UNIVERSITY OF SãO PAULO

The 'University of São Paulo' (in Portuguese 'Universidade de São Paulo'; 'USP') is one of the three public universities funded by the State of São Paulo. The Brazilian publication ''Student Guide'' currently ranks USP as the best public university of the country [1].
USP is one of the largest institutions of higher education in Brazil and Latin America, with approximately 75,000 enrolled students. It comprises eleven campuses, four of them in the City of São Paulo[2] (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 São Carlos. USP is involved in teaching, research and university extension in all areas of knowledge and has been recognized as the best academic university in Latin America according to the 2006 Academic Ranking of World Universities.
USP is considered as Brazil's top academic and research institute. In its 2005 edition, The Times Higher Education Supplement considered USP the 196th best university institution in the world. According to the 2005 Academic Ranking of World Universities, published by the Shanghai Jiaotong University, USP is placed in the group of the 101-152nd top world universities. The EGI (European Graduate Institute) reported that USP is the 58th best university in the world, according to the 2006 edition. USP is considered the 45th most productive university on the globe. [3]
USP is the 35th most popular university in the world, among 7600 colleges in 200 countries [4].
According to the results of the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities (Top 200), USP is the best university of the set of countries named BRIC (est. population: 2.7 billion - 07/2006).

Contents

History

Admissions

Academic career

Notable Alumni

Former Presidents

São Paulo state governors

Writers

Others

Trivia

Global Engineering Study

Schools and Institutes

Museums and art galleries

External links

See also

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 a 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 Engineering School (Escola Politécnica), and the Law School (Faculdade de Direito). (The Engineering 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 (Portuguese, English, Chemistry, Math, 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 Math, Physics, and Chemistry exams, whereas Law-School applicants are required to take History and Geography tests. All candidates however, 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 a 3% bonus on their Part I and Part II scores, 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. USP is a free university, and students do not have to pay tuition fees.
A renowned Brazilian publication has selected USP the best university in Brazil in 2006^[1].

Academic career

★ Teaching Assistant (Auxiliar de Ensino) - MS-2 (must have a Master's degree and be enrolled in a doctoral program)

★ Professor Doutor - MS-3 (must have a doctoral or equivalent degree)

★ Professor Associado - MS-5 (must have a ''Livre Docente'' title; equivalent to the German Habilitation)

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

Notable Alumni

Former Presidents

★ Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-2003)

★ Jânio Quadros (1961)

São Paulo state governors

★ José Serra (2006--)

★ Mário Covas (1995-2001)

★ Paulo Maluf (1979-1982)

Writers

★ Álvares de Azevedo

★ Antônio de Alcântara Machado

★ Castro Alves

★ Fagundes Varela

★ Manuel Bandeira

★ Oswald de Andrade

Others

★ Adib Domingos Jatene - physician

★ Amyr Klink - sailor and explorer (economics degree)

★ Carlos Zara (Antônio Carlos Zaratini) - actor (engineering degree)

★ César Lattes - physicist, co-discoverer of the pi meson

★ Drauzio Varella - physician, educator and medical science popularizer

★ Euryclides de Jesus Zerbini - physician, he did the first heart transplantation in Latin America

★ Fernando Haddad - the current Brazil's minister of education (law degree)

★ Fernando Meirelles - film director, he did City of God [5] and The Constant Gardener [6] (architecture degree)

★ Guido Mantega - the current Brazil's finance minister (economics degree)

★ Henrique Meirelles - the current president of the Central Bank of Brazil (engineering degree)

★ José E. Moreira - system software architect for Blue Gene/L, the fastest supercomputer in the world

★ José Goldemberg - scientific leader and research scientist

★ Mário Schenberg - physicist

★ Miguel Nicolelis - physician and neurobiological researcher

★ Miguel Reale - jurist and philosopher of law, is considered the chief architect of Brazil's current civil codes

★ Ruy Barbosa - jurist, politician and diplomat

★ Sebastião Salgado - photographer and photojournalist (economics degree)

Trivia

★ The Polytechnic School has a program known as "double diploma", where the graduation course is legally valid in both Brazil and the European Union.

★ This college is the only institution outside the European Union to integrate the TIME (Top Industrial Managers Europe) association.

★ For six months, USP had a supercomputer indicated on the TOP500 list on rank 363. It was the only brazilian university who appeared in that list.

★ USP was ranked 26th in the ACM 2007, among approximately 1,750 universities [7] .

Global Engineering Study

The "Global Engineering Excellence" will study the importance of technology in the competitiveness of nations.
The selected universities are:

★ Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany

★ Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Switzerland

★ Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

★ Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

★ Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

★ Tsinghua University, China

★ Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil

★ University of Tokyo, Japan

Schools and Institutes

★ Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades
School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities
:: Courses: Clothing and Textile Technologies, Environmental Management, Gerontology, Information Systems, Marketing, Obstetrics, Physical Education, Public Management, Science Education, Tourism and Leisure

★ Escola de Comunicações e Artes
School of Communications and Arts
:: Courses: Advertising and Publicity, Audiovisual Studies (Cinema & TV), Acting and Dramatic Arts, Journalism, Library Science, Music, Plastic Arts, Public Relations, Publishing, Tourism

★ Escola de Educação Física e Esporte
School of Physical Education and Sports
:: Courses: Physical Education, Sports

★ Escola de Enfermagem
School os Nursing
:: Course: Nursing

★ Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto
School of Nursing of Ribeirão Preto
:: Course: Nursing

★ Escola de Engenharia de Lorena
School of Engineering of Lorena
:: Courses: Biochemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Chemical Industry Engineering, Material Engineering

★ Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos
School of Engineering of São Carlos
:: Courses: Aerospace Engineering, Architecture and Urban Planning, Civil Engineering, Computer engineering, Electrical-Electronic Engineering and Energy and Automation Systems, Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Industrial Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering

★ Escola Politécnica
Polytechnic School
:: Courses: Civil Engineering, Material Engineering, Mining Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Electrical Engineering with emphasis on Energy and Electric Automation, Control and Automation, Electronic Systems, Telecommunications Mechanical Engineering; Chemical Engineering; Production Engineering; Naval Engineering; Ocean Engineering and Mechatronics Engineering

★ Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz
Superior School of Agriculture Luiz de Queiróz
:: Courses: Agricultural Sciences; Forestry Engineering; Environmental Management and Rural Administration

★ Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo
Faculty of Arquitecture and Urbanism
:: Courses: Architecture and Urban Planning, Design

★ Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas
Faculty of Pharmaceutics Sciences
:: Course: Pharmacy and Biochemistry

★ Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto
Faculty of Pharmaceutics Sciences of Ribeirão Preto
:: Course: Pharmacy

★ Faculdade de Direito
Faculty of Law
:: Course: Law

★ Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade
Faculty of Economy and Management
:: Courses: Management; Economy; Accountancy and Actuarial Science

★ Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto
Faculty of Economy, Management and Accountancy of Ribeirão Preto)
:: Courses: Business Administration; Economics and Accountancy

★ Faculdade de Educação
Faculty of Education
:: Course: Pedagogy

★ Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas
Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Human Sciences
:: Courses: Geography, History, Literature, Languages and Linguistics, Philosophy, Social Sciences

★ Faculdade de Medicina
Faculty of Medicine
:: Courses: Medicine, Speech Therapy, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy

★ Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science
:: Courses: Animal Science, Veterinary Medicine;

★ Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto
Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto
:: Courses: Medicine, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Biomedical Informatics

★ Faculdade de Odontologia
Faculty of Odontology
:: Course: Dentistry

★ Faculdade de Odontologia de Bauru
Faculty of Odontology of Bauru
:: Courses: Dentistry, Audiology and Speech Therapy

★ Faculdade de Odontologia de Ribeirão Preto
Faculty of Odontology of Ribeirão Preto
:: Courses: Dentistry

★ Faculdade de Saúde Pública
Faculty of Public Health
:: Courses: Nutrition, Hospital Administration

★ Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos
Faculty of Animal Science and Food Engineering
:: Courses: Animal Science, Food Technology and Science

★ Instituto Oceanográfico
Institute of Oceonography
:: Courses: Geosciences, Oceanography

★ Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas
Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences
:: Courses: Astronomy, Geophysics and Meteorology

★ Instituto de Biociências
Institute of Biological Sciences
:: Courses: Biological Sciences, General Biology, Botanic, Zoology, Ecology, Physiology

★ Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas
Institute of Biomedical Sciences
:: Courses: Physiology; Biophysics, Pharmacology, Immunology, Microbiology, Parasitological, Health Sciences

★ Instituto de Ciências Matemáticas e de Computação de São Carlos
Institute of Mathematics Sciences and Computer Science of São Carlos
:: Courses: Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computing, Computer Science and Informatics

★ Instituto de Física
Institute of Physics
:: Course: Physics

★ Instituto de Física de São Carlos
Institute of Physics of São Carlos
:: Courses: Physics, Computational physics, Biomolecular sciences, Exact Sciences (Teaching)

★ Instituto de Geociências
Institute of Geosciences
:: Course: Geology, Environment and Geosciences (Teaching)

★ Instituto de Matemática e Estatística
Institute of Mathematics and Statistics
:: Courses: Applied Mathematics and Computer Math, Mathematics (Bachelor and Teaching), Statistics and Computer Science

★ Instituto de Psicologia
Institute os Psychology
:: Course: Psychology

★ Instituto de Química
Institute of Chemistry
:: Courses: Chemistry

★ Instituto de Química de São Carlos
Institute of Chemistry of São Carlos
:: Courses: Exact Sciences (Teaching), Chemistry

★ Instituto de Relações Internacionais
Institute of Foreign Affairs
:: Course: International Relations

Museums and art galleries

The University of São Paulo has endowed a rich set of museums and important art galleries, most of them located in the central campus in Sâo Paulo, such as:

★ Museu de Arte Contemporânea de São Paulo (Museum of Contemporary Art)

★ Museu Paulista (Historical Museum of São Paulo)

★ Museu de História Natural de São Paulo (Museum of Natural History)

External links

★ Universidade de São Paulo (in Portuguese)

★ Aeronautical Engineering Students Website (in Portuguese)

★ University of São Paulo social networking site

See also

★ State University of Campinas - UNICAMP - WWW page

★ Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP - WWW Page