List of 40 best universities in San Jose, Costa Rica

Updated: March 02, 2025

Ranking by academic field

Top 40 universities in San Jose ranked by EduRank based on research outputs, non-academic prominence, and alumni influence. The rankings are determined by analyzing 330K citations received by 42.8K academic publications made by 40 universities from San Jose, the popularity of 86 recognized alumni, and the largest reference database available.

1. University of Costa Rica

#1 in Costa Rica

#29 in Latin America

Acceptance Rate: 40%
Enrollment: 30,436
Founded: 1940

2. University of Medical Sciences, Costa Rica

#6 in Costa Rica

#426 in Latin America

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Founded: 1999

3. Latin American University of Science and Technology

#7 in Costa Rica

#451 in Latin America

Enrollment: 2,559
Founded: 1987

4. University for International Cooperation

#9 in Costa Rica

#650 in Latin America

Enrollment: 3,000
Founded: 1994

5. Veritas University

#10 in Costa Rica

#708 in Latin America

Founded: 1976

6. Hispano-American University

#12 in Costa Rica

#796 in Latin America

Founded: 1992

7. Cenfotec University

#13 in Costa Rica

#827 in Latin America

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Enrollment: 1,500
Founded: 2000

8. Business University of Costa Rica

#15 in Costa Rica

#898 in Latin America

Enrollment: 1,000
Founded: 1992

9. LEAD University

#16 in Costa Rica

#922 in Latin America

Enrollment: 1,500

10. University of Ibero-America

#19 in Costa Rica

#1007 in Latin America

Acceptance Rate: 60%
Founded: 1995

11. International University of the Americas

#20 in Costa Rica

#1047 in Latin America

Founded: 1986

12. International Polytechnic University

#21 in Costa Rica

#1072 in Latin America

Enrollment: 3,000
Founded: 1998

13. La Salle University of Costa Rica

#22 in Costa Rica

#1091 in Latin America

Enrollment: 3,000
Founded: 1994

14. American University, Costa Rica

#23 in Costa Rica

#1106 in Latin America

Founded: 1997

15. Catholic University of Costa Rica

#24 in Costa Rica

#1108 in Latin America

Founded: 1993

16. Central American University of Social Sciences

#25 in Costa Rica

#1110 in Latin America

Founded: 2000

17. Creative University

#26 in Costa Rica

#1111 in Latin America

Enrollment: 2,000
Founded: 2000

18. Latin American Biblical University

#27 in Costa Rica

#1116 in Latin America

Enrollment: 1,000
Founded: 1997

19. Panamerican University, Costa Rica

#28 in Costa Rica

#1151 in Latin America

Founded: 1988

20. Free University Law School

#30 in Costa Rica

#1274 in Latin America

Founded: 1996

21. Autonomous University of Monterrey

#31 in Costa Rica

#1275 in Latin America

Enrollment: 5,000
Founded: 1994

22. Castro Carazo University

#32 in Costa Rica

#1276 in Latin America

Enrollment: 2,000
Founded: 1996

23. San Marcos University

#33 in Costa Rica

#1283 in Latin America

Acceptance Rate: 60%
Enrollment: 5,000
Founded: 1996

24. Costa Rican University of Technology

#34 in Costa Rica

#1314 in Latin America

Enrollment: 10,000
Founded: 1999

25. Free University of Costa Rica

#35 in Costa Rica

#1333 in Latin America

Enrollment: 1,500
Founded: 1993

26. University of Science and Art of Costa Rica

#36 in Costa Rica

#1346 in Latin America

Founded: 1981

27. Santa Paula University

#37 in Costa Rica

#1361 in Latin America

Founded: 1994

28. Continental University of Arts and Sciences

#41 in Costa Rica

#1411 in Latin America

Founded: 1999

29. John Paul II University

#42 in Costa Rica

#1414 in Latin America

Founded: 1996

30. Santa Lucia University

#43 in Costa Rica

#1466 in Latin America

Founded: 1996

31. Isaac Newton University

#44 in Costa Rica

#1481 in Latin America

Founded: 1995

32. Southern Christian University

#45 in Costa Rica

#1502 in Latin America

Founded: 1998

33. Central University, Costa Rica

#46 in Costa Rica

#1506 in Latin America

Enrollment: 15,000
Founded: 1990

34. Federated University of Costa Rica

#47 in Costa Rica

#1531 in Latin America

Founded: 1992

35. University of San Jose

#49 in Costa Rica

#1551 in Latin America

Enrollment: 2,500
Founded: 1992

36. University of Tourism

#50 in Costa Rica

#1572 in Latin America

Founded: 1996

37. Evangelical University of the Americas

#51 in Costa Rica

#1627 in Latin America

Founded: 1992

38. Braulio Carrillo University

#52 in Costa Rica

#1655 in Latin America

Founded: 1994

39. Independent University of Costa Rica

#53 in Costa Rica

#1690 in Latin America

Founded: 1996

40. San Juan de la Cruz University

#54 in Costa Rica

#1712 in Latin America

Founded: 1996

Universities near San Jose

Distance, km 📏 km	University	Country rank 🏆	City
0	Autonomous University of Centro America	11	Cipreses de Curridabat
3	Fidelitas University	14	San Pedro
3	Magister University	40	San Pedro
4	Latin University of Costa Rica	8	San Pedro
8	National University, Costa Rica	2	Heredia
17	Adventist University of Central America	29	Alajuela
17	University of Business Sciences	48	Alajuela
19	Fundepos Alma Mater University	18	Uruca
20	Florencio del Castillo University of Cartago	17	Cartago
21	Costa Rica Institute of Technology	3	Cartago