The Universidad de Santiago has its founding origins in the creation of the School of Arts and Crafts in 1849. Our institution has three important historical landmarks: its birth as the School of Arts and Crafts (1849), its redefinitions as State Technical University (1952), and as Universidad de Santiago de Chile (1981). The University of Santiago, Chile (Usach) (Spanish: Universidad de Santiago de Chile) is one of the oldest public universities in Chile. The institution was born as Escuela de Artes y Oficios (Spanish School of Arts and Crafts) in 1849, under the government of Manuel Bulnes. It became Universidad Técnica del Estado (Spanish Technical University of the State) in 1947, with various campuses throughout the country. In 1981, as a consequence of a reform on higher education under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, it became what is now known as Universidad de Santiago de Chile, with all activities centered in a single 340,000 m² campus in the capital Santiago.