Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo

The Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo is one of Mexico's great public universities, with a history stretching back to the colonial period and a campus that preserves some of the finest 17th and 18th-century buildings in the city. The main campus buildings cluster around Ciudad Universitaria, about 2km southwest of the historic centre, but several faculties occupy historic buildings closer to the Plaza de Armas.

The university's public library, housed in a former church, is worth a visit for its murals by Alfredo Zalce, one of Michoacan's most important 20th-century artists. The building's transformation from sacred to academic space is characteristic of post-revolutionary Mexico's complicated relationship with the Church. The university also runs several museums and cultural spaces open to the public.

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The university traces its founding to 1540, making it one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the Americas — predating Harvard by nearly a century. It was originally a college for indigenous and mestizo students, founded by Bishop Vasco de Quiroga, the "Good Bishop" whose humanist educational programs transformed Michoacan. Father Miguel Hidalgo, who launched Mexican independence in 1810, was a rector here.

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