The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) is a public university based primarily in Mexico City and generally considered to be the largest one-campus university in the Americas in terms of student population. Founded on 22nd September 1910 as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, it is the only university in Mexico with Nobel Prize laureates among its alumni: Alfonso García Robles (Peace), Octavio Paz (Literature), and Mario Molina (Chemistry). UNAM's autonomy, granted in the 1920s, has given it the freedom to define its own curriculum and manage its own budget without interference from the government. This has had a profound effect on academic life at the university, which some claim boasts academic freedom and independence. Besides being one of the most recognised universities in Latin America, it is one of the largest and the most artistically detailed. Its main campus is a World Heritage site that was designed by some of Mexico's best-known architects of the 20th century.