Universidade de Sao Paulo vs UNICAMP

Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP) and Universidade Estadual De Campinas (UNICAMP) are two universities which are bound to be at the top of your list if you want to study in Brazil. Both are consistently featured in the global top 200 of the QS World University Rankings® 2018, with USP currently ranked number one in Brazil at 121^st in the world, while UNICAMP is joint 182^nd.

Both universities also perform extremely well in the QS University Rankings: Latin America 2018, with UNICAMP coming second in the region whilst USP is third. Read on to get a closer look at how these top universities in Brazil compare.

 *Based on the broad subject areas of the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017

QS World University Rankings® 2018

Looking at the QS World University Rankings® 2018, USP went down one place from last year to now rank 121^st in the world, while UNICAMP climbed nine places to now rank joint 182^nd in the world. Both universities appear in the top 150 for their reputations among academics and employers, with USP surpassing UNICAMP on both.

However, both universities receive equal scores for the remaining indicators used to compile the rankings, earning 401+ each for their faculty/student ratio, research impact (citations per faculty) and the international diversity of both institutions’ students and faculty members. 

Subject strengths

If you’re still unsure on which of these top universities in Brazil gets your vote, then the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017 can help narrow down each institutions’ strengths in different academic disciplines. USP ranks above UNICAMP for all five of the broad subject areas in the ranking, gaining a clear lead in each. However, despite this, there are some subjects which USP and UNICAMP are evenly matched for, for example chemistry, computer science, chemical engineering, modern languages and nursing, all of which both universities are ranked 51-100 in the world for.

The table below shows how USP and UNICAMP directly compare for different subjects.

Location

Both Universidade de São Paulo (USP) and Universidade Estadual De Campinas (UNICAMP) are located in São Paulo state, the most populous and developed state in Brazil. USP is based in the city of São Paulo while UNICAMP is based 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) outside Campinas city center, which is 96km (60 miles) northwest of São Paulo. Campinas means grass fields in Portuguese, referring to the scenic local landscape, and the city offers an interesting historical heritage, economic prosperity, plus excellent shopping, food and nightlife. While Campinas is by no means small (home to around 2.9 million people in its metro area), it may be preferable for those who aren’t keen on the idea of studying in São Paulo – the largest city in the Southern Hemisphere with more than 21 million inhabitants. Campinas’ location also means it’s easily possible to visit São Paulo while you study. However, other students might feel right at home in São Paulo – despite the chaos and traffic, it offers no shortage of new things to explore, whether it’s enjoying the famous carnival season or trying something new from the huge range of cuisine – with its vibrant culture helping to earn it 69^th place in the latest edition of the QS Best Student Cities.

Tuition fees & funding

The Brazilian Federal Constitution has established the right for free education up to postgraduate degree level, meaning all publicly funded universities are free of charge. Both USP and UNICAMP are public and therefore do not charge tuition fees. USP states on its website that no fees are charged for undergraduate and ‘stricto sensu graduate courses’ – stricto sensu refers to postgraduate degrees which enable the student to go into an academic career upon graduating. USP also states that ‘other MBA or extension courses may have tuition fees’. In contrast, MBAs are considered lato sensu postgraduate programs, meaning they are specialized and do charge tuition fees: to give you an example, the tuition fees for an MBA in Agribusiness are 18 monthly installments of R$800 (~US$240). Due to the free tuition, USP does not offer scholarship programs. Meanwhile, at UNICAMP, there are likewise no tuition fees, meaning students will just need to cover their own living expenses. Universities in Brazil generally don’t provide accommodation for students, meaning you’ll need to find private accommodation, which your university’s international office can assist you with.

There are external organizations which offer scholarships for international students to study in Brazil. For example, the OAS-GCUB Scholarship Program awards scholarships to outstanding citizens of OAS member states to complete masters or PhD programs at universities in Brazil. Undergraduate, doctorate and post-doctorate students from the European Union are eligible to apply for scholarships from the IBRASIL Project, which is funded by European Commission, and Canadian students are eligible to apply for scholarships from the Colleges and Institutes Canada to study in Brazil. PhD Students from developing countries are eligible to apply for PhD fellowships from The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).

Finally, it’s important to note that if you want to study in Brazil you’ll need an excellent knowledge of Portuguese, and will need to prove your proficiency with the Celpe-Bras test. You’ll also need to have your application documents officially translated into Portuguese.

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This article was originally published in July 2017. It was updated in November 2017 to add the latest QS BRICS University Rankings data.