| National University of San Cristóbal de Huamanga | |
| Native Name: | Universidad Nacional de San Cristóbal de Huamanga |
| Native Name Lang: | Spanish |
| Other Name: | UNSCH |
| Motto: | Primum Vivere, Deinde Philosophare |
| Motto Lang: | Latin |
| Mottoeng: | First Live, then Philosophize |
| Founder: | Cristóbal de Castilla y Zamora |
| Type: | Public |
| Rector: | Dr. Homero Ango Aguilar |
| Students: | 8,984 (2010) |
| City: | Ayacucho |
| Country: | Peru |
| Address: | Portal Independencia Nº 57 |
| Colors: | Gray |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Mascot: | Eagle |
The National University of San Cristóbal de Huamanga (Spanish; Castilian: Universidad Nacional de San Cristóbal de Huamanga) is a public university located in the city of Ayacucho (formerly known as Huamanga) in southern Peru.
The university was established in 1677 by Cristóbal de Castilla y Zamora, the Catholic archbishop of La Plata o Charcas. Until it was closed in the mid-19th century, it operated mostly as a seminary for the training of Catholic priests. The government of Perú reopened it in 1959 as a national university.
In the 1960s, the university became a breeding ground for communist organizations, including the Shining Path. This group, led by philosophy professor Abimael Guzmán, started there before growing into a violent guerrilla movement that conducted a bloody campaign against the government of Perú and against rival leftists groups. (See also Efraín Morote Best.)
The rector of the university is Homero Ango Aguilar, a biologist.[1]