University of Magallanes

Overview

University of Magallanes

University of Magallanes (UMAG) is a public university in Punta Arenas, Chile. Established in 1961 as a part of the former Universidad Técnica del Estado, it became the Magellan Professional Institute before it eventually adopted its current name in 1981. A member of the Honorable Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities, UMAG is officially recognized by the National Accreditation Commission as one of the Chilean Traditional Universities.

University of Magallanes Key Statistics

UMAG’s educational structure is composed of several academic faculties. These include the Faculty of Health Sciences, the Faculty of Law, Economy and Business, the Faculty of Sciences, and the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in diverse areas of study, including engineering, medicine, law, and business.

It has a student population of more than 3,800 undergraduates and postgraduates. The university also employs over 500 academic and administrative staff members across its several campus locations. These include the main Punta Arenas campus, the Puerto Natales campus, and the Puerto Williams campus.

Other University of Magallanes key statistics are its wide range of academic and administrative facilities that include the Torres Del Paine National Park, the Regional Music Conservatory, an auditorium, health and wellness services, and student housing. It also houses a comprehensive library system that maintains a collection of academic works, newspaper archives, general collection, references, and reserves.

University of Magallanes Research

UMAG is one of the country’s top research institutions. Its top research priorities are Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Science, Human Settlement and Regional Identity in High Latitudes, Energy and Environment, and Human Development. It is funded through grants and fellowships awarded by public and private organizations such as the National Antarctic Institute of Chile, the International Antarctic Institute, and FAPESP.

The top three University of Magallanes research fields are biology, engineering, and control theory. Its researchers, students, and faculty members have also attended global research conferences and symposiums such as IECON: Conference of the Industrial Electronics Society, PESC: Power Electronics Specialists Conference, and WWW: The Web Conference.

Its most cited research work is Bravo-Ureta et al.’s (2007) “Technical efficiency in farming: A meta-regression analysis,” which was published in the Journal of Productivity Analysis and has 569 citations to date. UMAG’s second most popular research output is Ahlstrom et al.’s (2015) “Historically unprecedented global glacier decline in the early 21st century,” which was published in the Journal of Glaciology and has been cited 509 times so far.

Meanwhile, its third most popular research output is Shepherd et al.’s (2018) “Mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet from 1992 to 2017.” This article, which talks about the satellite observations of the changing volume, flow, and gravitational attraction of the Antarctic ice sheet with modeling of its surface mass balance, was published in Nature and has been cited 465 times by students and research professionals worldwide throughout its publication.

Furthermore, there is an extensive range of University of Magallanes research centers, laboratories, and institutes on its premises. These include the Atmospheric Research Laboratory, the Institute of Physics, and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics.