The  Bernardo O'Higgins University  is a Chilean private university, autonomous, founded in March 1990 and inspired by O'Higginian thought. Its central house is located next to Parque O'Higgins, in the commune of Santiago.

It is currently accredited by the National Accreditation Commission (CNA-Chile) for a period of 4 years (of a maximum of 7), from July 2018 to July 2022. It is ranked 35 among Chilean universities according to the CSIC webometric classification (July 2017). It is also in the 27th position of the general ranking, and 10th among non-Cruch private universities according to  AméricaEconomía 2019. Within the Chilean universities it is also ranked 13th among all the country's universities; 55th in Latin America and 5th among the Chilean private Ues in the Scimago Institution Rankings 2020.

Likewise, in cooperation with each of the dimensions that make up the institution, and which is part of the constant commitment to the search for excellence in Higher Education, the Bernardo O'Higgins University ascribes to  Gratuity 2021.

The university began its academic activities in 1990, it was created and constituted as a non-profit Private Law Foundation, by public deed, on March 1, 1990 in Santiago. For this reason, they used the name of the liberator Bernardo O'Higgins, in order to enhance his figure and to rescue the vision he had at the time of the independence of Chile, aspects that have been defined as "O'higginian thought". Among those values ​​are the sense of family, religious spirit and tolerance, interest in study, fondness for the arts, love of freedom, respect for equality, ideal of merit, need for a national identity, importance of education.

Its first president was the retired lieutenant general, Julio Canessa Robert. The university began with the School of Commercial Engineering, and in 1991 the School of Law was incorporated. Between 1996 and 2002, the university underwent an external evaluation process in order to achieve autonomy, which meant that professors from state universities took the final exams for university courses.

In 2010 the university incorporated the Faculty of Health and began its academic activities with the schools of Nursing, Kinesiology, Nutrition and Dietetics, later in 2013 it incorporated the careers of Medical Technology, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy, finally in 2015 incorporates the career of Obstetrics and Childcare.

Between 2007 and 2015, the university underwent four institutional accreditation processes by the National Accreditation Commission (CNA-Chile), in the areas of Undergraduate Teaching and Institutional Management. In 2018 it will be accredited for four years, in two mandatory areas plus one voluntary area.

In 2017 the Bernardo O'Higgins University applied to enter the Single Admission System (SUA). In March 2018, the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) accepted its integration into the SUA as of the academic year 2019.