Protestant University in the Congo


Protestant University in the Congo, is a university in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, affiliated with the Protestant Church which is known in the country as the Church of Christ in the Congo.
WWW upc.ac.cd

Location

The university's campus is located in the commune called Lingwala, in the Lukunga District of Kinshasa, the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The campus is bounded to the west by Avenue Pierre Mulele, immediately north of the Centenary Protestant Cathedral and adjacent to the National Museum of Congo, which lies to the south and south-east of the campus. The geographical coordinates of UPC campus are 4°19'59.0"S, 15°17'52.0"E.

Overview

The UPC traces its origins to the establishment of the Faculty of Protestant Theology of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi in 1959. It became the Faculty of Protestant Theology in Free University of the Congo in 1963 and was later folded into the National University of Zaire as part of the centralization of secondary education in the country in 1971. It was subsequently re-established an independent body in 1974 when UNAZA was securalised. As of 2015, it was the largest Protestant university in the world, with a student enrollment of approximately 8,000. At that time, 55 percent of the students were female and 45 percent were male.

Academics

As of September 2015, UPC had the following faculties as illustrated in the table below. The year each faculty was established is also shown.
RankFacultyYear of establishmentNotes
1Faculty of Theology1959
2Faculty of Business Administration and Economics1989
3Faculty of Law1994
4Faculty of Medicine2006
5Faculty of Computer Science2017

Religious diversity

The table below illustrates the religious diversity among registered students in the university, as of September 2015.
RankReligious BeliefNumber of StudentsPercentageNotes
1Independent Churches2,95937.70
2Protestants2,51031.97
3Catholics2,29829.27
4Jehovah's Witnesses280.35
5Kimbanguists260.33
6Muslims190.24
7Orthodox30.04
8Anglicans20.025
9Salvationists20.025
Total7,849100.00

Prominent alumni