Nicoya is a district and head city of the Nicoya canton, in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica , located on the Nicoya Peninsula . It is one of the country's most important tourist zones; it serves as a transport hub to Guanacaste's beaches and national parks .
27-500: Nicoya has an area of 310.61 km and an elevation of 123 metres. For the 2011 census , Nicoya had a population of 24,833 inhabitants. In early 2006, a group of researchers led by adventure writer Dan Buettner and supported by National Geographic Magazine , the National Institute on Aging , and Allianz Healthcare, designated Nicoya as a Blue Zone . This designation is granted to global regions that are characterized by
54-558: A population estimated before the census at about 4,650,000 individuals (the census itself counted 4,301,712 people). The census questionnaire inquired about housing, including the physical and structural characteristics of the house, whether it was owned or rented, and if basic services (water, electricity) were present. The census form also asked about equipment in the house: telephone (mobile and fixed), vehicles, and information technology and communication (radio, television, cable or satellite, computer and internet). Questions concerning
81-708: A secular and humanist institution. The university encourages social work and social research activities. In order to graduate, most students must work in the Trabajo Comunal Universitario (University Community Service), which is organized by the university. The university maintains a prestigious position in Costa Rican society and is the most often cited governmental institution in Costa Rican media . Opinions generated on scientific, ethical and economic matters strongly influence Costa Rican policies and public sentiment. Costa Rican law requires
108-479: A variety of academic fields. The university manages 42 research institutes: The school calendar runs from March to December, while the academic year in Costa Rican schools and high schools starts in February. The school year is divided into two semesters, plus one additional summer term that may be mandatory depending on the student's chosen career and that extends from early January to late February. Semana U
135-421: Is an event held during the first semester and involves the participation of the different student organizations. There are many concerts, talks, expositions, and other activities. The Expo UCR (sometimes called la Expo ) is a bi-annual event that showcases the university's work and developments in various areas. An internal free shuttle moves students around its main campus and satellite areas (fincas) including
162-541: Is highly selective, having an acceptance rate of approximately 25%. In 2009, out of the 31.042 that completed the admission test, only 16,593 obtained a score above the 442 points required to gain admission. Gaining admission to the university, however, does not assure admission to a chosen departmental program or major. In 2007, only 60% of those admitted to the university were accepted into their chosen major. The remaining 40% have to take classes that may not work for their major, hoping it will lift their grade point average to
189-582: Is located on a 100 ha (250-acre) campus in San Pedro, San José ( Rodrigo Facio campus). Other regional campuses are located throughout the country to reach plural eata Costa Ricans. The regional campuses are: The main campus in San Pedro offers the most diverse course curricula of any other campus, in addition to hosting the Medical School and graduate programs. The university, while neutral on most aspects of Costa Rican life, defines itself as
216-599: Is the oldest standing agreement between two universities in the Western Hemisphere . The university maintains academic relationships with more than 41 countries, including (in alphabetical order): Argentina , Austria , Belgium , Bolivia , Brazil , Canada , Chile , Colombia , Cuba , Denmark , the Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Finland , France , Germany , Honduras , Iceland , Israel , Italy , Japan , Jamaica , Mexico ,
243-421: Is used along with the grades from the student's last years in high school to determine the student's admission score, which is later used to determine admission to a specific major and financial aid. 800 is the highest possible score on the admission test and 442 is the minimum score required for admission. Students who score 800 usually appear in the front pages of Costa Rican newspapers. Undergraduate Admission
270-506: Is voluntary so residents can refuse to take part and enumerators will accept this response. Primary school teachers have conducted the census since the 1950s. About 35,000 were needed in 2011 but not all teachers wanted to participate. The numbers were made up by students and statistics undergraduates from the University of Costa Rica , earning ₡50,000 ($ 100) for a week's work. The census cost $ 3.6 million and preliminary results of
297-736: The Köppen Climate Classification system, Nicoya has a tropical savanna climate , abbreviated "Aw" on climate maps. Costa Rica 2011 Census The 2011 Costa Rican census was undertaken by the National Institute of Statistics and Census ( Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC)) in Costa Rica . The semi-autonomous government body, INEC, was created by Census Law No. 7839 on 4 November 1998. The census took place between Monday, 30 May 2011 and Friday, 3 June 2011 when 35,000 enumerators, mostly teachers, visited an estimated 1,300,000 households to count
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#1732765986256324-570: The National Liberation Party (PLN) . A.D. Guanacasteca is the city's major football team, having spent several years in the Costa Rican Primera División . In 2004, they sold their license and were moved away from Nicoya to become Brujas F.C . , but were reformed a year later. They currently play their home games at Estadio Chorotega. This area typically has a pronounced dry season. According to
351-644: The National Technical University opened in 2008 after merging several trade schools. Today, Costa Rica has those five public universities, and approximately fifty-three small private ones, but the UCR remains the largest and most well funded institution. Costa Rican applicants to the UCR must take an admission test. This test is similar to the SAT in the United States. The score of this test
378-731: The Netherlands , Nicaragua , Norway , Panama , Peru , Portugal , Puerto Rico , Russia , South Korea , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , Taiwan (R.O.C.), Uruguay , the United Kingdom , the United States , and Venezuela . UCR is divided into six major academic areas: Agricultural Sciences, Arts and Letters, Basic Sciences, Engineering, Health and Social Sciences. These areas are divided into colleges, schools and departments, research centers and institutes. The Graduate Studies System offers masters and doctorate degrees in
405-592: The Organization for Tropical Studies , whose headquarters in Costa Rica are located within UCR's central campus (Rodrigo Facio campus). Other universities with ties to the University of Costa Rica are: University of Florida , State University of New York at Albany , University of Texas at Austin , University of Illinois , University of Maryland , Rutgers University and the University of Kansas , which
432-534: The Roman Catholic Church and was closed in 1888 by the progressive and anti-clerical government of President Bernardo Soto Alfaro as part of a campaign to modernize public education. The schools of law , agronomy , fine arts , and pharmacy continued to operate independently. In 1940, those four schools were re-united to establish the modern UCR, during the reformist administration of President Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia . The UCR remained
459-901: The Webometrics Ranking of World Universities it occupies the 4th place in Central America and the Caribbean, 28th in Latin America and 844 globally. The university maintains international cooperation alliances with the DAAD (the German Academic Trust), the governments of Japan, France, Mexico, Spain, Taiwan (R.O.C.), the European Union , the OAS and United States research institutions such as
486-519: The Cordillera Volcánica de Guanacaste. Agriculture and cattle form the backbone of the city's economy, as well as the province which surrounds it. While the town elected 61-year-old Lorenzo Rosales Vargas as mayor on December 3, 2006, he was only able to serve for about a year before quitting for health reasons. Since May 5, 2008 Eduardo Gutiérrez Rosales has been holding the office as Nicoya's first supply mayor. They are both members of
513-724: The Costa Rican Congress to request the university's opinion (amongst other institutions) on whether a new law should be approved or not. UCR counts Costa Rica's Nobel laureate Oscar Arias , ex-presidents, many ministers, and many heads of the country's public institutions as alumni. UCR is also part of the Consejo Nacional de Rectores (National Council of University Rectors), a watchdog body that overviews higher education quality, and recognition of university-level degrees from foreign countries. For many years, UCR grew in close partnership with public action of
540-782: The State, forming the professional staff necessary for the growth of new public institutions such as the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), the Costa Rican Social Security Fund may Social (CCSS) and the State Bank. Currently, the university occupies the first place in Central America and the Caribbean, 19th place in Latin America and 511-520th place worldwide in the QS World University Rankings . In
567-404: The city with Liberia (76 km, north-bound). On the opposite way, Route 21 also connects Nicoya to the rest of Nicoya Peninsula, including Pueblo Viejo (exit to Route 18, and then connecting to Route 1), on the main way to San José (204 km vía Route 1). Nicoya has also an airport for domestic flights with no current scheduled services. The town was built in an old colonial style, in
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#1732765986256594-672: The count were published in December 2011. It counted 4,301,712 people, an increase of 12.9 percent since the 2000 census. University of Costa Rica The University of Costa Rica (Spanish: Universidad de Costa Rica, abbreviated UCR ) is a public university in the Republic of Costa Rica , in Central America . Its main campus, Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio, is located in San Pedro Montes de Oca , in
621-728: The country's sole university until the Costa Rica Institute of Technology ( Tecnológico de Costa Rica ) and the National University of Costa Rica ( Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica ) were opened by the government in 1972 and 1973, respectively. Years later, in 1979, another public university opened: the Distance State University ( Universidad Estatal a Distancia ), modeled after the British Open University , and lastly
648-484: The inhabitants asked about the number of people living in the household , number of households per housing unit, who was the head of the household, family relations between people living in the house, sex, age, and place of birth. Other questions inquired about disabilities and ethnic identification, among other things. In Costa Rica, tourists and temporary visitors are not counted, but foreigners who have lived there for six months are included. Furthermore, participation
675-464: The level necessary in order to be admitted to the program of their liking. International applicants must revalidate their high school certificate and grades from their country of origin at the Ministry of Public Education ( Ministerio de Educación Pública ) in order to apply and take the admission test. Graduate school applicants must revalidate their undergraduate certificate also. The main campus
702-429: The longest life expectancies. Among the ideal Nicoyan lifestyle characteristics cited by the research were the water's high calcium and magnesium content, intense daily physical activity, year-long fruit consumption, and close inter-generational relationships. As of 1850, Nicoya harvested pearls for exportation. The district is covered by the following road routes: Route 21 is the main road serving Nicoya, connecting
729-505: The province of San José . It is the oldest and largest institution of higher learning in Costa Rica, originally established as the Universidad de Santo Tomás in 1843. Approximately 45,000 students attend UCR throughout the year. The first institution dedicated to higher education in Costa Rica was the University of Saint Thomas ( Universidad de Santo Tomás ), which was established in 1843. That institution maintained close ties with
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