Saturday, May 2, 2009

University of São Paulo

The University of São Paulo (Portuguese: Universidade de São Paulo or USP) is one of the three public universities funded by the State of São Paulo.

USP is one of the largest institutions of higher education in Brazil and Latin America, with approximately 75,000 enrolled students. It is comprised of eleven campuses, four of them in the City of São Paulo (the main campus is called Campus Armando de Salles Oliveira, with an area of 7,443,770 m²). There are campuses in the cities of Bauru, Lorena, Piracicaba, Pirassununga, Ribeirão Preto and two in São Carlos. USP is involved in teaching, research and university extension in all areas of knowledge.

University of São Paulo

The Times Higher Education 2008 World University Rankings ranks USP as the 196th top university in the world, with a top ranking in Latin America only second to UNAM in Mexico. According to the 2008 Academic Ranking of World Universities, published by the Shanghai Jiaotong University, USP is placed in the group of the 101-151 top world universities

History

During the "search for alternatives" period in the 1930s, political centralization and the first attempt to provide Brazil with modern administrative, military and educational institutions took place. The main initiatives included the University of São Paulo, which was created in 1934. Its nucleus was the creation of the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters, with professors coming from France, Italy, Germany and other European countries. USP also brought together several research and higher-education institutions in the state created before, such as the Faculty of Medicine (Faculdade de Medicina), the Polytechnic School (Escola Politécnica), and the College of Law (Faculdade de Direito). The Polytechnic School includes civil, electrical, mechanical, mining, metallurgical, naval and oceanic, and chemical engineering departments.

Admissions

Students are admitted by an entrance exam, known as the vestibular (FUVEST), consisting of two steps:

Part I is composed of 90 multiple-choice questions on Portuguese, English, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Geography, History and Biology.

Part II is composed of up to 40 write-in, short-answer questions related to each candidate's intended major. Engineering candidates, for example, take Portuguese, Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry exams, whereas Law-School applicants are required to take Portuguese, History and Geography tests. All candidates, irrespective of their intended course, must take the Portuguese Language and Literature exam, which includes a compulsory written essay.


Moreover, candidates who attended a public school for their entire course of high-school studies get up to 12% bonus on their Part I and Part II scores, arguably, in order to compensate for the generally low quality of Brazilian public basic education.


USP's entrance exam is prepared and administered by 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 to apply for admission to the University of São Paulo. There were 10,202 openings. One of the most competitive courses was Journalism, with about 45 applicants per opening. In order to pass to Part II, the most difficult course (Medicine) required a grade of 83%. USP is a free university, and students do not have to pay tuition fees.


Schools, Faculties and Institutes

School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities
School of Communications and Arts
School of Physical Education and Sports
School of Nursing
Ribeirão Preto School of Nursing
Lorena School of Engineering
São Carlos School of Engineering
Polytechnical School
Luiz de Queiroz School of Agriculture
Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Ribeirão Preto Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Faculty of Law
Faculty of Law of Ribeirão Preto
Faculty of Economy, Management and Accounting
Faculty of Economy, Management and Accounting of Ribeirão Preto)
Faculty of Education
Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Human Sciences
Faculty of Medicine
Ribeirão Preto Faculty of Medicine
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science
Faculty of Odontology
Bauru Faculty of Odontology
Ribeirão Preto Faculty of Odontology
Faculty of Public Health
Faculty of Animal Science and Food Engineering
Institute of Oceonography
Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences
Institute of Biosciencies
Institute of Biomedical Sciences
Institute of Mathematics Sciences and Computer Science of São Carlos
Institute of Physics
Institute of Physics of São Carlos
Institute of Geosciences
Institute of Mathematics and Statistics
Institute os Psychology
Institute of Chemistry
Institute of Chemistry of São Carlos
Institute of Foreign Affairs

University of São Paulo was ranked 196 in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking

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