Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center

Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center in Costa Rica functions as an international land-grant university. The center functions as a research facility which works to develop agricultural techniques while preserving biological resources throughout Central America and the Caribbean. The institution serves as a critical bridge between scientific discovery and field application, maintaining a beautiful 1,000-hectare campus that houses some of the world's most significant germplasm collections, including diverse varieties of coffee and cacao. The organization operates its mission to create better human outcomes through its climate-resilient sustainable territorial development activities which extend to its 14 member nations.

The Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IICA) first established the institution in Turrialba during 1942 with support from the Costa Rican government and leadership by U.S. Vice President Henry A. Wallace. The site became a research and training center which supported wartime agricultural needs because World War II required both strategic importance and political stability. The center's evolution throughout the decades reached its peak when CATIE became an autonomous non-profit organization through a 1973 treaty between the Costa Rican government and IICA. The center has established itself as the oldest graduate school in Latin America which specializes in tropical agriculture and natural resource management since it became an independent organization.

Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center is ranked as the #5 top university in Costa Rica during 2026. This is the same rank as last year.