University of São Paulo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
University of São Paulo

Universidade de São Paulo
Coat of arms of the University of São Paulo
Other name	USP
Motto	Scientia Vinces
Motto in English	"Through knowledge you will conquer"
Type	Public university
Established	25 January 1934; 91 years ago (1934-01-25)
Budget	R$ 7.5 billion
Rector	Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Junior
Academic staff	5,383
Administrative staff	13,368
Students	97,325
Undergraduates	59,097
Postgraduates	29,295
Location	São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil 23°33′35″S 46°43′45″W / 23.55972°S 46.72917°W / -23.55972; -46.72917
Campus	Bauru, Lorena, Piracicaba, Pirassununga, Ribeirão Preto, Santos, São Carlos, São Paulo, São Sebastião
Colors	Primary blue, secondary blue and yellow

The University of São Paulo (Portuguese: Universidade de São Paulo, often called USP) is a very important public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the biggest public university in Brazil and one of the best places to study in the country. USP teaches, researches, and helps the community in many different subjects. It offers a wide variety of courses for students.

The university started in 1934. It brought together schools that already existed in São Paulo, like the Law School and the Polytechnic School. When USP was founded, a new part called the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Literature was also created. Today, USP has eleven campuses. Four of these are in the city of São Paulo, and the others are in cities like Bauru, Lorena, and Ribeirão Preto.

Many students from the University of São Paulo have become important people in Brazil. For example, thirteen Brazilian presidents studied there, including Fernando Henrique Cardoso. In terms of research, USP is one of Brazil's top research places. It produces more than 25% of all the scientific papers published by Brazilian researchers in important journals and conferences.

History of USP

The Viscount of São Leopoldo, who helped start the São Paulo Law School in 1827. This was the oldest part of USP.

Armando de Sales Oliveira, who helped create the University of São Paulo in 1934.

After a difficult time called the Constitutionalist Revolution, the state of São Paulo wanted to make things better, especially in education. So, in 1934, the governor of São Paulo, Armando de Sales Oliveira, officially started the University of São Paulo (USP).

Creating USP was part of a bigger plan to build modern schools and institutions in Brazil. The main part of the new university was the School of Philosophy, Sciences, and Languages. Many professors from countries like France, Italy, and Germany came to teach there. USP focused on training teachers, scientists, engineers, lawyers, and doctors.

Many famous foreign professors taught at USP, including Claude Lévi-Strauss from France and Gleb Vassielievich Wataghin from Russia. These teachers brought new ways of teaching and researching, helping to train new generations of scientists in Brazil. Since it started, USP has welcomed teachers and researchers from all over the world.

How USP Began

The Faculty of Medicine in the early 1900s.

The Law School in 1880.

The University of São Paulo was formed by combining a new school, the School of Philosophy, Sciences and Languages, with several older, well-known schools. These included the Polytechnic School (started in 1893), the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (started in 1901), and the Law School (started in 1827). Other schools like the Medical School and the School of Pharmacy and Dentistry also joined.

The School of Philosophy, Sciences and Languages helped bring all these different areas of study together. In 1934, the first civil school of physical education in Brazil was also created, which later became part of USP. Over the years, more schools and institutes were added, like a second Medical School in Ribeirão Preto in 1952.

In the 1960s, many parts of the university moved to the main campus, known as the City University Armando de Salles Oliveira, in São Paulo. New institutes were also created, such as the Heart Institute of the University of São Paulo in 1963.

Challenges and Growth

Students protesting against the military government in front of one of the university's buildings.

During the 1970s and 1980s, USP faced some challenges. At this time, Brazil was under a military government. Many professors at USP had to leave the country. This made it harder for scientific research to grow in Brazil.

However, in the early 1980s, a campaign for political forgiveness allowed many of these professors to return. This helped the university to start growing again.

The newest building of the Architecture and Urbanism College.

Along with these challenges, the university also grew and changed. New schools and institutes were created, leading to new courses and research areas. For example, the Institute of Physics became its own separate department.

In 2004, USP started the Institute of International Relations to study global topics. In 2005, a new School of Arts, Sciences, and Humanities (EACH) was built in the East Zone of São Paulo. This school offers different types of courses. In 2006, another School of Chemical Engineering joined USP in the city of Lorena. A second Law School was also opened in Ribeirão Preto in 2007.

What Students Study at USP

Today, USP has five hospitals and offers 247 different courses for undergraduate students (like bachelor's degrees) and 239 courses for graduate students (like master's and PhDs). The university also has 24 museums and art galleries, which get half a million visitors each year. It also has two theaters, a cinema, a TV channel, and an orchestra. USP welcomes students from all over the world through various exchange programs.

University Rankings

University rankings compare how good universities are around the world. USP is considered one of the top universities.

• According to the 2024 QS World University Rankings, USP is ranked 85th in the world. It is also ranked 1st in Latin America.
• In the 2021 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, USP was ranked among the top 201-250 universities globally.
• The 2020 CWTS Leiden Ranking placed the University of São Paulo as 7th in the world.

Healthcare and Hospitals

The Heart Institute of the University of São Paulo, part of the Clinics Hospital, which is the largest health complex in Latin America.

USP runs four hospitals. The University of São Paulo Medical School Public Hospital is the biggest hospital complex in Latin America. It is a very important place for medical students to learn and train.

The hospitals run by USP are:

• University of São Paulo Medical School Public Hospital
• Heart Institute of the University of São Paulo
• Public Hospital of Ribeirão Preto Medical School
• Hospital de Reabilitação de Anomalias Craniofaciais – Centrinho

Library System

The Florestan Fernandes Library at the Faculty of Philosophy, Languages and Human Sciences.

USP has 42 libraries! They are all connected by a system called SIB – Sistema Integrado de Bibliotecas. This system also manages the university's online database, DEDALUS.

DEDALUS lets students and researchers search for books and information in all USP libraries at once. It also connects to other online databases, making it easy to find international research papers.

Museums and Art Galleries

The University of São Paulo has many interesting museums and art galleries. Most of them are on the main campus in São Paulo city.

• Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo (Museum of Contemporary Art)
• Museu Paulista (Historical Museum of São Paulo)
• Museu de Zoologia (Museum of Zoology)
• MAE-USP – Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (Museum of Archeology and Ethnology)
• Museu do Café Francisco Schmidt (on the Ribeirão Preto Campus)

Panorama of the Museu do Ipiranga

How to Get Into USP

The FUVEST building, where the main entrance exams are managed.

Brazilian students who want to study at USP must take a special entrance exam called the vestibular. This exam is created and managed by FUVEST. In 2012, over 159,000 students took the Fuvest exam for about 11,000 spots!

The exam has two parts:

• The first part is a multiple-choice test covering subjects like chemistry, physics, math, biology, geography, history, Portuguese, and English.
• The second part is a written test. The questions are specific to the area of study the student wants to pursue. For example, engineering students get harder questions in physics, chemistry, and math. Everyone has to answer in-depth Portuguese questions.

More recently, students can also get into USP by taking a national high school test called ENEM, through a system called Unified Selection System (SISU).

USP welcomes international students through different exchange programs. In 2012, more than 2,300 exchange students studied at USP. About one-third of these students studied humanities and social sciences, and another third studied engineering.

A great thing about USP is that students, whether from Brazil or other countries, do not have to pay any tuition fees. The university is funded by the state of São Paulo.

How USP is Organized

The main building of the USP Rectory.

USP is like a collection of many different schools, institutes, and colleges. Each one focuses on a specific area of knowledge. There are 36 such units for teaching, research, and community outreach. Each unit can decide how to organize its courses and what to teach.

Each unit is then divided into smaller departments. A department usually focuses on one course or a specific research topic. Sometimes, different units might have departments that study similar things.

University Leadership

The main leader of the University of São Paulo is the Rector. The Rectory is the central office that manages the whole university. Under the Rectory, there are four special offices called Pro-Rectorates. Each Pro-Rectorate is in charge of a different part of the university's work:

• Undergraduate Studies (PRG)
• Graduate Studies (PRPG)
• Research (PRP)
• Culture and Community Outreach (PRC)

There has been talk about creating a new Pro-Rectorate to focus on helping students, as this has become a more important topic for the university's leaders.

Panorama of the University City in São Paulo.

Images for kids

• 

  The Faculty of Medicine in the early twentieth century.

• 

  The Law School in 1880 during Pedro II's reign.

See also

In Spanish: Universidad de São Paulo para niños

• List of state universities in Brazil
• List of University of São Paulo alumni
• List of University of São Paulo faculty
• Rankings of universities in Brazil
• Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp)
• Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (Unesp)
• Universities and Higher Education in Brazil