Universidad Especializada de las Américas

The Universidad Especializada de las Américas (UDELAS) is a Panamanian public higher-education institution founded in 1997. It was created through the initiative of a group of professionals led by Dr. Berta Torrijos de Arosemena, a key figure in Panamanian special education and inclusion who had directed the Instituto Panameño de Habilitación Especial (IPHE) between 1968 and 1978. The university was conceived to respond to the real needs of historically excluded sectors, particularly in special education and social pedagogy, and to offer innovative degree programs that address the productive needs of the country. UDELAS describes itself as a center of excellence where education, research and innovation converge. Its academic model is built around four faculties and more than 34 available programs, including undergraduate degrees, postgraduate diplomas, master's degrees and doctorates. The institution reports more than 50,000 graduated students, over 35 bachelor's degrees, more than 60 postgraduate and master's programs, two doctorates, four faculties and five university extensions. Its historical focus areas are special education, health sciences and social commitment, with programs such as nursing, physiotherapy, speech therapy, educational informatics teaching, special education, psychology, social and therapeutic education, and criminal investigation. The university operates from its main campus in the Ancón district of Panama City, at Albrook on Paseo Diógenes de la Rosa, and maintains regional extensions in David (Chiriquí), Santiago (Veraguas), Colón, Penonomé (Coclé) and Azuero (Los Santos). It also runs the Centro Interdisciplinario de Atención e Investigación en Educación y Salud (CIAES), a unit attached to the Rector's office that provides specialized services in health, rehabilitation, social and special education, and research. UDELAS is state-owned and positions itself as a university that transforms lives and contributes to the sustainable development of Panama.

UDELAS was founded in 1997 as a Panamanian state higher-education institution. Its creation was the result of an initiative by a group of professionals who believed that universities could respond with their own initiative to the multiple demands of contemporary society. The process was led by Dr. Berta Torrijos de Arosemena, founder and first rector of the institution. Dr. Torrijos de Arosemena was a key figure in Panamanian education, a promoter of special education and inclusion, and had served as director of the Instituto Panameño de Habilitación Especial (IPHE) between 1968 and 1978. She was also recognized as a defender of public policies aimed at the care of persons with disabilities. The creation of the university was based on a vision oriented toward growth, social cohesion and the incorporation of all sectors into the world of knowledge, considered indispensable for the full exercise of freedom and social justice. It was a right with a legitimate aspiration to be exercised, a purpose that had been proposed for several decades, aimed at achieving a qualitative leap in the field of Special Education and Social Pedagogy in Panama and Latin America. The process and its consolidation as a project backed by law were characterized by innovation, creativity, quality and firmness. Its relevance arose from the real needs of the population rather than administrative spaces, recognizing and assuming that call as an irreversible commitment to historically excluded sectors, such as children at risk, persons affected by substance use, and older adults. Over the years, UDELAS has consolidated its model around special education, health sciences and social commitment. It has expanded its academic offerings to include undergraduate, postgraduate, master's and doctoral programs distributed across four faculties. The university has also established five regional extensions in David (Chiriquí), Santiago (Veraguas), Colón, Penonomé (Coclé) and Azuero (Los Santos). It operates the Centro Interdisciplinario de Atención e Investigación en Educación y Salud (CIAES), a unit attached to the Rector's office that provides specialized services in health, rehabilitation, social and special education, and research. The institution reports more than 50,000 graduated students, over 35 bachelor's degrees, more than 60 postgraduate and master's programs, two doctorates, four faculties and five university extensions. Its main campus is located in the Ancón district of Panama City, at Albrook on Paseo Diógenes de la Rosa.

• 2026

  UDELAS holds the first International Congress on Biosciences, Public Health and Technological Innovation and the II Interdisciplinary Congress of Clinical Medical Sciences.

• 1997

  UDELAS is founded as a Panamanian state higher-education institution.

• 1968

  Dra. Berta Torrijos de Arosemena begins her tenure as director of the Instituto Panameño de Habilitación Especial (IPHE), which lasts until 1978.

A state specialized university focused on special education, health sciences and social commitment, offering innovative programs that respond to Panama's real needs.

• Bachelor's degree in Nursing

  Undergraduate program in nursing sciences.

• Bachelor's degree in Physiotherapy

  Undergraduate program in physiotherapy.

• Bachelor's degree in Speech Therapy

  Undergraduate program in speech therapy.

• Bachelor's degree in Special Education

  Undergraduate program in special education.

• Bachelor's degree in Psychology

  Undergraduate program in psychology.

• Bachelor's degree in Social and Therapeutic Education

  Undergraduate program in social and therapeutic education.

• Bachelor's degree in Criminal Investigation

  Undergraduate program in criminal investigation.

• Postgraduate, Master's and Doctoral programs

  Advanced degrees including more than 60 postgraduate and master's programs and two doctorates.

1. 1Udelasudelas.ac.pa
2. 2Sobre Udelas – Udelasudelas.ac.pa
3. 3Fundación de UDELAS – Udelasudelas.ac.pa
4. 4Memoria Institucional – Udelasudelas.ac.pa
5. 5UDELASwikidata.org
6. 6Universidad Especializada de las Américases.wikipedia.org