Laureate International Universities (LIU) are leading institutions of quality, innovative higher education. LIU offers the widest range of high-quality programs in more than 130 fields of study, including business, education, engineering, information technology, law, and medicine. In addition to leading programs in these fields of study, multiple institutions in the LIU network are recognized as leading international providers of quality higher education in fields of study such as education, health sciences, hospitality, art, architecture and design, and culinary arts. These institutions collaborate to leverage their best-practice academic programs throughout the network so they are available to students worldwide.  Laureate has named these best-practice academic programs Centers of Excellence and makes them available to students attending any LIU institution.  

The hallmarks of Laureate Centers of Excellence are academic expertise, a track record of research and innovation, and groundbreaking thought leadership in each field of study. Laureate Centers of Excellence make outstanding faculty, curriculum, and teaching practices available to students across the entire Laureate International Universities network.

For example, more than 65,000 students are enrolled in medical and health sciences degree programs within the network institutions, making LIU one of the world’s largest providers of medical and health sciences programs.  Through the Laureate Centers of Excellence in Health Sciences, LIU offers medical and health sciences programs in 10 countries, 17 institutions, 57 cities, and 62 campuses and online. 

LIU is also the world’s largest hospitality education provider, offering the widest range of high-quality programs in the field of international hospitality management. At the core of the Laureate Centers of Excellence in Hospitality are Switzerland’s Les Roches International School of Hotel Management and Glion Institute of Higher Education: two of the world’s top three institutions of higher education for an international hospitality degree. Through partnership programs with institutions in the LIU network, students pursuing a hospitality degree at a Laureate institution in China, Mexico, Chile, and the United States can earn a dual degree from either Les Roches or Glion.

Education is another of the Laureate Centers of Excellence.  More than 49,000 students are pursuing degrees in education at Laureate Centers of Excellence in Education  around the world, many of them through The Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership at Walden University.  The Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership, named in honor of the former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education and who is a leading advocate in advancing education, is the largest online provider by enrollment of graduate level education programs in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report in April 2009 .  Walden master's and doctoral programs are offered to the faculty at Laureate institutions worldwide.  

Laureate also has Centers of Excellence in Art, Architecture and Design.  More than 34,000 students worldwide are enrolled in Laureate programs in art, architecture and design, including programs in the United States at the NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego and the Santa Fe University of Art and Design in New Mexico;  Universidade Anhembi Morumbi (UAM), Brazil; Escuela Moderna de Música (EMM), Chile; and Milan’s Domus Academy and Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano.

Laureate Centers of Excellence provide students with best-practice curriculum, a global industry perspective, and the opportunity to choose study locations and specializations--further expanding graduate employability in these growing fields.