As the most important national higher education institution in the southwest of Colombia, Universidad del Valle is the third one that has been recognized twice by the Ministry of National Education as the excellent higher education institution for its meeting international education quality standard. Currently, the university consists of seven faculties and two schools with students more than 30,000 in total.

The Faculty of Integrated Arts of Universidad del Valle was founded in 1995, with an aim of theater education and development combining art and technology. The faculty consists of department of architecture, department of music, department of social media and department of theater as well as the newly-opened department of design and department of fine arts.

The theater teaching activity of Universidad del Valle was initiated by Buenaventura Dora, a playwright and director of Columbia. However, it was only until 1980 that the major of theater arts became available being the first among institutions of higher learning in Columbia. Our teaching over the past 35 years has nurtured numerous performers, directors, theater teachers and playwrights. Our team of faculties consists of graduates from different colleges of theater in different countries (Russia, Canada, China, Italy and Spain) and the teaching, artistic creation and research of theater under their leadership has achieved great success and good reputation both at home and abroad. The Department of Theater has held the season of theater performances for 16 consecutive years, and offered an opportunity for creation and a space for communicating with the audience for students through artistic practice. These performances have drawn attention from urban theater field. The major of theater arts has also been available in Universidad del Valle in Dora City in Pacific Coast and is the only professional art education provider in Pacific region in Columbia too.

With the support of the bonus system for artistic creation in Universidad del Valle, different research groups have been set up within the Department of Theater and begin the funded research of histrionic creation, script originality and performers training methods. Some plays created in the research project have received good reputation after being performed at international theatre festivals. Meanwhile, the department begins to organize some international seminars: International Seminar: Theater of Games (2011), International Workshop: Dramaturgies of Performers (2012), International Conference: Theater of Golden Age and Popular Tradition (2012), International Forum: Theater and City (2013), International Conference：Cervantes，Imaginary Stage and Marginal Land (2013), International Conference: From Outcast to Protagonist; the Moors and the Black in Theater (2014). The Theatre Department also attended alliances at home and abroad actively, including Alliance of National Theatre Schools of Columbia, Asian Theatre Education Centre (ATEC, from 2012), and e-journal of theater culture in golden age Hipogrifo (hosted by Spanish (IDEA) research center). Additionally, the theatrical productions from the Department of Theater participated in many international theater festivals, and toured in the following countries: Spain, China, Russia, America, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Ecuador.

Website: http://mafalda.univalle.edu.co/english/