Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia

About

Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia (Indonesian: Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya, abbreviated as Unika Atma Jaya), also known as Atma Jaya University or Atma Jaya, is an institute of higher learning in Jakarta, Indonesia, which was founded by the Atma Jaya Foundation on 1 June 1960. Atma Jaya has three campuses in Jakarta metropolitan area, in which the main campus is located in Semanggi, South Jakarta. The second campus, the center for health development, is located in Pluit, North Jakarta, next to its teaching hospital, Atma Jaya Hospital. The new campus is located in Tangerang, Banten (also called BSD Campus), and is planned to be the main campus for undergraduate students. According to a survey by GlobeAsia Magazine in 2008 Atma Jaya was ranked third among all private universities in Indonesia. The survey of Tempo magazine from 2005 to 2007 put Atma Jaya in the top ten best universities in Indonesia. The General Directorate of Higher Education categorizes Atma Jaya in 50 Promising Indonesian Universities out of 2864 higher education institutions in Indonesia. Since 2008, Atma Jaya has been increasing the number of undergraduate and graduate programs, and is constructing a new campus in Bumi Serpong Damai, Tangerang. The university has been visited once by a reigning pope. Pope John Paul II visited on 12 October 1989. One of its main buildings was named after Pope John Paul II's original name, Karol Wojtyła.

In June 1952, the bishops at an all-Java Bishops Meeting first dreamed of founding a Catholic institution of higher learning. The inspiration took form on 1 June 1960 with the establishment of the Atma Jaya Foundation. This institution later founded Atma Jaya Catholic University. Among the first founders were Ir. J.P. Cho, Ir. Lo Siang Hien-Ginting, Drs. Goei Tjong Tik, I.J. Kasimo, J.B. Legiman S.H, Drs. F.X. Frans Seda, Pang Lay Kim, Tan Bian Seng, Anton M. Moeliono, St. Munadjat Danusaputro, J.E. Tan, Ben Mang Reng Say, and Dr. Tjiook Tiauw Hie. During its early years, the Ursuline Sisters helped Atma Jaya by providing classrooms at their school complexes in Lapangan Banteng Utara and at Santa Theresia, Menteng. Since 1967, Atma Jaya gradually moved to the campus at Jalan Jendral Sudirman, now known as the Semanggi Campus, and then to the Pluit Campus in North Jakarta which houses the Faculty of Medicine, Atma Jaya Hospital and the Atma Jaya Mortuary. The faculties of Economics and Business Administration were founded in 1960, the faculties of Education and Engineering in 1961, the Faculty of Law in 1965, the Faculty of Medicine in 1967, the Faculty of Psychology in 1992, the master's degree program for professional psychologists in 2005, and the Faculty of Biotechnology in 2002. Today, Atma Jaya Catholic University has eight faculties with 17 programs for the undergraduate/bachelor's degree. The postgraduate programs consist of three programs for master's degrees: a Master of Management, Master of Applied English Linguistics in 1992, and a master's degree program for professional psychologists in 2005. There is one program for a doctoral degree in applied English linguistics that started in 2002.

Atma Jaya means the reign of the Spirit. The reign of the Spirit motivates the school to always increase education quality.

The Faculty of Economics was founded on July 11, 1960, is the oldest faculty at Unika Atma Jaya. Initially, this faculty had one department, the Management Department, with Corporate Economics as the study program; in 1974, the Accounting Department was opened; and in 1992, the Economics and Development Study (IESP) opened. The Faculty of Economics changed its name to the Faculty of Economics & Business in 2013.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.