The Columbus University, is an institution of High Education, established on October 12 of 1992. It is authorized for its functioning by the Panamanian Ministry of Education, and is recognized as a Private University, by the Panamanian State, through the Executive Decree (in Spanish, Decreto Ejecutivo) No. 112 of date February 25 of 1994 and published in the Official Gazette (in Spanish, Gaceta Official) No. 22-492 of March 11 of 1994.
All its academic programs, are approved by the State Universities responsible for it: Universidad de Panamá (University of Panama) and Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá (Technologic University of Panama).

At present it comprises these faculties:

• Medicine and Health Sciences
• Administrative Sciences, Economic and Business
• Education Sciences and Linguistic
• Marine Sciences and Technological
• Natural Sciences and Architecture
• Social Sciences and of the Information
• Law and Political Sciences