About Albizu University

The origin of Albizu University dates back to 1966, when the Puerto Rico Institute of Psychology (Instituto Psicológico de Puerto Rico) was founded with the specific objective of offering a master’s program in clinical psychology.

At the time, there were very few mental health professionals in Puerto Rico and most of them received their professional education abroad. Upon completing their studies, returning mental health professionals were forced to adapt their training to Puerto Rican sociocultural realities. A distinguished Puerto Rican psychologist, Dr. Carlos Albizu-Miranda, developed the Puerto Rico Institute of Psychology in response to the need for culturally sensitive professional training.

In 1971, its name was changed to the Caribbean Center for Advanced Studies (Centro Caribeño de Estudios Postgraduados), and in 1980, Dr. Albizu-Miranda established the Miami Institute of Psychology to extend the benefit of graduate psychology programs that were sensitive to cultural and ethnic issues in the continental United States. In January 2000, the university in Miami and the university in Puerto Rico (along with one university center) were renamed Carlos Albizu University in honor of its founder and is now known as Albizu University.

Today, the university is an educational institution whose accredited study and research programs are founded, both in theory and in practice, on the multicultural heritages of Puerto Rico (at our university in Puerto Rico) and South Florida (at our university in Miami.) Through the programs at its two campuses, Albizu University provides professional training that is relevant and responsive to the mental health needs of multicultural communities and to the necessity for culturally sensitive research, thereby contributing to furthering the development of psychology, health, education and human services professions.

Carlos Albizu-Miranda recognized the need to view psychological assessment and intervention from the perspective of the population it serves. He is renowned as an educator, the founder of the university that bears his name, and the first president of the National Latinx Psychological Association (formerly known as the National Hispanic Psychological Association).

To be an international leader in academic innovation, research, and community service, promoting diversity to generate a transformative social impact.

Albizu University educates professionals in behavioral sciences, speech pathology and other disciplines, committed to research, to improve quality of life, and to serve diverse communities.

Albizu University fosters the following values:

• At Albizu, “love reaches beyond knowledge”
• Excellence in academic programs and services
• The integral and humanistic development of the student is essential at Albizu
• Respect for diversity
• Commitment to social responsibility
• Updating and integration of knowledge with technological advances
• Ethical behavior at all organizational levels
• Commitment to the development of our human resources
• Openness to academic community participation
• Operational transparency and administrative efficiency

Albizu University seeks to train professionals in a manner that enables them to:

• Integrate theory and practice in their chosen fields
• Be sensitive to the cultural realities of different ethnic groups
• Understand and put into practice ethical norms and professional standards
• View personal growth and development as a lifelong process

In fulfillment of its institutional goals, Albizu University follows a long tradition of academic excellence, innovative educational policies, and community commitment. In the words of our founder, Carlos Albizu-Miranda, “love reaches beyond knowledge.”

Albizu University is a private, non-profit institution on higher learning with campuses in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Miami, Florida. AU also has one university center in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. It is the only regionally accredited secular university in the continental United States named in honor of a Hispanic, Dr. Carlos Albizu-Miranda. We are proud of our roots and our commitment to excellence in academic offerings. To date, over 9,000 graduates call Albizu University their alma mater—a university that prides itself in educating culturally competent individuals capable of serving the diverse populations of our global community.

Albizu University offers thorough and challenging programs in psychology, education, speech language therapy and pathology, human services, English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), and criminal justice, taught by our diverse, expert faculty to more than 2,000 students in three (3) campuses. With more than 65 countries represented in our student body, the university thrives in a modern facility in Miami, in the heart of Old San Juan, and in the city of Mayagüez.