University of São Paulo
Encyclopedia
Universidade de São Paulo (University of São Paulo, short USP) is a public university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 in the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian state of São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...

. It is the largest Brazilian university and one of the country's most prestigious. According to reports by the Ministry of Science and Technology, more than 25% of the articles published by Brazilian researchers in high quality conferences and journals are produced at the University of São Paulo.

USP is one of the largest institutions of higher education in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

, with approximately 90,000 enrolled students. It has eleven campuses, four of them in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

 (the main campus is called Campus Armando de Salles Oliveira, with an area of 7,443,770 m²). The other campi are in the cities of Bauru
Bauru
Bauru is a Brazilian city and municipality in midwestern region of the state of São Paulo. It is also the capital of the micro-region of Bauru...

, Lorena, Piracicaba
Piracicaba
Piracicaba is a city located in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. The population in 2009 was 368,843 in an area of 1,369.511 km², at an elevation of 547 m above sea level.-Name:...

, Pirassununga
Pirassununga
Pirassununga is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2010 was 70.081 and the area is 728.78 km². The elevation is 627 m. This place name comes from the Tupi language....

, Ribeirão Preto
Ribeirão Preto
Ribeirão Preto is a municipality and city in the Northeastern region of the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is nicknamed Brazilian California, because of a combination of an economy based on agrobusiness plus high technology, wealth and sunny weather all year long. With 605,114 inhabitants,...

 and two in São Carlos
São Carlos
São Carlos is a city of 221,950 inhabitants in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is located at , at about 231 km from the city of São Paulo.-History:...

. USP is involved in teaching, research and university extension in all areas of knowledge.

History

In 1934, during a period known for the "search for alternatives", along with political centralisation, efforts were carried out to provide Brazil with modern administrative, educational and military institutions. One of the main initiatives included the creation, that same year, of the University of São Paulo. Its nucleus was the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Languages, with professors coming from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and other European countries.

USP also brought together several research and higher-education institutions that already existed in Brazil such as the Faculty of Medicine (Faculdade de Medicina), the Polytechnic School
Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo
The Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo is an engineering school in the University of São Paulo in São Paulo, Brazil...

 (Escola Politécnica), "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture (Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz
Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz
The Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz is a unit of the University of São Paulo involved with research, teaching and extension of services in agriculture, animal husbandry, agricultural and related sciences. The ESALQ main campus, located at Piracicaba, has six undergraduate and...

),and the College of Law
Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de São Paulo
Faculty of Law of the University of São Paulo is an institution of higher education and research in the field of Law located in São Paulo, Brazil...

 (Faculdade de Direito).

Ranking

According to the 2010 Academic Ranking of World Universities
Academic Ranking of World Universities
The Academic Ranking of World Universities , commonly known as the Shanghai ranking, is a publication that was founded and compiled by the Shanghai Jiaotong University to rank universities globally. The rankings have been conducted since 2003 and updated annually...

, USP is placed in the group of the 101-151 top world universities. In the 2011 QS World University Rankings
QS World University Rankings
The QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 500 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004....

 University of Sao Paulo ranked 169th and is the best classified in the specific ranking of South America's universities. In 2011, the University of Sao Paulo is the first Ibero-American institution in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings
Times Higher Education World University Rankings
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings is an international ranking of universities published by the British magazine Times Higher Education in partnership with Thomson Reuters, which provided citation database information...

's top-200 (Position 178 in the World).

Admissions

USP's admittance exam, the vestibular
Vestibular
The Vestibular is a competitive examination and is the primary and widespread system used by Brazilian universities to select their students. The Vestibular usually takes place from November to January, right before the start of school year in February or March, although certain universities hold...

, is prepared and administered by FUVEST
FUVEST
FUVEST is a Brazilian autonomous institution connected to the University of São Paulo responsible for its "vestibular" examinations. For that reason, USP's vestibular itself is usually called "Fuvest"...

 (University Foundation for Vestibular), subject to regulations approved by the university's Undergraduate Studies Council. In 2006, 142,656 students signed up for Fuvest's vestibular, for a total of 10,202 openings. USP is a public university therefore students do not have to pay any tuition fees.

Academic career

  • Teaching Assistant (Auxiliar de Ensino) - MS-2 (must have a Master's degree and be enrolled in a doctoral program). Undergraduate students can also be a teaching assistant for a semester, with scholarships from each department.
  • Professor Doctor (Professor Doutor) - MS-3 (must have a doctoral or equivalent degree).
  • Associate Professor (Professor Associado) - MS-5 (must have a Livre Docente title; equivalent to the German Habilitation
    Habilitation
    Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...

    ).
  • Full Professor (Professor Titular) - MS-6 (top rank, only MS-6 professors are allowed to hold positions such as the Dean of a Faculty/School or the Dean of the University).

Schools, Faculties and Institutes


Museums and art galleries

The University of São Paulo inherited a rich set of museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

s and important art galleries
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...

, most of them located in the central campus in São Paulo, such as:
  • Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo (Museum of Contemporary Art)
  • Museu Paulista
    Museu Paulista
    The Museu Paulista of the University of São Paulo is a Brazilian history museum located near where Emperor D. Pedro I proclaimed the Brazilian independence on the banks of Ipiranga brook in the Southeast region of the city of São Paulo, then the "Caminho do Mar," or road to the seashore...

     (Historical Museum of São Paulo)
  • Museu de Zoologia (Museum of Zoology)
  • MAE-USP - Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (Museum of Archeology and Etnology)

Hospitals

  • University of São Paulo Faculty of Medicine Clinics Hospital
  • Heart Institute of the University of São Paulo
  • Clinics Hospital of Ribeirão Preto of the University of São Paulo

See also

  • Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp)
    Universidade Estadual de Campinas
    Universidade Estadual de Campinas is one of the three public universities of the Brazilian state of São Paulo, along both USP and UNESP....

  • Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (Unesp)
  • Rankings of universities in Brazil
    Rankings of universities in Brazil
    Ranks about Universities in Brazil. For further information on higher education in Brazil see Universities and Higher Education in Brazil.-Brazilian government evaluation:...

  • Universities and Higher Education in Brazil
    Universities and higher education in Brazil
    Brazil adopts a mixed system of public and private funded universities. Usually public funded universities offer the best quality education, and they are 100% financed by the government...


External links

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