Higher Education System of Argentina

Argentine higher education comprises both public and private universities. The public universities are tuition free and are funded by the federal government.  In 1995, the government set up an independent organization- CONEAU (National Commission of University Evaluation and Accreditation), which is responsible for institutional evaluation and accreditation of undergraduate and graduate programmes. Also, the Argentina universities and institutes are governed by the Ministry of Education. 

This level offers degrees in education or technical fields, such as technicians or teachers.

This level offers professional studies at universities in a wide range of academic domains, thereby resulting in degrees, licenses and titles for attorneys and doctors.

This level is research-oriented and offers specialized education. It offers specialist degrees, master’s degrees and doctoral degrees.

Law: Law No. 24.521, 1995

Deals with: Higher education

Universities (universidades): Universities offer undergraduate programmes (grado), postgraduate programmes (posgrado), specialist advanced programmes (especializaciones) and PhD programmes (doctorados).

University Institutes (Institutos universitarios): These higher education institutions are specialist institutes that offer courses in the areas of police training, defence and aviation. These institutions offer programmes that result in the degree of Licenciado or Titulo Profesional (a professional qualification).

Undergraduate programmes focus on a particular field of study. The basic undergraduate degree programme, called the Licenciatura, needs about 5-6 years of study. The Licenciatura degree permits pupils to apply directly to doctoral degree programmes without any other additional degrees.

The postgraduate degree programmes are provided by both public and private universities in Argentina, and include master's, specialisation and doctorate degrees. 

The professional degrees in Argentina are awarded by the teacher training colleges and technical institutions. With this degree, students can work in health and technology related professions, teaching, etc. 

Admission to higher education in Argentina requires a Bachiller (en) / Tecnico (en) secondary school diploma. The Argentina higher education institutions admission requirements may vary. 

To know in detail about the admission to Argentina higher education, click here.

Most of the higher education institutions in Argentina use a number system ranging from 0-3 to 10, with 0-3 being unsatisfactory and 10 refers to outstanding. The passing grade is 4. 

To know more about the grading system of Argentina higher education, click here.

The country’s largest university is the Universidad de Buenos Aires. The Universidad de Buenos Aires is the highest ranked university of Argentina. It is ranked 209th in the 2013/14 QS World University Rankings and 12th in the 2013 QS University Rankings: Latin America.

 The Universidad Austral is a private, Catholic university that is placed at 317th positionin the world in the 2013/14 World University Rankings.

The Pontificia Universidad Catolica Argentina Santa Maria de los Buenos Aires, also called Universidad Catolica Argentina, or simply UCA, is ranked 321st in the 2013/14 international rankings.

The Instituto Tecnologico de Buenos Aires (ITBA) is a private university and is placed at 390th position in the world (2013/14). This institution mainly emphasizes information technology, business and engineering.