Universidad Popular de la Chontalpa

What Universidad Popular de la Chontalpa does

Universidad Popular de la Chontalpa (UPCH) is a public state university headquartered in Cárdenas, Tabasco, Mexico, founded in 1995 as a community educational initiative and officially chartered by Decreto 112 on November 7, 1998. It is the largest institution under the Government of Tabasco and serves as the principal public higher-education provider in the Chontalpa region of southeastern Mexico, enrolling more than 6,130 students across undergraduate and graduate programs and producing 20,706 cumulative graduates since inception. Its core academic portfolio spans two modalities — Escolarizado (traditional full-time) and Semiescolarizado (flexible for working professionals) — and is organized into two academic divisions: División de Ciencias Económico-Administrativas (DCEA) for business-related fields and División de Ciencias Básicas e Ingenierías (DCBI) for engineering and applied sciences. Graduate offerings include a Doctorado en Educación and master's programs in Energía y Desarrollo Sustentable and Química Sustentable, supplemented by the Centro de Aprendizaje de Idiomas (CADI) language center and continuing-education programs.

UPCH's technology backbone is the SIIA (Sistema Integral de Información Administrativa), an in-house integrated administrative information system with dedicated portals for students, professors, alumni, social service, and tutoring, plus a separate e-learning platform for distance course delivery. The institution does not disclose AI/ML capabilities; its differentiators are regulatory (state decree recognition and sustained government funding), geographic (monopoly status in the Chontalpa region), and reputational (annual Green Metric World University Rankings certification as a sustainable university and 30-year operating history). Operating, financial, and academic administration is delivered through a Rector-led structure with Secretaría Académica, SEUSS (extension and social service), and Secretaría de Administración y Finanzas.

The business model is a hybrid of state government appropriation and tuition-based subsidy: UPCH receives operational funding from the Government of Tabasco and offers subsidized public tuition with auxiliary fees for certificates, degrees, and administrative services. Scholarships cover 55.91% of enrolled students, and the customer base is highly distributed across traditional undergraduates, working professionals, and graduate cohorts rather than concentrated in enterprise contracts. Distribution is primarily direct via the Cárdenas campus, with the Semiescolarizado modality extending weekend-based delivery across the Chontalpa region. Distribution, partnership, and academic channels are further supported by a dense institutional alliance network spanning CONALEP, ECOSUR, CCYTET, the Cárdenas municipal government, Secretaría de Turismo Tabasco, Sembrando Vida, POLIPLAST, and Colegio Latino.

Name

Universidad Popular de la Chontalpa

Legal name

Universidad Popular de la Chontalpa

Website

https://upch.mx

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Universidad Popular de la Chontalpa is a public state university in Cárdenas, Tabasco, Mexico, founded in 1995. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs across two modalities (Escolarizado and Semiescolarizado) to more than 6,130 students in the Chontalpa region, funded by the Government of Tabasco.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHAAAG

Public Research Universities with Major Extension & Outreach Missions

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Public Research Universities

SECONDARYEDAIABAG

Short-Term Exchange & Visiting Student Programs

Education/International Education & Study Abroad/University/College Exchange Programs & Partnerships

SECONDARYEDAIAIAH

Professional & Executive Short Courses (Non-Degree, International)

Education/International Education & Study Abroad/International Summer/Winter Schools & Short-Term Academic Programs

SECONDARYEDAIAIAE

Language + Academic Short Programs (Content-Based Language Learning)

Education/International Education & Study Abroad/International Summer/Winter Schools & Short-Term Academic Programs

Keywords

• Public higher education
• Undergraduate degree programs
• Graduate degree programs
• Engineering education
• Continuing education

Headquarters

HQ city

Cárdenas

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Public university offering subsidized education with tuition fees. Operates under government funding from the State of Tabasco with additional revenue from student fees for certificates, degrees, and administrative services.
2. Government Funding: State government-funded public university receiving operational budget from the Government of Tabasco. Receives additional support through educational programs and scholarships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Universidad Popular de la Chontalpa is a public state university offering undergraduate degree programs (licenciaturas) and graduate programs (posgrados) in modalities including escolarizado (full-time) and semiescolarizado (flexible). Academic programs span engineering, sciences, business administration, and humanities, delivered across academic divisions such as DCEA and DCBI, supplemented by a language learning center (CADI), continuing education, and supported by an internal administrative information system (SIIA).

Product overview

Universidad Popular de la Chontalpa is a public higher education institution offering undergraduate programs (licenciaturas) and graduate programs (posgrados) in multiple modalities (escolarizado and semiescolarizado). The institution is organized into academic divisions including División de Ciencias Económico-Administrativas (DCEA) and División de Ciencias Básicas e Ingenierías (DCBI), with specialized units such as the Centro de Aprendizaje de Idiomas (CADI), Biblioteca Central, and research coordination. Administrative operations are managed through the SIIA (Sistema Integral de Información Administrativa) system with dedicated portals for students, professors, and alumni. The university also provides continuing education programs and community services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Licenciaturas (Undergraduate Programs)
• Posgrados (Graduate Programs)
• División de Ciencias Económico-Administrativas (DCEA)
• División de Ciencias Básicas e Ingenierías (DCBI)
• Centro de Aprendizaje de Idiomas (CADI)
• Educación Continua (Continuing Education)

Quantifiable outcome

• 55.91% of students receive scholarships, demonstrating accessibility commitment

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Colegio LatinocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 August 2025Strategic alliance between UPCH and Colegio Latino to benefit students through collaborative academic programs, student exchanges, and educational initiatives.
• POLIPLAST S.A. DE C.V.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2025Convenio General de Colaboración Académica, Científica y de Vinculación focused on sustainable development initiatives including cleanup campaigns, waste collection, recycling, and environmental awareness programs.
• H. Ayuntamiento Constitucional de CárdenascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 November 2024Convenio general de colaboración signed between UPCH and the municipal government of Cárdenas to strengthen linkage activities, academic development projects, technology transfer, research, and institutional management training.
• Secretaría de Turismo TabascominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 November 2019Convenio general de colaboración signed during the Festival del Chocolate Tabasco to promote tourism research and development of tourism-related academic programs.
• CONALEP TabascocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 November 2019Convenio de colaboración between UPCH and CONALEP Tabasco for academic activities, scientific research, linkage, and diffusion. Provides UPCH access to potential students from CONALEP high schools in the Chontalpa region.
• Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2019Partnership to strengthen scientific research, technological innovation, graduate studies, and student professional practices. Provides access to CONACYT scholarships for UPCH students.
• Consejo Estatal Agropecuario, Forestal y Pesca de Tabasco, A.C.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 October 2019Strategic alliance to enhance institutional development, service social, professional practices, scientific research, technological innovation, graduate studies, and cultural diffusion.
• MUCAMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirma de Convenio General de Colaboración Académica, Científica y de Vinculación between UPCH and MUCAM (Movimiento Universitario de la Chontalpa). Partnership focused on academic collaboration, scientific research, and institutional linkage.
• CCYTET (Consejo de Ciencia y Tecnología del Estado de Tabasco)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration between UPCH and CCYTET for the Semana de Ciencias, Ingenierías y Humanidades 2024. Joint efforts in scientific conferences, knowledge competitions, project presentations, and academic activities.
• Sembrando Vida (Federal Government Program)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with the Sembrando Vida federal program for reforestation initiatives including creation of a university nursery and environmental sustainability projects.
• Government of TabascocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState government-supported public university receiving operational funding and policy support. The university is recognized as the largest institution under the state government's educational system.
• Secretaría de Educación TabascocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOversight and collaboration with state education secretariat for academic quality, curriculum alignment, and institutional accreditation.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Regional players

• Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP): Large public state university with a similar portfolio of undergraduate, graduate, and research programs, providing a useful peer benchmark for scale, regional reach, and state-funded operations.
• Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas (UNACH): Public state university in neighboring Chiapas that serves a comparable southeastern Mexico demographic with similar undergraduate and graduate programs. Closest comparable in scope, regional mission, and state-funded structure.
• Universidad Veracruzana (UV): Large public state university in Veracruz with multiple regional campuses, a comparable public-mission mandate, and a broad academic portfolio serving a similar southeastern/mexican-gulf demographic.
• Universidad de Quintana Roo: Public state university in Quintana Roo serving southeastern Mexico with comparable undergraduate and graduate programs and a similar state-funded operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM): Mexico's flagship national public university; not a direct competitor on enrollment, but sets the prestige, research, and graduate-program benchmark against which UPCH's longer-term academic positioning is measured.
• Tecnológico Nacional de México (TecNM): National decentralized system of technological/engineering institutes that competes with UPCH's DCBI division for engineering students in southeastern Mexico and offers subsidized public higher education.
• Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN): National federal public university focused on engineering, sciences, and technical education; competes with UPCH for STEM students in Mexico and offers a comparable public-mission, government-funded model.
• Universidad de Guadalajara (UDG): Major public state university with a multi-campus network and a similar state-funded model, providing a peer benchmark for what a scaled-up, statewide public university system can look like.
• Universidad Pedagógica Nacional (UPN): National public university system focused on education and pedagogy, comparable to UPCH's graduate education programs and state-funded public-mission operating model.

Direct peers

• Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT): The other major public state university in Tabasco, directly serving the same region and competing for the same pool of southeastern Mexican students. Operates a similar portfolio of undergraduate, graduate, and research programs with state funding.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/upch.mx
• Xx.com/soyupch

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Universidad Popular de la Chontalpa