Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro

Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro
Coat of arms of the university
Motto	Alis Grave Nil (Latin)
Motto in English	With wings, nothing is heavy
Type	Private Roman Catholic Research Non-profit Coeducational Higher Education Institution
Established	30 October 1940; 84 years ago (30 October 1940)
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic (Jesuit)
Chancellor	Orani João Cardinal Tempesta, OCist.
President	Fr. Anderson Antonio Pedroso, S.J.
Vice rector	Fr. André Luís de Araújo, S.J.
Academic staff	800
Students	21,240 (In year 2022)
Undergraduates	8,700 (In year 2022)
Postgraduates	2,566
Location	Rua Marquês de São Vicente, 225, Gávea - Rio de Janeiro , RJ , Brazil 22°58′45.48″S 43°13′56.82″W
Campus	Urban
Colors	Yellow and Blue
Website	www.puc-rio.br

The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (often called PUC-Rio) is a well-known university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a Catholic university run by the Jesuits, a religious order. It also works closely with the Catholic Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro.

History of PUC-Rio

PUC-Rio was started in 1941 by the Society of Jesus. Their goal was to teach students not just facts, but also important human values. The university helps students learn and grow in many ways.

In 2009, PUC-Rio was ranked as the best among 2,252 universities in Brazil. This ranking was done by the Brazilian Ministry of Education. This shows that PUC-Rio offers a high-quality education.

What You Can Study

PUC-Rio has many excellent departments. You can study subjects like law, engineering, computer science, psychology, economics, business, and international relations.

The university welcomes students from all over the world. It has special programs that let students study abroad. Hundreds of students from PUC-Rio go to universities like Harvard, Notre Dame, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and Brown University. Students from these universities also come to study at PUC-Rio.

Where is PUC-Rio Located?

PUC-Rio is in a part of Rio called Gávea. This area is in the south of the city. The university campus is right next to the beautiful Tijuca National Forest. Long ago, the campus used to be a coffee farm!

A small stream with three bridges runs through the campus, making it a pretty place. It's easy to get to PUC-Rio by bus. It's also close to popular neighborhoods like Leblon, Ipanema, Jardim Botânico, and Lagoa. You can even walk to the Botanical Gardens and Leblon beach from the university.

Life on Campus

The main building at PUC-Rio

The Church of the Sacred Heart on campus

The buildings on campus were built in the early 1940s with help from many groups. In the 1960s, the USA helped build a new building, which is now named after President John Kennedy.

Besides the main library, there are three other special libraries. The Solar Grandjean de Montigny, a historic building from 1823, is now PUC-Rio's Cultural Center. It often has art shows. The ground floor of the Kennedy building, called Pilotis, is a place for many events. These include talks, shows, and fairs. Every June, the university hosts a "Festa Junina," a fun festival with traditional Brazilian food, costumes, and dances.

On campus, you'll find three restaurants, five coffee shops, and a pizza place. There's also a bookstore, an office supply store, and places to make copies. You can find banks, a post office, a newsstand, and ATMs too. The area around the university also has more shops, banks, a Planetarium, and a shopping mall.

PUC-Rio is organized into four main centers. Each center has many departments that focus on teaching, research, and helping the community in their specific areas of study.

• Center for Social Sciences: This center includes departments like administration, social science, communication, law, economics, geography, history, social service, and international relations.
• Science and Technology Center: Here, you can find ten types of engineering (like petroleum, computer, chemical, and electrical). It also has computer science programs and degrees in mathematics, physics, and chemistry.
• Center of Theology and Human Sciences: This center has departments for architecture, arts and design, education, philosophy, literature, psychology, and theology.

How to Get In

To get into PUC-Rio for undergraduate studies, students usually take two main exams: ENEM and the university's own entrance test, called a vestibular. The scores from these tests help decide who gets accepted and who receives scholarships to help pay for their studies. In 2022, only about 12% of students who applied were accepted, which means it's a very selective university.

Cool Research at PUC-Rio

Did you know that the Lua programming language was created at PUC-Rio? It was developed by researchers in the Computer Graphics Technology Group starting in 1993. Lua is now used in many computer programs and video games around the world!

Famous People Who Studied Here

Many successful people have studied at PUC-Rio. Here are a few:

Professors at PUC-Rio

Here is a list of some of the professors who have taught at PUC-Rio:

See also

• Brazil University Rankings
• List of Jesuit sites
• Universities and Higher Education in Brazil