Universidad Rural de Guatemala

What Universidad Rural de Guatemala does

Universidad Rural de Guatemala is a private, for-profit Guatemalan university founded in 1988 and authorized by the Consejo de la Enseñanza Privada Superior in 1995, notable as the first new private university approved in Guatemala after a 23-year regulatory hiatus. The institution delivers higher education across five program tiers — Técnicos Universitarios (technical), Licenciaturas (bachelor's), Expertos Universitarios (postgraduate expert), Maestrías (master's), and Doctorados (doctoral) — spanning seven faculties that include economics, law, education, health sciences, natural and environmental sciences, engineering, and architecture, with a recent specialization in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity within the engineering faculty.

The university operates a distributed delivery model anchored in physical campuses and municipal satellite sites across all 22 departments of Guatemala, supported by a multi-portal digital platform stack: a SaaS-based academic management system (saasemasivos.net/urural), a student portal (saasemasivos.net/urural5.0_alumnos), a virtual learning and evaluation portal (mi.urural.edu.gt), and a centralized enrollment and administrative forms portal (formularios.urural.edu.gt). Recruitment is sales-led through local academic advisors called "Promotores Socioeducativos Rurales" assigned to each campus, who follow up on leads generated by a centralized online pre-enrollment form. The institution also operates a mandatory community health and education service program and free continuing-education courses (Cursos Libres) focused on competitiveness and entrepreneurship.

Revenue is generated primarily through tuition and academic fees across the program's multi-tier structure, with no publicly disclosed pricing, funding rounds, parent company, or material partnerships. The governance structure is a patronage board (Patronato) with a Consejo Directivo and Consejo Académico, and the rector is Dr. Fidel Reyes Lee. Operational scope is exclusively domestic Guatemala, with no disclosed international expansion.

Name

Universidad Rural de Guatemala

Legal name

Universidad Rural de Guatemala

Website

https://urural.edu.gt

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Universidad Rural de Guatemala is a private Guatemalan university delivering technical through doctoral programs across all 22 departments via 100+ campus and municipal sites, serving rural and general Guatemalan populations through blended in-person and online learning.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Guatemala City

HQ country

Guatemala

HQ region

Latin America

Offices22 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Academic Fees: The university generates revenue through tuition payments from enrolled students across its technical, undergraduate, graduate, master's, and doctoral programs. Specific fee structures are managed through its administrative systems and are referenced through downloadable PDF documents for processes such as enrollment, grades, and graduation.
2. Free Courses and Continuing Education: The university offers free elective courses (cursos libres) focused on cultural improvement and competitiveness skills, including business development and entrepreneurship training. These non-credit programs may generate revenue through enrollment fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Universidad Rural de Guatemala is a private higher education institution that delivers technical, undergraduate (licenciaturas), postgraduate expert, master's, and doctoral programs across faculties of economics, education, health sciences, architecture, engineering, natural/environmental sciences, and law. Academic services are delivered through a nationwide network of physical campuses in all 22 Guatemalan departments, supported by virtual learning, student portal, and online enrollment systems. The university also offers mandatory community service programs and free Cursos Libres focused on competitiveness and entrepreneurship.

Product overview

Universidad Rural de Guatemala is a private higher education institution offering a comprehensive range of academic programs across seven faculties. The university provides a multi-tiered educational platform including Technical Programs (Técnicos Universitarios), Bachelor's Degrees (Licenciaturas), Expert/Postgraduate Programs (Expertos Universitarios), Master's Degrees (Maestrías), and Doctoral Programs (Doctorados). The institution operates multiple digital platforms for academic management: a SaaS-based Learning Management System (SaaSemasivos), a Student Virtual Portal, an Online Education and Evaluation Platform, and an Online Enrollment System. The university emphasizes rural development, environmental sustainability, and competitive professional training, with offerings spanning business, law, education, health sciences, natural sciences, engineering, and architecture. Special programs include a Health and Education Community Service Program and free courses in competitiveness and entrepreneurship.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Técnicos Universitarios (Technical University Programs) Vocational higher education technical programs providing shorter-cycle professional qualifications for students seeking workforce-ready credentials. Programs span multiple disciplines across the university's faculties and are delivered at campuses nationwide.
• Licenciaturas (Bachelor's Degree Programs) Undergraduate bachelor's degree programs across multiple disciplines including economics, education, health sciences, law, natural/environmental sciences, engineering, and architecture. Delivered through physical campuses and online platforms across all 22 Guatemalan departments.
• Expertos Universitarios (Postgraduate Expert Programs) Postgraduate expert-level programs for specialized professional development, sitting between undergraduate and master's degree levels in the academic hierarchy.
• Maestrías (Master's Degree Programs) Master's degree programs for advanced academic and professional education, designed for working professionals seeking graduate credentials via flexible online and in-person delivery.
• Doctorados (Doctoral Programs) Doctoral degree programs representing the highest level of academic achievement offered by the university, targeting advanced research and academic career paths.
• Ingeniería en Sistemas con especialización en Inteligencia Artificial y Ciberseguridad A specialized systems engineering undergraduate degree program combining core systems engineering with focused study in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. Offered by the Faculty of Engineering for students seeking technical careers in AI and information security.
• Programa de Educación y Salud (Community Service Program) A mandatory community service program where students care for the health and nutrition of at-risk populations while gaining practical knowledge. Embedded in the academic experience as part of the university's rural development and social intermediation focus.
• Cursos Libres (Free Elective Courses) Free elective courses focused on cultural improvement and competitiveness skills, including business development and entrepreneurship training. Open to the general Guatemalan public for non-credit continuing education and cultural development.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Universidad Mariano Gálvez: Large private Guatemalan university with extensive multi-campus presence and broad program offerings. Direct peer in the multi-site private university category, with similar nationwide reach.
• Universidad Galileo: Private Guatemalan university with strong online and technology-oriented program offerings. Direct peer in online/hybrid higher education delivery and in competing for the same nationwide student pool.
• Universidad Francisco Marroquín: Highly regarded private Guatemalan university with multiple faculties and online programs. Direct peer in the Guatemalan private higher-education segment, competing for similar undergraduate and graduate students.
• Universidad del Istmo: Private Guatemalan university offering undergraduate and graduate programs. Direct peer in the private Guatemalan higher-education segment serving similar national student populations.
• Universidad del Valle de Guatemala: Private non-profit Guatemalan university known for research and STEM programs, operating multiple campuses. Comparable as a private multi-faculty degree-granting competitor within the same market.
• Universidad Panamericana de Guatemala: Private Guatemalan university with a multi-campus model and broad program offerings. Direct peer as a private competitor with similar nationwide student-recruitment approach.
• Universidad Rafael Landívar: Jesuit private university in Guatemala offering multi-faculty degree programs across the country. Most comparable direct peer in terms of national private-university positioning, program breadth, and Guatemalan market.
• Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala: Guatemala's public national university, the largest higher-education institution in the country. While public, it is the dominant direct competitor for Guatemalan students across all department-level markets.
• Universidad Mesoamericana: Private Guatemalan university operating across multiple campuses with a range of undergraduate and graduate programs. Direct peer in private multi-site higher education within the same market.

Regional players

• UNITEC (Universidad Tecnológica de México): Large for-profit multi-campus private university in Mexico with a similar multi-tier program structure and nationwide campus network. Comparable as a regional reference point for for-profit, multi-site, private higher education scale economics, though operating in a different country.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ururalgt
• Facebookfacebook.com/UniversidadRuralGT
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urural

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Universidad Rural de Guatemala