espanolLa educacion superior se enfrenta a continuos cambios sociales y tecnologicos que responden de manera eficaz al intercambio cientifico generado en el mundo contemporaneo. La insercion de un mundo social y laboral complejo, cambiante y diverso hace que los profesionales alcancen mayores competencias asociadas a la sociedad del conocimiento. Objetivo: caracterizar los programas de enfermeria y planes de estudios que ofertan las universidades del mundo. Materiales y Metodos: estudio descriptivo exploratorio – transversal, la poblacion la constituyo 104 programas de enfermeria. La recoleccion de los datos se realizo a traves de una busqueda sistematica de la informacion publicada en las paginas web de las asociaciones de enfermeria. Los datos se analizaron por medio de la tecnica de colorimetria manual. Resultados: las asignaturas se agruparon por componentes de formacion epistemologico o basico disciplinar, profesional, y area complementaria, Las carreras de enfermeria varian en duracion o tiempo de estudio por paises, pero oscilan entre 4 y 5 anos, los creditos academicos oscilan entre 121 y 410 creditos en diferentes continentes. Conclusion: la inclusion de asignaturas por componente y el fortalecimiento de la asignatura de etica en todos los paises de America Latina apuntan a las nuevas competencias que debe tener un licenciado en enfermeria al tener que entregar cuidad EnglishHigher education faces continuous social and technological changes that respond effectively to the scientific exchange generated in the contemporary world. The insertion of a complex, changing and diverse social and labor world makes professionals achieve greater competences associated with the knowledge society. Objective. to characterize the nursing programs and curricula offered by the universities of the world. Methods: descriptive, exploratory - cross-sectional study, the population constituted 104 nursing programs, the data collection was carried out through a systematic search of the information published on the web pages of the nursing associations, the data were analyzed by means of the technique of manual colorimetry. Results: the subjects were grouped by components of epistemological training or basic disciplinary, professional, and complementary area. Nursing careers vary in duration or study time by country, but range from 4 to 5 years, academic credits range between 121 and 410 credits in different continents. Conclusions: the inclusion of subjects by component and the strengthening of the ethics subject in all the Latin American countries point to the new competences that a graduate in nursing should have when providing humanized ethical care and ensuring the administration of resources human and material.