University of Monterrey

CIAA and Rector's building

In September 2001, after 10 years of planning, construction began on the rector's building, which is over 27,000 ft². The building also houses the CIAA or Center for Information and Student Attention as translated to English. On 2003 it was inaugurated. Local Architect Bernardo Hinojosa[18] oversaw the project.

The building also houses the vice-rectory for high school education, college education, development and administrative departments. A red and black sculpture called La Serpentina adorns the main plaza of the building, it was created by Fernando González Gortázar,[19] an artist from Guadalajara. The red color symbolizes the warmth of human beings and as the flame within all of us to succeed.

CCU

Inaugurated in 1999 by former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, CCU stands for Centro de la Comunidad Universitaria and translates to College Community Center. The CCU is a recreational area for students which also houses the Culture department (in charge of all artistic events within the University or by the University's alumni), Pastoral Care department, the student council headquarters, a small chapel, the cafeteria, the music rooms, an auditorium, a common room and the film club.

"Vox Veritatis"

When a student graduates, one of the most symbolic processes before fully graduating is to sound the bell. Its name is Vox Veritas which means "The Voice of Truth" and must be tolled three times total when a student has finished the requirements for his/her degree.

In 1987, the library system of UDEM was consolidated and still operates today from the main/central library located at UDEM's campus and three other department libraries found in UDEM's preparatories. UDEM's library counts with up to 44 direct collective bargaining with local and national institutions, a total of 222,524 volumes of books, videos and E-book, a collection of 408,589 well known and globally recognized academic journals (in both press and on-line), a data base of 23,234 archived documents from institutions such as EBSCO, ProQuest, Wilson, Infolatina, Britannica, Ocenet, Gale and Routledge.[20]

Among the library's most important collections, you can find:

• Colección Xavier Moyssén about which deals with Mexican Art History and is restricted to authorized personnel.
• INEGI's Library

UDEM's dorms being inaugurated by the school's officials

In Mexico, it is uncommon for college students to leave their homes and start living by themselves. Fraternities and sororities are rarely heard of. However, schools like UDEM receive a vast amount of foreign exchange students and, even when it is uncommon, people will eventually leave their homes and begin living independently.

For these reasons, UDEM started a student housing project called Residencias UDEM meaning UDEM Residence Halls. They were inaugurated in 2006 after 13 months of being planned and occupied over 14 acres within the grounds of the UDEM's campus. The project was overseen by authorities from Harvard university, Yale, Loyola and the University of the Americas (UDLA), as well as benefactors like Jane Wright from the Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas firm. The dorms house up to 450 students.[21]

The Roberto Garza Sada Center (CRGS), named in honor of Don Roberto Garza Sada, was designed by Tadao Andō, one of the most recognized architects in the world and awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1995. The final investment of the work is around 45 million dollars, 21 being the main benefactor Doña Márgara Garza Sada de Fernández, daughter of Roberto Garza Sada. CRGS The architectural work, baptized by its author as the "Gate of Creation", was officially inaugurated on April 29, 2013 in the presence of the Japanese architect, Doña Márgara Garza Sada de Fernández, the Governor in charge, Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz, the former municipal president of San Pedro Garza García, Mauricio Fernández Garza, among other business, political and academic personalities.

This building has 1,300 cubic meters of concrete and has 13,115.48 square meters of construction, distributed in spaces for design, research, teaching and exhibition, as well as 22 laboratories and workshops which design students can use. Currently, it has the LEED Certification in its “Silver” level, granted by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), with which it became the first work of Tadao Ando to receive a global sustainability certification.[22]

The building, inaugurated in May 2019 by the Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao, is located to the west of the campus and has approximately 90 thousand square meters of construction, which accommodates student and coexistence areas and UDEM offices for customer service, in addition to Continuing Education rooms.[23]

El Solar UDEM

It covers the construction of a South Plaza, currently in use and a North Plaza or Cultural Plaza –on the western side of the project–, which together represent 7,900 m2 for the meeting and coexistence of the UDEM community, in addition to the area of the ravine - the east side.[24]

USP

Launched in 1995 and located in the south of the university campus; offers a program, called International bachelor's degree (BI), that combines science and humanities. The USP was placed, in the Enlace National Assessment, within the three percent of the best schools in Mexico in 2012, and share the facilities of the professional of the University of Monterrey.[25]

UFU

Located on the limits of San Nicolás and Escobedo, it joined the UDEM family on August 6, 2007 with 62 first-time students.[25]

• Bilingual Program - This program is given in Spanish and focuses on the knowledge and self-identity of the Mexican society. Students will learn to properly speak English as a second language and choose whether or not to study abroad in countries such as the United States, Canada or Europe. The program also features student trips to several Spanish speaking countries such as Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Spain, Panama and Peru.[27]
• Bicultural Program - Designed for students who already are fluent in English, this program is given mostly in English and gives the option to choose between its modalities in English, German or French. Students also will learn about other cultures in favor of mutual respect and understanding. The featured exchange options are studying in Germany, Canada, USA, France, England and Switzerland.[27]
• International Program - The international program, also known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is perhaps the most recognized of all the others simply because it's actually an evaluated course by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) which is headquartered in Geneva. The program features a multicultural edge and a highly demanding academic experience. Mixing science with human and social studies, IB works on developing intellectual skills on students, as well as communication skills, investigation methods, critical analysis and argumentative abilities that are reinforced with international experiences.[27]
• General Program - This program is specifically targeted to obtain a certificate so students can continue their professional studies in one of 4 branches, at the same time their introduction into the business world is expedited. The 4 course branches are System Analysis, Accounting, Strategic Sales and Publicity Image.[27]

The Center for Student Leadership (CELES) has the mission to generate competence and leadership, rising the student's potential so they can transform society and transcend in it. CELES is dedicated to contribute to the formation of its students.[30]

Fomenting student participation through student groups is one of CELES strategies to create high performance leaders in a civic-political environment. This groups live out a formative process that includes: a preparation course, political campaign, election making process, an oath and a year to perform their duties.[31]

The biggest representative organism in the student body.

Discovery Course

The center was built according to the standards of ACCT (Association for Challenge Course Technology), which regulates the quality in this type of structures and counts with qualified instructors. The design of the programs was made following the guidelines of the Association for Experiential Education (AEE).[32]

Finally, the architectural design of the piece was in charge of Enrique Abaroa, as well as Challenge Towers, globally recognized for creating the "Discovery Course" which offers over 24 different challenges. Only four like this exist in the world, and this is the only in Mexico.[33]

JALPEM as it is commonly known is a student association.

Through more than 5 years, UDEM has accomplished an impact in several regions and in different aspects, such as getting medical, psychological and dental care to more than 3,200 people since its inauguration.

Equipo de Brigadas Médicas

UDEM's Medical Brigades is a high-performance group dedicated to the prevention of accidents and support to the community during events, such as practices and civil protection support, as well as helping the Red Cross

Phi Delta Epsilon is an international medical fraternity with the main goal of creating physicians with integrity and a life-time commitment to the principles of philanthropy, deity, and education, accomplishing this through companionship, service, assessment and ethical upbringing

UDEM is the only university in Mexico that has a chapter of this fraternity. (Epsilon Alpha Chapter)

CESADE is made up of a team of multidisciplinary students borrowed from the Social Service fields, coordinated by professionals from distinct areas and UDEM's academics, which work together looking to establish and integral development in each and every single individual.[35]

Through this centers, UDEM has been able to provide an educational alternative to infants 3 to 4 years of age from impoverished zones for more than 15 years.[35]

For more than 20 years, UDEM has offered recreational and formative alternatives to more than 2 thousand children and mothers from impoverished zones.[35] These courses, mostly offered in July, are organized and run in five locations by Social Service students.[35]