Finis Terrae University, is a private, Roman Catholic institution founded in 1988. Despite a name that might suggest to Chile’s physical or climatic extremes, it is found at the country's centre in the capital city of Santiago.
It has grown rapidly in recent years, more than doubling its enrolment in the third decade of its existence. The number of students studying on the campus concentrated in seven buildings between the Valdivia and Amberes avenues in the Providencia district has risen by 35 per cent in four years to reach just over 9,000 – including 1,500 postgraduates – by 2019.
The Dean, Christian Nazer, has described it as "at a hinge moment to move from a teaching university project to one of greater complexity". Expansion is set to continue, with around $40m investment planned over the next five years.
Since 1999 it has been affiliated with the Legionaries of Christ order. It is the one Chilean affiliate to the predominantly Mexican Anahuac network of universities attached to the order.
With a mission to "defeat evil with good" and a curriculum based on the "formative Model" which addresses "all dimensions of man", it is a predominantly technical and professional institution, although an arts element is supported by a School of Theatre since 1998. Evening courses are offered in accountancy, law and engineering.
For the last six years social engagement has incorporated an annual health faculty mission to the city of Cabildo, which in 2019 treated 388 patients.
Students in 2019 included Rosario Balmaceda, reading nutrition and dietetics, and was a member of Chile’s Women’s Football World Cup squad in France.
