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University Directory · Latin America & Caribbean

Top 25 universities in Colombia

The 25 leading universities and higher education institutions in Colombia, ordered by the citations their research has received. Part of the WAC University Directory.

25 institutions listed · data October 2026

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  1. 1

    Universidad de Los Andes

    Bogotá, Bogota D.C., Colombia

    • 36,832 research works
    • 1.9 million citations
    • h-index 451
  2. 2

    Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL)

    Bogotá, Colombia

    • 98,596 research works
    • 1.5 million citations
    • h-index 323
  3. 3

    Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA)

    Medellín, Colombia

    • 60,976 research works
    • 1.3 million citations
    • h-index 302
  4. 4

    Pontificia Universidad Javeriana

    Bogotá, Bogota D.C., Colombia

    • 34,123 research works
    • 572 thousand citations
    • h-index 227
  5. 5

    Universidad del Valle

    Santiago de Cali, Colombia

    • 34,002 research works
    • 565 thousand citations
    • h-index 221
  6. 6

    Universidad Antonio Nariño (UAN)

    Bogotá, Colombia

    • 4,592 research works
    • 339 thousand citations
    • h-index 229
  7. 7

    Universidad del Rosario

    Bogotá, Bogota D.C., Colombia

    • 16,771 research works
    • 336 thousand citations
    • h-index 202
  8. 8

    Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS)

    Bucaramanga, Santander Department, Colombia

    • 18,003 research works
    • 316 thousand citations
    • h-index 166
  9. 9

    University of Cartagena

    Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia

    • 11,515 research works
    • 304 thousand citations
    • h-index 155
  10. 10

    Universidad del Norte

    Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia

    • 10,788 research works
    • 175 thousand citations
    • h-index 134
  11. 11

    Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB)

    Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia

    • 15,376 research works
    • 167 thousand citations
    • h-index 143
  12. 12

    Universidad El Bosque

    Bogotá, Colombia

    • 8,442 research works
    • 160 thousand citations
    • h-index 135
  13. 13

    Universidad de La Sabana

    Chía, Cundinamarca, Colombia

    • 10,286 research works
    • 156 thousand citations
    • h-index 129
  14. 14

    Technological University of Pereira (UTP)

    Pereira, Colombia

    • 7,726 research works
    • 137 thousand citations
    • h-index 120
  15. 15

    University of the Coast (Unicosta)

    Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia

    • 6,392 research works
    • 128 thousand citations
    • h-index 121
  16. 16

    University of Córdoba

    Montería, Córdoba, Colombia

    • 11,800 research works
    • 118 thousand citations
    • h-index 104
  17. 17

    Icesi University

    Cali, Valle del Cauca Department, Colombia

    • 6,578 research works
    • 107 thousand citations
    • h-index 126
  18. 18

    Universidad EAFIT

    Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia

    • 10,316 research works
    • 98 thousand citations
    • h-index 105
  19. 19

    Universidad De Santander (UDES)

    Bucaramanga, Santander Department, Colombia

    • 3,875 research works
    • 97 thousand citations
    • h-index 122
  20. 20

    University of Cauca

    Popayán, Cauca Department, Colombia

    • 8,826 research works
    • 90 thousand citations
    • h-index 96
  21. 21

    University of Caldas

    Manizales, Caldas Department, Colombia

    • 10,705 research works
    • 90 thousand citations
    • h-index 88
  22. 22

    Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia (UPTC)

    Tunja, Boyacá, Colombia

    • 12,027 research works
    • 88 thousand citations
    • h-index 82
  23. 23

    Universidad CES

    Medellín, Colombia

    • 7,235 research works
    • 88 thousand citations
    • h-index 94
  24. 24

    Universidad Simón Bolívar

    Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia

    • 7,111 research works
    • 85 thousand citations
    • h-index 104
  25. 25

    Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas (UD)

    Bogotá, Bogota D.C., Colombia

    • 14,555 research works
    • 81 thousand citations
    • h-index 85

Ordered by total research citations recorded in OpenAlex (October 2026). Works, citations and h-index are OpenAlex figures for the institution. How the list is made.

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About the directory

How institutions are chosen and ordered

The directory lists 1436 universities, colleges and higher education institutions in 199 countries and territories. In countries with 200 or more higher education institutions recorded in OpenAlex it lists the top 25; everywhere else, the top 5.

Institutions are ordered by the total number of citations their research has received, as recorded in OpenAlex, the open catalogue of the world’s research, with data taken in October 2026. This is a transparent, research-based order: it favours large research institutions and does not measure teaching quality, student experience or graduate outcomes. University systems are left out in favour of their campuses, and faculties or institutes are left out when their parent university is already listed. Names, cities and websites come from OpenAlex and the Research Organization Registry (ROR).

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