or not. UCR counts Costa Rica's Nobel Laureate Oscar Arias, ex-Presidents, many ministers, and many heads of the country's public institutions as alumni. UCR is also part of the (National Council of University Rectors), a watchdog body that overviews higher education quality, and recognition of university-level degrees from foreign countries. For many years, UCR grew in close partnership with public action of the State, forming the professional staff necessary for the growth of new public institutions such as the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), the Costa Rican Social Security Fund may Social (CCSS) and the State Bank. Reputation and rankings Currently, the university occupies the first place in Central America and the Caribbean, 19th place in Latin America and 511-520th place worldwide in the QS World University Rankings. In the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities it occupies the 4th place in Central America and the Caribbean, 28th in Latin America and 844 globally. International cooperation The university maintains international cooperation alliances with the DAAD (the German Academic Trust), the governments of Japan, France, Mexico, Spain, Taiwan (R.O.C.), the European Union, the OAS and United States research institutions such as the Organization for Tropical Studies, whose headquarters in Costa Rica are located within UCR's central campus (Rodrigo Facio campus). Other universities with ties to the University of Costa Rica are: University of Florida, State University of New York at Albany, University of Texas at Austin, University of Illinois, University of Maryland, Rutgers University and the University of Kansas, which is the oldest standing agreement between two universities in the Western Hemisphere . The university maintains academic relationships with more than 41 countries, including (in alphabetical order): Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Honduras, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jamaica, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan (R.O.C.), Uruguay, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela. Organization UCR is divided into six major academic areas: Agricultural Sciences, Arts and Letters, Basic Sciences, Engineering, Health and Social Sciences. These areas are divided into colleges, schools and departments, research centers and institutes. The Graduate Studies System offers masters and doctorate degrees in a variety of academic fields. Research institutes The university manages 42 research institutes: Center of Studies on Latin American Identity and Culture (CIICLA) Institute of Linguistic Research (INIL) Institute