The University of the Andes (Spanish: Universidad de Los Andes, ULA) is the second-oldest university in Venezuela, whose main campus is located in the city of Mérida, Venezuela. ULA is the largest public university in the Venezuelan Andes, having one of the largest student bodies in the country. History ULA was initially established as a Catholic seminary on March 29, 1785 by the Bishop of Mérida, Friar Juan Ramos de Lora. De Lora called the newly founded house of studies "Real Colegio Seminario de San Buenaventura de Mérida", or Royal Seminary College of San Buenaventura of Mérida. The school was elevated to the status of Royal University of San Buenaventura of Mérida de los Caballeros on September 21, 1810, entitling it to confer junior and senior degrees in Philosophy, Medicine, Civil and Canonical (Catholic) Law, and Theology. Universidad de Los Andes maintained its affiliation with the Catholic Church until 1832, when the president of Venezuela, General José Antonio Páez, passed an act making it a secular institution. Currently, Universidad de Los Andes operates two campuses in Mérida, with about a dozen faculties spread throughout the city, as well as two satellite campuses in the other Venezuelan Andean states of Tachira and Trujillo. Academics Universidad de Los Andes offers undergraduate programs in the arts, sciences, literature, and humanities, long and short programs, as well as courses, degrees, post-graduate professional, magisterial and doctoral programs, specializations, diplomas, etc. Academic units Faculty of Architecture and Design School of Architecture School of Industrial Design Faculty of Arts School of Performing Arts School of Visual Arts and Graphic Design School of Music Faculty of Science School of Physics School of Mathematics School of Biology School of Chemistry Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences School of Business Administration School of Accounting School of Economics School of Statistics Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Science School of Forestry School of Geography and Renewable Resources School of Forestry Engineering Faculty of Judicial and Political Sciences School of Political Sciences School of Criminology School of Law Faculty de Pharmacy and Bioanalysis School of Bioanalysis School of Pharmacy Faculty of Humanities and Education School of Education School of History School of Modern Languages School of Letters School of Media Faculty of Engineering General Engineering School School of Civil Engineering School of Electrical Engineering School of Geological Engineering School of Mechanic Engineering School of Chemical Engineering School of Systems Engineering Faculty of Medicine