University of São Paulo in the list of the 100 best universities in the world for the first time

The University of São Paulo (USP) has achieved a significant milestone by entering the top 100 best universities in the world for the first time, according to the QS World University Rankings 2024, a highly regarded global ranking.

Released on June 27, the survey placed USP at the 85th position among 1,499 institutions.

This achievement establishes USP as Latin America’s leading university in the 20th edition of the QS ranking, surpassing the University of Buenos Aires, which ranked 95th.

In the previous edition, USP was ranked 115th.

Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Junior, the rector of USP, attributed the university’s rise in the rankings to its academic reputation, research excellence, positive perception among employers, and the social impact of its graduates’ work.

He emphasized that while rankings are not the primary objective of a university, this recognition affirms USP’s commitment to its mission.

Brazilian universities also garnered attention in the rankings, with a total of 10 institutions making the list.

The rankings of the Brazilian universities are as follows:

1. University of São Paulo (USP) – 85th
2. State University of Campinas (Unicamp) – 220th
3. State University of Rio de Janeiro (Uerj) – 371st
4. Paulista State University (Unesp) – 419th
5. Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) – 595th
6. Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) – 691-700th*
7. Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) – 691-700th*
8. Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) – 731-740th*
9. Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) – 801-850th*
10. University of Brasilia (UnB) – 801-850th

The top 10 universities were dominated by institutions from the United States and the United Kingdom, with the National University of Singapore being the exception.

The ranking of the top 10 universities is as follows:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology – USA
2. Cambridge University – UK
3. Oxford University – UK
4. Harvard University – USA
5. Stanford University – USA
6. Imperial College London – UK
7. ETH Zurich – Switzerland
8. National University of Singapore – Singapore
9. University College London – UK
10. University of California – USA

The 20th edition of the QS World University Rankings evaluated 1,500 institutions worldwide and introduced three new indicators: commitment to sustainability, emphasis on supporting graduate employability, and increased international research collaboration to address global challenges.

QS founder and president, Nunzio Quacquarelli, highlighted the need for methodology evolution to reflect the evolving missions of universities while maintaining consistency.