In order to organize and integrate institutional actions to strengthen UNAM's international projection, several internationalization offices have been created at different times:

• 1955 Cultural Exchange and Fellowships Office
• 1961 Department of Cultural Exchange, Public Relations and Scholarships
• 1970 Scholarship and Academic Exchange Committees
• 1977 General Office of Academic Exchange
• 2000 Interinstitutional Collaboration Offic
• 2009 Office for International Cooperation (DGECI)

The growing presence of UNAM, as well as its consequent relations with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in other countries, led to the creation in 2015 of the International Head Office (CRAI), an office that has been entrusted with consolidating internationalization, strengthening alliances, and coordinating policies and actions for the benefit of UNAM community; since that date, the Office for International Cooperation has been attached to that coordination.
This General Office is part of the central administration and, as such, provides services and support to the academic entities (faculties, schools, centers, and institutes), to the coordinations (of scientific research, humanities, cultural dissemination, and graduate studies) and to the offices headed by these entities, all coordinated by the CRAI.

DGECI

The DGECI is mainly responsible for promoting and operating cooperation programs, managing the signing of academic collaboration agreements with international and national Higher Education Institutions (HEI), as well as operating undergraduate and academic student exchange programs. On the other hand, it assists in the planning and development of strategies to strengthen academic cooperation and internationalization of UNAM with HEIs, diplomatic delegations, academic cooperation networks, associations, and public and private organizations, both national and foreign.