National Autonomous University of Mexico in diverse areas, such as robotics, computer science, mathematics, physics, human-computer interaction, history, philosophy, among others. All Mexican Nobel laureates are either alumni or faculty of UNAM. UNAM was founded, in its modern form, on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to its predecessor, the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico. UNAM obtained its autonomy from the government in 1929. This has given the university the freedom to define its own curriculum and manage its own budget without interference from the government. This has had a profound effect on academic life at the university, which some
1999 UNAM strike rector and appointment of a new one. Along the way, bloody conflicts resulted in serious injuries and even fatalities on the unlawfully occupied campus. Eventual action by the recently created federal police finally ended the occupation during February 2000. The third article of the Constitution of Mexico states that all education imparted by the state is free. Whether this includes decentralized, autonomous institutions of higher education like the UNAM is a matter of (often heated) debate. Tuition at the UNAM is not free, and it had last been raised in 1948 to 200 pesos per academic year (tuition became 20