5 Best Universities in Popayan [2026 Rankings]

Top 5 universities in Popayan ranked by EduRank based on research outputs, non-academic prominence, and alumni influence. The rankings are determined by analyzing 38.7K citations received by 7.15K academic publications made by 5 universities from Popayan, the popularity of 23 recognized alumni, and the largest reference database available.

1. University of Cauca

#23 in Colombia

#185 in Latin America

Founded: 1827

2. University Corporation Comfacauca

#119 in Colombia

#873 in Latin America

Enrollment: 2,443
Male:Female: 52:48
Founded: 2001

3. University Foundation of Popayan

#125 in Colombia

#892 in Latin America

Founded: 1983

4. Corporacion Universitaria Autonoma del Cauca

#141 in Colombia

#991 in Latin America

Founded: 1984

5. Major College of Cauca

#142 in Colombia

#1024 in Latin America

Enrollment: 12,000
Founded: 1966

Universities near Popayan

Distance, km 📏 km	University	Country rank 🏆	City
90	University Center for Rural Welfare Foundation	190	Puerto Tejada
100	ICESI University	19	Cali
102	Autonomous University of the West	35	Cali
104	University of the Valley	5	Cali
107	University of Santiago de Cali	60	Cali
110	National School of Sport	113	Cali
111	Lumen Gentium Catholic University Foundation	111	Cali
111	Antonio Jose Camacho University Institute	126	Cali
111	Higher Education University Corporation	172	Cali
113	Departmental Institute of Fine Arts	134	Cali