As an autonomous institution of higher culture, the University of Costa Rica is made up of a community of professors, students and administrative officers, dedicated to teaching, research, social action, study, meditation, artistic creation and knowledge. There are diverse conceptions of the mission that a university must fulfill. For the University of Costa Rica, the primary activity should be aimed at fostering the advancement of knowledge at its maximum expression and effectively responding to the needs generated by the integral development of society. From this perspective, its permanent production, allows to reach levels of excellence in the training of professionals, who in turn act as diffusers and agents of change in the community in general.

The University of Costa Rica has a permanent average population of 40,000 students, distributed both at its headquarters and at its regional headquarters.

The main campus of the University of Costa Rica is the University City Rodrigo Facio, named in honor of ex-president Rodrigo Facio Brenes, who in the 50's and 60's led the university reform that has made the Institution one of the most recognized in the continent .

It is located in San Pedro de Montes de Oca, very close to the heart of the capital city (three kilometers east of downtown San Jose). It is divided into three main sectors:

The first and oldest one occupies a total area of ​​31.5 hectares and groups buildings of different faculties and schools, research and administrative, which currently total more than 200 000 m² built.

The second sector is the City of Research of the University of Costa Rica. It is located to the north-west of the central campus and is home to 21 hectares of research headquarters, two academic units, a children's day care center, a student residence and a planetarium donated by the Government of Japan.

The third sector is the sports facilities. In an area of ​​25 hectares are located the School of Physical Education and Sports, three multipurpose gyms, a swimming area with two swimming pools, and the Ecological Stadium. It also has areas of tennis, beach volleyball, soccer, basketball and outdoor athletics.

The delicate balance between the colorful buildings and the natural beauty of the campus is its most outstanding feature. Extensive green areas, an impressive variety of trees that bloom at different times of the year, species of birds that are inhabitants rooted in this natural complex, including the presence of two biological reserves, constitute the permanent setting of the campus Rodrigo Facio, in addition to the opportunity Of coexistence, interrelation and study for the students. That is why it is a must for tourists who visit our country all year round.