10]

In QS Latin America & The Caribbean 2027, XuanXiao lists UVG at 132 with a score of 41.2, one place behind the University of San Carlos of Guatemala.^[4] The university describes itself as the number 1 private university in Central America and Panama according to QS.^[12] Rankings differ by publisher and year, so treat one position as one view. How we compile rankings. Back to the Guatemala ranking.

What can you study at UVG?

UVG offers teaching diplomas (profesorados), bachelor’s-level degrees (licenciaturas), master’s programmes under the name UVGMasters, and doctoral programmes appear in the site’s programme menu.^[7][13] The 2026 price list for first-entry students groups the degrees as follows:^[5]

• Colegio Universitario (Baccalaureatus in Artibus / in Scientiis)
• Design, Innovation & Arts School: for example music composition and production, product design and innovation
• Faculty of Social Sciences: for example anthropology, archaeology, psychology, international relations
• Faculty of Sciences and Humanities: for example biology, biochemistry and microbiology, physics, chemistry, nutrition
• Faculty of Engineering: for example civil, electronic, mechanical, chemical and mechatronic engineering, and computer science and information technology
• Bridge Business School and the School of Architecture
• Faculty of Education (its price list is separate)

The list is not exhaustive. See the UVG website for the full catalogue.

How much does UVG cost in 2026?

UVG’s price list for first-entry students, academic cycle 2026, is in Guatemalan quetzales (Q). The enrolment fee is Q2,810 for the first semester and Q2,810 for the second. Each semester has five monthly instalments. The table shows the monthly amounts for three example degrees and the first-semester totals printed on the price list; the price list says the table covers only the academic cost of the first semester.^[5]

The first-semester totals are the sums of the three printed totals for courses, laboratories and digital resources (our addition); the enrolment fee of Q2,810 comes on top.^[5] Most degrees on the list use the Q6,442.80 monthly course fee; the laboratory charge varies by degree. The list does not state a different price for foreign students. The Faculty of Education has its own price list, which we did not read.^[5]

UVG also offers scholarships and credits; the pages we read give no amounts.^[13] For the fee schedule of later years and of master’s programmes, write to admisiones@uvg.edu.gt.^[14]

How do you apply to UVG?

For licenciaturas the process runs through UVG’s online admissions portal:^[6]

1. Create a user, verify your e-mail, fill in the form and upload your documents: a photo, official certificates from the first year of lower secondary (1º básico) to the fourth or fifth year of upper secondary (diversificado), and your ID.
2. Pay the admission test online: Q295, valid for three months.
3. Take the test (virtual or in person); it includes the PAA, an academic aptitude test, and if you took the PAA elsewhere you can authorise UVG to check the result with the College Board.
4. Check the result in the portal after about two to three weeks. If you are admitted, pre-enrolment opens.

Foreign applicants submit a passport instead of the Guatemalan ID (DPI) or birth certificate. The page does not list further requirements for foreigners.^[6] After a failed test you wait two months and pay Q295 again; you can retake as often as you like.^[14]

We give no deadlines here because they change every year. The portal and the admissions e-mail (admisiones@uvg.edu.gt) give the current calendar.^[14]

Which language level do you need?

We found no page on which UVG states the language of instruction or a required Spanish certificate for foreign applicants; the admission pages are in Spanish.^[6] Once enrolled, students must reach CEFR B2 in English before handing in the graduation thesis. The Versant and ELASH tests decide whether English courses are needed: a result of 57 or more on Versant, or 141 or more on ELASH, exempts a student from the English courses, with a Q400 validation fee.^[11]

More about studying in Guatemala

• Guatemala: best universities
• Cost of Studying Abroad
• International Student Scholarships
• University Ranking Methodology

More university profiles in Guatemala

• Rafael Landívar University
• University of San Carlos of Guatemala