Symbols

Along with the foundation of our University, the first symbolic manifestations that sought to build representative icons emerged. The coat of arms that represents the University today can be found in the first architectural plans of the Main Campus in Valparaíso, and dates back to the end of 1920.

The coat of arms of the University rescues certain values, embodied in the figure of its founder and ancestors, resorting to heraldry, joining the coats of arms of the Santa María family, on the left, and the coat of arms of the Carrera family, as a symbolic expression of the relationship of Federico Santa Maria with the hero of Chilean Independence, José Miguel Carrera, of whom he was a grandnephew.

In this symbol can also be found the motto of the University, which in a sash or ribbon that joins both coats of arms reads in Latin: “Ex Umbra In Solem”, whose translation is “From shadow to light”, and which succinctly expresses the ideal that moves this University in the formation of people, where knowledge is the light that guides the development of societies.

In the case of the flag and the banner of the USM, elements that also form a relevant part of the institutional identity, its definition also dates back to the early years of the University, in 1931, when it was proposed that the colors of the flag and banner were the same as the flag of the Patria Vieja (Old Chile Republic), created by José Miguel Carrera and composed of three horizontal stripes of yellow, blue and white. However, it was decided to replace these colors with those of the coat of arms of the family of the hero, finally leaving the three stripes of red, yellow and blue.