University of Brasília

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University of Brasilia
Universidade de Brasília
Established April 21, 1961
Type Public university
Rector Ivan Camargo
Academic staff 2,241[1]
Admin. staff 2,512[2]
Undergraduates 28,570[3]
Postgraduates 6,304[3]
Location Brasília, DF,  Brazil
Campus Urban, 3,950,579 m2 (42,523,680 sq ft)
Colors green      and blue     
Website www.unb.br
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The University of Brasília (in Portuguese: Universidade de Brasília, abbreviated as UnB) is a Brazilian public university funded by the Brazilian federal government. It is located in the country's capital, Brasília.

In Brasilia there are over 114 colleges recognized by the MEC (Ministry of Education).[4]

History

University of Brasília library
Central Institute of Sciences - ICC ("Minhocão")

The University of Brasilia Foundation was created on December 15, 1961. Professor Darcy Ribeiro, who became its first chancellor, was one of the most enthusiastic supporters of its creation. The architect Oscar Niemeyer designed its main building, the Central Institute of Sciences (ICC).

The institution was created on April 21, 1962, following the plan of its founders, educator Anísio Teixeira and anthropologist professor Darcy Ribeiro. As of 2010, it had 1,757 professors and 2,391 employees as well as over 30,000 graduate and undergraduate students. Each semester, the University of Brasília accepts nearly 2,000 incoming students for its 61 undergraduate programs. On the graduate level, the university offers 49 master's degrees and 27 doctoral programs.

Academics

The university has :

  • 22 institutes,
  • 50 departments,
  • 16 scientific, technological, cultural, artistic and general service centers,
  • student and staff residences,
  • a hospital,
  • a sports center,
  • a seismological observatory,
  • physical experiment facilities, including plasma, liquid crystals, complex fluids and optical spectroscopy,
  • an Animal Research Laboratory,
  • a library,
  • a restaurant for students,
  • a farm for ecological, agricultural and forestry research,
  • and an ecological station.

The university was one of the first in Brazil to offer the Continuous Evaluation Program (in Portuguese: Programa de Avaliação Seriada, PAS), an alternative way for high school students to get into college without having to pass by the two phases of vestibular.

Each semester, the University of Brasilia accepts nearly 2,000 incoming students from a pool of approximately 25,000 candidates for its 61 daytime or evening undergraduate programs. On the graduate level, the university offers 56 masters programs and 31 doctorate programs. It also offers advanced non-degree programs, many of them conducted in other Brazilian States, such as Bahia, Amazonas, Rondônia, Goiás and Rio Grande do Norte. The Technological and Scientific Development National Council (CNPq) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) support most of these courses, offering scholarships and research grants.

Distance education is an expanding activity in UnB, being managed by the Center for Open, Continuous and Long Distance Education (CEAD) and the School of Education. The United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) sponsors the Long Distance Education chair at UnB.[5]

Ranking

The University of Brasilia has been ranked as one of the top five public universities in Brazil by Guia do Estudante ("Student Guide"), an annual publication of Editora Abril. It ranks at #3 in the list of the best universities in the country.[6] Several of its graduate programs have been graded 6 and 7 (in a scale from 1 to 7) in the annual assessment conducted by the government agency CAPES, including its programs in Anthropology, Mathematics, Geology, Economics, Law, among others. Its programs in Economics, International Affairs and Political Science are ranked at #1 among public universities in the country.

Campus

Map of the University of Brasilia

UnB is located in the heart of Brasilia, on the banks of Paranoá Lake, marked by a modernist architecture.

UnB’s Central Library has the largest archive in midwestern Brazil and caters to the needs of the federal district and of researchers from across the nation. UnB maintains a university restaurant, as well as the Fazenda Água Limpa, a farm in the outskirts of Brasilia where ecological, agricultural and forestry research is conducted.

Community involvement

The university runs 115 community outreach projects, offering a total of 438 courses and events. Involving the direct participation of 240 professors and 65,132 students, these activities reach nearly 185,000 people in the federal district and the surrounding region.

The outreach activities include the Future with Art, Culture and Sport (FACE) program; the Community Initiatives Advisory Program (PRATICOM); the Program for Worker and Trade Union Leadership Training (PROSINT); the Rural Development Program and the Model Office for Legal Assistance. University members also offer consulting and assistance to the Community Health Training Program (PACs).

Research

More than 260 research-groups work in more than 400 laboratories, investigating around 900 areas. This research is supported by the Technological and Scientific Initiation Program (PIBIC) and the Special Training Program (PET), which also offers scholarships to gifted undergraduates. Among other agencies, programs are funded by the CNPq, the CAPES, the Research and Projects Funding Program (FINEP), the Technological and Scientific Development Support Program (PADCT) and the Federal District Research Support Foundation (FAPDF).

Rectory of the UnB

Other organisations in the research area are the International Center for Condensed Matter Physics (CIFMC), the cbsp.unb.br [Brazilian Center for Protein Sequencing (CBSP)], the Center for Maintenance of Equipment (CME) and the university Herbarium. The Technological Development Center (CDT) works to integrate the University to the business world, maintaining a small business start-up program and other types of consulting assistance to business.

Continuous Evaluation Program

The Continuation Evaluation Program (Programa de Avaliação Seriada in Portuguese) gives students who want to study in the university the opportunity to be evaluated on a yearly basis during their three years of high school. This allows the university to know its prospective students better, but stimulates the student to study more intensely and continuously from their first day in high school. The university prefers this system to the old system of single entrance examinations.

International students

The university accepts international students through:

  • Exchange programs for international students from academic institutions and organizations that have an agreement or an accord signed with the university. The program lasts from six months to one year.
  • Undergraduate Students’ program (PEC-G - Programa de Estudante Convênio de Graduação) is for students from university institutions of developing countries that have developed activities in cooperation with the Brazilian government. Students from Latin America, Africa and Asia are the biggest partners of the UnB in this project.
  • Post-Graduate program (PEC-PG - Programa de Estudante Convênio de Pós-Graduação) is through the Brazilian embassies abroad. The objective is to promote the qualification of senior staff of the developing countries, by offering masters and doctorate degrees.
  • The Federal Constitution International Affairs program accepts diplomats who are working in Brasilia, the capital of the country, and their legal dependents.

See also

  • Brazil University Rankings
  • Universities and Higher Education in Brazil

References

  1. ↑ "UnB Portal - Academic Staff" (in Portuguese). 
  2. ↑ "UnB Portal - Technical and Administrative Staff" (in Portuguese). 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "UnB Portal - Registered Students (in Portuguese)". 
  4. ↑ Faculdades reconhecidas pelo MEC
  5. ↑ Portal Universidade de Brasília :: Portal UnB
  6. ↑ Guia do Estudante - GE - Melhores Universidades (in Portuguese)

External links

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Federal universities
State universities
Catholic universities
Private universities
Education in South America
Sovereign states
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Coordinates: 15°45′41″S 47°51′59″W / 15.76139°S 47.86639°W / -15.76139; -47.86639

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