Santo Tomás
Instituto Profesional Santo Tomás is a Chilean technical-professional higher education institution operating 20 physical campuses from Arica to Punta Arenas plus a national online campus, delivering 35+ undergraduate programs across 8 academic areas to high school graduates, working adults, and technical high school graduates.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1982
- HeadquartersConcepcion, Chile
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Santo Tomás does
Santo Tomás (Instituto Profesional Santo Tomás) is a Chilean technical-professional higher education institution incorporated in Chile and operating as the IP-tier entity of the broader Santo Tomás educational network, which also includes Universidad Santo Tomás (UST), Centro de Formación Técnica Santo Tomás (CFT) and Postgrados UST. Founded in 1982 and operating for more than 40 years, the institution holds Acreditación Nivel Avanzado (Advanced Level Institutional Accreditation) granted by Chile's Comisión Nacional de Acreditación. It is headquartered in Concepción and delivers educational services through 20 physical campuses spanning Chile from Arica to Punta Arenas, complemented by a national Sede Online for 100% asynchronous online programs.
The institution's core product is more than 35 undergraduate technical-professional programs organized across eight academic areas: Administración, Ciencias Sociales, Comunicación y Diseño, Educación, Informática, Ingeniería, Recursos Naturales, and Turismo y Gastronomía. Program delivery is supported by a Centro de Servicios Online comprising a tutoring platform (academic, administrative, technological and orientation support), a complete online bibliographic catalog, virtual classrooms and workshops, and a student-support system with socio-emotional and extracurricular components. The student experience is unified through "Experiencia Tomasina," an 8-stage journey from vocational orientation to labor insertion offering over 100 curricular and extracurricular services, plus a digital learning platform that provides 24/7 access to teaching materials, evaluations, forums, and professor consultations.
The business model is B2C tuition-driven, supplemented by recurring government education subsidies (CAE loans, BECAS scholarships) accessed via articulation pathways. Auxiliary revenue streams include continuing education (Capacitación - Educación Continua), corporate training, and international mobility programs (Becas Santander Movilidad Internacional Pregrado) under the Santander Open Academy partnership. The institution has raised approximately US$43.5 million from the International Finance Corporation in 2023, and maintains strategic alignments with ChileValora, the Marco de Cualificaciones Técnico Profesional and the Marco de Cualificaciones Minero y Mantenimiento 4.0 to ensure programs align with national occupational competency standards. Distribution runs through a centralized national admissions platform (tupuedes.cl), direct enrollment at each of the 20 campuses, articulation agreements with technical high schools (Convenio EMTP), and the nationwide online channel.
Santo Tomás firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Santo Tomás
- Legal name
- Instituciones Santo Tomás
- Website
- https://ipsantotomas.cl
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1982
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Instituto Profesional Santo Tomás is a Chilean technical-professional higher education institution operating 20 physical campuses from Arica to Punta Arenas plus a national online campus, delivering 35+ undergraduate programs across 8 academic areas to high school graduates, working adults, and technical high school graduates.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Santo Tomás industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Technical-Professional Higher Education
- NAICS
- Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Educational Services (611)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Technical Community Colleges (Applied/CTE-Focused) (EDAHADAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Online For-Profit Career Universities (EDAHALAJ)
Keywords
Where Santo Tomás is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Concepcion
- HQ country
- Chile
- HQ region
- Latin America
Offices21 records
Markets served
Santo Tomás business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Tuition Revenue: Revenue generated from student tuition payments for technical professional programs. Programs offered include day and evening schedules across more than 35 undergraduate careers.
- Government Education Subsidies: Public funding through government student aid programs including scholarships and student loan access (CAE, BECAS).
- Continuing Education Services: Revenue from Capacitación - Educación Continua programs including short courses, certifications, and corporate training services.
- International Exchange Programs: Revenue from international mobility programs including Santander Open Academy partnerships for semester abroad opportunities.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Standard undergraduate programs with government subsidies available |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Santo Tomás product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Instituto Profesional Santo Tomás is a private technical-professional higher education institution that delivers more than 35 undergraduate career programs across 8 academic areas (Administration, Social Sciences, Communication and Design, Education, Computing, Engineering, Natural Resources, and Tourism and Gastronomy) through 20 physical campuses spanning Chile from Arica to Punta Arenas and a nationwide online campus. The core offering bundles face-to-face and asynchronous instruction, the proprietary Experiencia Tomasina student support journey, career services, and articulation pathways with technical secondary schools.
Product overview
Instituto Profesional Santo Tomás is a technical-professional higher education institution offering over 35 undergraduate programs across 8 academic areas (Administración, Ciencias Sociales, Comunicación y Diseño, Educación, Informática, Ingeniería, Recursos Naturales, and Turismo y Gastronomía). The institution operates through physical campuses from Arica to Punta Arenas and a dedicated Online Education Platform (Sede Online) providing 100% asynchronous online programs. The student experience is unified through Experiencia Tomasina, a comprehensive support program offering over 100 services across 8 stages from enrollment through job placement. Supporting services include Centro de Aprendizaje for academic tutoring, DAE for student welfare, Innovation and Entrepreneurship programs, Community Engagement (Vinculación con el Medio), Continuing Education, and the Confucius Institute. The institution holds advanced-level accreditation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Experiencia Tomasina: Student journey and support program offering services across 8 stages from vocational orientation to labor insertion, providing over 100 curricular and extracurricular services
- Instituto Confucio
- Tu Puedes
Products and services
- Instituto Profesional Santo Tomás Technical-Professional Career Programs More than 35 undergraduate technical-professional career programs across 8 academic areas (Administration, Social Sciences, Communication and Design, Education, Computing, Engineering, Natural Resources, and Tourism and Gastronomy), delivered across 20 physical campuses and an online campus to Chilean high school graduates, working adults, and EMTP graduates.
- Santo Tomás Online Campus (Sede Online) Online campus delivering 100% asynchronous Santo Tomás career programs to nationwide students unable to attend on-campus classes, with tutor support Monday-Friday 08:30-18:30 and 24/7 technical platform assistance.
- Educación Continua (Capacitación) Continuing education and corporate training portal offering short courses, certifications, and professional development services for individuals and companies, including ChileValora-aligned competency certification pathways.
- Instituto Confucio Santo Tomás Mandarin Chinese language courses and HSK certification examinations offered through the Confucius Institute partnership, providing international language skills and cultural competencies to students and the broader community.
Quantifiable outcome
- Graduate employment and career advancement support through Crea Empleo program
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Santo Tomás
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Santo Tomás technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Santo Tomás partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Santander Open AcademyminorInternational mobility partnership providing Becas Santander Movilidad Internacional Pregrado scholarships for students to study abroad for one semester at partner institutions internationally.
- Instituto ConfuciocorePartnership for Chinese language education and cultural programs. The Instituto Confucio at Santo Tomás offers Mandarin Chinese courses and HSK certification examinations, providing students with international language skills and cultural competencies.
- ChileValoracoreStrategic alignment with ChileValora (Comisión del Sistema Nacional de Certificación de Competencias Laborales) for skills certification. Programs are articulated with ChileValora occupational profiles, allowing graduates to obtain official competency certifications and course exemptions.
- Marco de Cualificaciones Técnico ProfesionalcorePrograms designed under the Technical Professional Higher Education Qualifications Framework, ensuring alignment with national competency standards and labor market requirements across different productive sectors.
- Marco de Cualificaciones Minero y Mantenimiento 4.0coreSpecialized qualifications framework for mining and maintenance sectors informing automation and instrumentation programs, aligned with industry 4.0 requirements and mining sector skill standards.
- Regional Municipalities and Public InstitutionsminorPartnerships with regional municipalities and public organizations for student internships, community programs, and workforce development initiatives across various regions of Chile.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Santo Tomás competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Universidad Tecmilenio (Mexico): Tecmilenio is a Mexican for-profit university system focused on career-oriented and online education. Although geographically separate, its model (multi-campus career university, employer-aligned programs, continuing education) closely parallels Santo Tomás's positioning.
Direct peers
- INACAP: INACAP is Chile's largest technical-professional higher education institution, operating campuses nationwide with a strong corporate and government partnership model. It is the most direct competitor to Instituto Profesional Santo Tomás in scale, mission, and target student segment.
- Duoc UC: Duoc UC is the technical-professional education arm of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, offering technical careers and professional programs across multiple campuses. It competes directly with Santo Tomás for technical-professional students and benefits from a stronger university brand backing.
- AIEP (Laureate/adventis group): AIEP is a Chilean technical-professional institute offering career-focused programs nationwide, now part of broader education networks. It is a direct competitor in the IP/CFT segment with similar geographic reach and program mix to Santo Tomás.
- Centro de Formación Técnica (CFT) state institutions: Public CFTs (e.g., CFT de la Región de Tarapacá, CFT Estatal de Arica y Parinacota) offer subsidized technical training and compete on price with private IPs. They are direct comparables for Santo Tomás's CFT sibling entity and an indirect threat to IP enrollment.
Broad incumbents
- Universidad Andrés Bello (UNAB): UNAB is a large private university in Chile with technical and professional programs across multiple campuses. While a broader university, its career-oriented programs overlap with Santo Tomás's portfolio and compete for similar students.
- Universidad de Las Américas (UDLA): UDLA is a large Chilean private university offering technical and professional degrees with nationwide campuses. It is a broader incumbent competing for the same career-oriented student base as Santo Tomás.
- Universidad del Desarrollo (UDD): UDD is a higher-tier private Chilean university with strong industry linkages and selective admissions. While more selective than Santo Tomás, it competes for top technical-professional students who might otherwise choose an IP.
- Laureate International Universities: Laureate operated a portfolio of for-profit universities across Latin America (including Chile). It is a global incumbent in the for-profit higher education space, sharing business model similarities with Santo Tomás despite different scale and focus.
Others
- Universidad Santo Tomás (UST): UST is the sister university entity within the same Santo Tomás network, offering undergraduate and graduate programs. While not a competitor (same ownership), it is highly relevant as an internal benchmark for the IP's upward student migration funnel.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Santo Tomás social profiles
Digital presenceSanto Tomás financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Santo Tomás leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Santo Tomás subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
Santo Tomás funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Santo Tomás M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Santo Tomás
What does Santo Tomás do?
Instituto Profesional Santo Tomás is a private technical-professional higher education institution that delivers more than 35 undergraduate career programs across 8 academic areas (Administration, Social Sciences, Communication and Design, Education, Computing, Engineering, Natural Resources, and Tourism and Gastronomy) through 20 physical campuses spanning Chile from Arica to Punta Arenas and a nationwide online campus. The core offering bundles face-to-face and asynchronous instruction, the proprietary Experiencia Tomasina student support journey, career services, and articulation pathways with technical secondary schools.
Is Santo Tomás a public or private company?
Santo Tomás is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Santo Tomás founded?
Santo Tomás was founded in 1982. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Santo Tomás based?
Santo Tomás is headquartered in Concepcion, Chile, in the Latin America region.
How does Santo Tomás make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Tuition Revenue is the primary driver. The others are government Education Subsidies, continuing Education Services and international Exchange Programs.
Who are Santo Tomás's main competitors?
Universidad Tecmilenio (Mexico) is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are INACAP, Duoc UC, AIEP (Laureate/adventis group) and Centro de Formación Técnica (CFT) state institutions. Broad incumbents are Universidad Andrés Bello (UNAB), Universidad de Las Américas (UDLA), Universidad del Desarrollo (UDD) and Laureate International Universities. Universidad Santo Tomás (UST) is listed as an others.
Does Santo Tomás have an API?
No public API is recorded for Santo Tomás.
What industry is Santo Tomás in?
Santo Tomás's product category is Technical-Professional Higher Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHADAD, Technical Community Colleges (Applied/CTE-Focused), with a secondary code of EDAHALAJ, Online For-Profit Career Universities. Its NAICS code is 61131 and its SIC code is 8200.