Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino

The University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Spanish: Universidad de Santo Tomás de Aquino) is, from an historical perspective, the first university founded in the Americas. It was established by the papal bull In Apostolatus Culmine, issued by Pope Paul III on October 28, 1538, at a time when royal approval through a “pase regio” was not yet required. It was later officially recognized by the Spanish Crown through a Royal Provision on February 23, 1558. Its main headquarters were located in the Church and Convent of the Dominicans.

The university has not operated continuously, as it suspended classes on several occasions due to wars that affected the island of Santo Domingo during the 19th century: it was closed during the Haitian occupation in 1801 and again in 1823. In 1914, the Dominican government reopened it under the name University of Santo Domingo, but it had to close once more between 1916 and 1924 due to the U.S. military occupation of the island. Later, in 1961, the institution was granted administrative autonomy to ensure independence from political control, adopting the name Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD), the oldest university in the Americas still in operation.