74 Notable alumni of University of Costa Rica

Armando Aráuz Aguilar was a Costa Rican lawyer and politician who served as Second Vice President of Costa Rica between 1982 and 1986, serving under president Luis Alberto Monge. He was also a Deputy in the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica between 1966 and 1970 and again between 1979 and 1982. He was a law professor at the University of...

Emilia Molina Cruz is a Costa Rican politician, social worker, and entrepreneur. She was a deputy in the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica for the 2014–2018 term.

Percy Kenneth Rodríguez Argüello is a Costa Rican politician, writer, international analyst and diplomat. He was mayor of the Municipality of Tibás for the period 2003-2007.

Jorge Antonio Salas Bonilla is a Costa Rican lawyer and politician. He was mayor of Tibás between 2007 and 2011.

Giannina Segnini Picado is a Costa Rican journalist recognized for having uncovered two political scandals that led to convictions of former presidents – the ICE-Alcatel and Caja-Fischel cases. She has become a distinguished figure in Latin America for her work in investigative and data journalism.

Sofia Hernandez Salazar is a Costa Rican human rights, and environmental activist.

Carlos Meléndez Chaverri was a Costa Rican historian. Meléndez was the son of Saturnino Lizano and Chaverri Orfilia Chacon. He married María Lourdes Doubles Umaña, who bore him five children: Silvia María, Lucia, Diego, Alberto and Pablo Meléndez Doubles. He won the Magón National Prize for Culture in 1993.

Henry Mora Jiménez is a Costa Rican economist and political activist. Mora was a member of the 2014-2018 Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica, serving with the Citizens' Action Party. He was the President of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica from 2014 to 2015.

Víctor Iván Vargas Blanco is a Costa Rican plasma and nuclear fusion physicist. He is renowned for his work in plasma physics and nuclear fusion. Currently, as a professor and tenured researcher at the Costa Rica Institute of Technology, he heads the Plasma Laboratory for Fusion Energy and Applications that he founded in 2011.

Victoria Garrón de Doryan was a Costa Rican educator and writer most known for serving as Second Vice President of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990. She was the first woman to hold the post and during her tenure was acting president of the country over a dozen times. As a writer, she produced numerous biographies of historical Costa Ricans,...

Margarita Bolaños Arquín is a Costa Rican politician and anthropologist who was president of the Citizens' Action Party (PAC).

Rodrigo Oreamuno Blanco is a Costa Rican politician and lawyer who was First Vice President of Costa Rica between 1994 and 1998, serving under president José María Figueres. In the 2018 elections, he endorsed the candidate Carlos Alvarado Quesada of the Citizens' Action Party.

Gerardo Arturo Sánchez-Azofeifa is a full professor at the University of Alberta, the director of the university's Center for Earth Observation Sciences, and the director of Tropi-Dry, a research group focusing on land use/policy studies in tropical dry regions of the Americas. His research is related to the study of impacts of land use/cover change on biodiversity loss and habitat...

Montserrat Sagot Rodríguez is a Costa Rican sociologist especially known for her work on violence against women and girls. She was a pioneer in research on femicide in Central America. In 2010, she published the first research on femicide in Costa Rica.

Roxana Pinto Lopez is a Costa Rican poet, novelist and essayist.

Alice L. Pérez Sánchez was born in Costa Rica on December 23, 1963. She is a significant figure in the field of chemistry due to her outstanding contributions to scientific research, education, and leadership in Costa Rica and Latin America. Her work in the synthesis of organic compounds with anti-parasitic and anti-cancer properties addresses critical health challenges, particularly in tropical...

Julián Monge-Nájera is a Costa Rican ecologist, scientific editor, educator and photographer. He has done research with the following institutions: Universidad de Costa Rica, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and Universidad Estatal a Distancia. His scientific work has been featured by The New York Times; National Geographic; the BBC; Wired; IFLoveScience; The Independent (London) and Reader's Digest, among others. He is...

Carmen Geannina Dinarte Romero is a Costa Rican politician who served as the minister of the Presidency of Costa Rica from 2020 to 2022. A member of the Citizens' Action Party, she served as vice minister of SMEs and Entrepreneurship between 2014 and 2017 and as minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce between 2017 and 2018 in the Solís Rivera...

Carlos Ricardo Benavides Jiménez is a Costa Rican lawyer, businessman, and politician. He served as President of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica from 2019 and 2020 and is currently serving as a Deputy of Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica representing the San José Province. Benavides holds a Law degree and public notary from the University of Costa Rica.

Juan Carlos Mendoza García is a Costa Rican politician and the country's current Ambassador to the United Nations. He was a deputy with the Citizens' Action Party (PAC for its Spanish initials) during the 2010 to 2014 and served as President of the Legislative Assembly from 2011 to 2012.

Julieta Dobles Yzaguirre is a Costa Rican poet, writer, and educator. She is a five-time winner of the Aquileo J. Echeverría National Prize and received the Magón National Prize for Culture in 2013.

Jorge Rossi Chavarría was a Costa Rican politician. He was a lawyer, businessman. He co-founded the National Liberation Party (PLN) with Jose Figueres. He was Vice President of Costa Rica from 1970 to 1974 and representative from 1986 to 1990.

María Luisa Ávila Agüero is a Costa Rican pediatric infectious disease specialist who was Minister of Public Health during the administrations of Óscar Arias Sánchez (2006–2010) and Laura Chinchilla Miranda (2010–2014).

Laura Alfaro is chief economist and economic counselor at the Inter-American Development Bank, a leading source of financing and knowledge for the economic, social, and institutional development of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Carolina Hidalgo Herrera is a Costa Rican politician from the Citizen Action Party. She was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 2018 to 2019.

Marcela Guerrero Campos is the fourth deputy from San José for the 2014 to 2018 assembly. Guerrero is a member of the Citizens' Action Party and served as their Vice-President.

Eduardo Ulibarri Bilbao is a Costa Rican journalist.

Pedro Miguel Muñoz Fonseca is a Costa Rican lawyer, businessman and politician. He served as president of the Social Christian Unity Party from July 2014 to September 2018.

Anabel González is an economic development expert. She is currently Vice President for Countries at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Priscilla Monge is a Costa Rican artist. She is one of the best-known female artists from Central America.

Luis Fishman Zonzinski is a Costa Rican politician. He was the President of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica from 1998 to 1999. Fishman Zonzinski was elected as the Second Vice President of Costa Rica alongside Lineth Saborío Chaverri from 2002–2006, but never formally took office. In 2010, he was the Social Christian Unity Party's candidate for president in the...

José Miguel Corrales Bolaños is a Costa Rican politician. he was the National Liberation Party candidate in the 1998 presidential election, and the New Motherland Party candidate in the 2014 presidential election. From 2005 to 2009 he was the President of Patriotic Union Party and tried to be its presidential candidate, but finally dropped to endorse Humberto Arce. In the...

Astrid Fischel Volio is a Costa Rican historian and politician.

Jesús Welmer Ramos González is a Costa Rican economist, administrator, and politician. He was the minister of economy, industry and commerce and president of the governing board of the Development Banking System between 2014 and 2017 in the Solís Rivera administration and national deputy during the 2018–2022 period.

Rolando Araya Monge is a Costa Rican politician. He is a nephew of former president Luis Alberto Monge.

Ottón Solís Fallas is a Costa Rican politician. He graduated with a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Costa Rica in 1976 and gained a master's degree in economics from the University of Manchester in 1978. He is currently serving his second term as congressman. He was a founding member of the Citizens' Action Party (PAC for its Spanish...

Evaristo Coronado Salas is considered the best Costa Rican football striker during the 1980s.

Rodrigo Gerardo de Jesús Arias Sánchez is a Costa Rican lawyer and politician who has been President of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica since 2022. He also served as Minister of the Presidency during the two governments of his brother, Óscar Arias Sánchez, from 1986 to 1990 and 2006 to 2010.

Alberto Cañas Escalante was a politician, writer, intellectual, public servant, and journalist from San José, Costa Rica. He is known as one of the most important figures in the cultural, political, and social life of Costa Rica during the latter half of the twentieth century. The National Library System of Costa Rica credits Cañas with more than 4,773 publications as...

Helio Fallas Venegas is a Costa Rica economist and politician. From 2014 to 2018 he served as the vice-president of the country, along with Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría. Fallas' main economic interest is national public policy. He generally opposes free trade and supports public social programs. Fallas has served in three separate presidential administrations.

Kevin Casas-Zamora is a Costa Rican politician, lawyer and political scientist. Casas-Zamora is Secretary General of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, an inter-governmental organization based in Stockholm; and Senior Fellow and former Director of the Peter D. Bell Rule of Law Program at the Inter-American Dialogue, a policy research center based in Washington D.C. Prior to that...

Luis Liberman Ginsburg is a Costa Rican businessman and former Second Vice President of Costa Rica from 2010 to 2014. He was elected in February 2010 on the ticket with President Laura Chinchilla and First Vice President Alfio Piva. Liberman's family moved to Costa Rica from Poland prior to World War II. He is the grandson of the first Mohel...

Elizabeth Odio Benito is a lawyer and politician from Costa Rica. She served as President in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights from 2018 to 2020. She was a Vice-President of the International Criminal Court and of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. She was twice appointed Justice Minister in her home country of Costa Rica, later becoming...

Otto Guevara Guth is a politician in Costa Rica and founder of the Partido Movimiento Libertario (Libertarian Movement Party). He served in the Costa Rican legislature from 1998-2002 and 2014-2018. Guevara is currently the president of the Libertarian Movement Party and has been its candidate for president of Costa Rica in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014.

Gonzalo Justo Facio Segreda was a Costa Rican lawyer, politician, and diplomat.

José María Villalta Florez-Estrada is a Costa Rican attorney, environmentalist and politician. He was the only representative in the Costa Rican Parliament of the leftist party Frente Amplio (Broad Front) for the period that comprised 2010–2014. Villalta also was the candidate of the Frente Amplio for the presidential elections of 2014 in Costa Rica.

Josette Altmann Borbón is a Costa Rican historian, public figure and politician. She previously served as the First Lady of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998 during the tenure of her ex-husband, former President José María Figueres. In June 2016, Altmann was elected Secretary General of the Latin American Social Sciences Institute (FLACSO), an inter-governmental organization dedicated to researching and...

Humberto Brenes is a Costa Rican professional poker player.

Ana Patricia Mora Castellanos is a Costa Rican sociologist, university professor, and politician.

Ibo Bonilla Oconitrillo is an architect, sculptor, mathematician, and educator of Costa Rica. He has Costa Rican and Spanish nationality. He is known mainly for the creation of bioclimatic buildings and his monuments in public spaces.

Johnny Francisco Araya Monge is a Costa Rican politician. He was the mayor of the country's capital San José from 1998 to 2013 and again from 2016 to 2024. He was also the co-president of the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) from 2010 to 2013. He is a member of the National Liberation Party (PLN) and was a presidential...

Mary Denisse Munive Angermüller is a Costa Rican physician and politician who has been the Second Vice-President of Costa Rica under First Vice-President Stephan Brunner and President Rodrigo Chaves Robles since 2022. She has been the Minister of Health since 2023, and was also the Minister of Sports.

Sandra Cauffman is a Costa Rican-American (born in Costa Rica) specialist in electrical engineering and physics. She is known for her work at NASA in different projects. Her profile has been highlighted by UN Women for being a positive example for women, especially, youth and children. Cauffman worked for 25 years at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,...

Rodolfo Piza Rocafort is a Costa Rican politician and lawyer. He served as executive president of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund during the administration of Miguel Ángel Rodríguez (PUSC), and later served as justice of the Supreme Court of Justice.

Juan Diego Castro Fernández is a Costa Rican lawyer and politician, former Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Costa Rica. Castro is a Defense lawyer who studied Law and Criminal science at the University of Costa Rica and has a Doctorate degree in Mediation from Universidad La Salle. Castro was Minister of Public Safety between 1994 and 1997 during...

Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría is a Costa Rican economist, lawyer, businessman and politician who served as President of Costa Rica from 1998 to 2002. He was minister of planning from 1968 to 1970 and minister of the presidency in 1970 during the administration of Jose Joaquin Trejos Fernandez (1966 - 1970); member of the board of the Costa Rican Central...

Epsy Alejandra Campbell Barr is a Costa Rican politician and economist who served as the Vice-president of Costa Rica from 8 May 2018 to 8 May 2022. She is the first woman of African descent to be vice president in Costa Rica and in Latin America.

Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier was President of Costa Rica from 1990 to 1994. He was the presidential candidate of the Social Christian Unity Party for the national elections held in February 2010, but resigned his candidacy on 5 October 2009, when he was sentenced to five years in prison for two counts of corruption.

Luis Alberto Monge Álvarez was the President of Costa Rica from 1982 to 1986. He also served as Costa Rica's first Ambassador to Israel from 1963 until 1966.

Rodrigo José Ramón Francisco de Jesús Carazo Odio was a Costa Rican economist and politician who served as the 38th President of Costa Rica from 8 May 1978 to 8 May 1982.

Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis is a Costa Rican economist who has been serving as Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) since 13 September 2021.

Porfirio Ricardo José Luis Daniel Oduber Quirós was a Costa Rican politician, lawyer, philosopher, poet, and essayist. He served as the President of Costa Rica from 1974 to 1978. He is credited with the creation of the Sistema Nacional de Radio y Televisión and the Universidad Estatal a Distancia.

Claudia Vanessa Dobles Camargo is a Costa Rican architect and urban planner. Dobles, the wife of President Carlos Alvarado Quesada, served as the First Lady of Costa Rica from 2018 to 2022. She is the first person from San Carlos to hold the position of first lady.

Julieta Castellanos is a Honduran sociologist and the dean of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) since 2009. Castellanos is known for campaigning against violence in Honduras, focusing on both drug cartels and police corruption. She has advocated for both judicial and police reform. Castellanos founded the Observatorio de la Violencia (Violence Observatory) at UNAH in 2004, a center...

Antonio Álvarez Desanti is a Costa Rican politician, lawyer and businessman who has served twice as President of the Legislative Assembly (1995-1996 and 2016). He was National Liberation Party candidate for the 2018 Costa Rican general election.

Carmen Naranjo Coto was a Costa Rican novelist, poet and essayist. She was a recipient of the Aquileo J. Echeverría National Prize.

Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera is a Costa Rican politician and educator who was the 47th President of Costa Rica from 2014 to 2018. He is a member of the Citizens' Action Party (PAC).

Benjamin Myer Fogle FRGS is an English broadcaster, writer and adventurer, best known for his presenting roles on programmes shown on British television channels Channel 5, BBC and ITV.

María Dolores Leonor "Mariló" Montero Abárzuza, is a Spanish journalist and television presenter. She was a presenter of La mañana de La 1 of TVE from 2009 to 2016.

Carlos Andrés Alvarado Quesada is a Costa Rican politician, writer, journalist, and political scientist who served as the 48th president of Costa Rica from 8 May 2018 to 8 May 2022. A member of the Citizens' Action Party (PAC), he previously served as Minister of Labor and Social Security under President Luis Guillermo Solís.

Rodrigo Alberto de Jesús Chaves Robles is a Costa Rican politician and economist who has served as the 49th president of Costa Rica since 2022. He was previously Minister of Finance from 2019 to 2020 during the presidency of Carlos Alvarado Quesada.

Óscar Arias Sánchez is a Costa Rican politician, activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was the president of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2010.

Laura Chinchilla Miranda is a Costa Rican political scientist and politician who served as President of Costa Rica from 2010 to 2014. She was one of Óscar Arias Sánchez's two Vice-Presidents and his administration's Minister of Justice. She was the governing PLN candidate for president in the 2010 general election, where she won with 46.76% of the vote on 7...