Brazil has nine of the ten universities with the highest scientific production in Latin America, according to the latest edition of the QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) ranking, one of the most important evaluations of higher education.
The assessment, released on September 22, also places Brazil as the Latin American country best represented in the ranking. Of all the 428 educational institutions evaluated in 20 countries, 98 are Brazilian.
The publication considers that Brazilian higher education institutions have a “high degree of stability” despite going through a challenging period, with the budget drop and the challenges of the pandemic.
According to the QS, 23 universities had improved rankings, 24 declined, and 47 remained stable over the past year.
“Brazilian higher education has faced its share of challenges in recent years, budget cuts, accessibility, and the Covid-19 pandemic being some of the most relevant.
“However, its resilience can be seen in its consistent commitment to producing an exceptional amount of high-quality research,” said Ben Sowter, senior vice president at QS.
USP (University of São Paulo) was once again the highest ranked Brazilian university, in 2nd place in Latin America. Again, only behind the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, which ranked first.
According to the publication, USP’s good placement is mainly due to its top score (100 points) in the academic reputation indicator, interactive research, and online profile. The university is also the one that produces the most research in all of Latin America.
The assessment is that USP only fails to reach first place because it does not score well in the indicator that considers the ratio of faculty members per student.
The problem of shortage of teachers was accentuated by the budget crisis of the institution in 2013 when spending on the payroll exceeded the resources it received from the state.
Now that the university’s situation has stabilized, the current management intends to resume the applications for new professors.
Unicamp (State University of Campinas) is the second-best evaluated university in the country and ranked 5th in the general ranking, two positions higher than in the previous edition.
Next is UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) in 8th place, Unesp (Paulista State University) in 11th, and UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais) in 16th.
The assessment is that Brazil stands out mainly for its scientific production.
Besides dominating the volume of production in Latin America, Brazilian universities occupy the top positions in this respect.
USP, Unicamp, and Unesp rank 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively, in this indicator.
The publication also highlighted that Brazil has nine of the ten universities with the best evaluation in the number of employees with doctorates.
Mackenzie Presbyterian University was the Brazilian institution that showed the highest growth, climbing 27 positions in the last year, reaching 132nd place.
The ranking of the courses is based on six indicators: academic reputation, employability reputation, citations per faculty, faculty-to-student ratio, and number of faculties and international students.
The complete ranking can be accessed at Quacquarelli Symonds’ website.
See below the institutions ranked among the top 20 in the overall ranking:
| Ranking in 2023 | Ranking in 2022 | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC) | Chile |
| 2 | 2 | Universidade de São Paulo (USP) | Brazil |
| 3 | 3 | Universidad de Chile | Chile |
| 4 | 4 | Tecnológico de Monterrey | Mexico |
| 5 | 7 | Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp) | Brazil |
| 6 | 5 | Universidad de los Andes | Colombia |
| 7 | 6 | Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) | Mexico |
| 8 | 9 | Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) | Brazil |
| 9 | 8 | Universidade de Buenos Aires (UBA) | Argentina |
| 10 | 10 | Universidad Nacional de Colombia | Colombia |
| 11 | 12 | Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) | Brazil |
| 12 | 11 | Universidad de Concepción | Chile |
| 13 | 13 | Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú | Peru |
| 14 | 15 | Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH) | Chile |
| 15 | 14 | Universidad de Antioquia | Colombia |
| 16 | 16 | Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) | Brazil |
| 17 | 19 | Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRS) | Brazil |
| 18 | 18 | Pontificia Universidad Javeriana | Colombia |
| 19 | 17 | Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) | Brazil |
| 20 | 20 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Costa Rica |
With information from Folha de S.Paulo