Federal University of Minas Gerais

Federal University of Minas Gerais

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Other names	UFMG
Motto	Incipit Vita Nova (Latin)
Motto in English	A new life begins
Type	Public university
Established	7 September 1927
Endowment	R$ 1.328.109.834,29 (2012)[1]
Rector	Jaime Arturo Ramírez
Administrative staff	4,445
Undergraduates	30,957 (in 2010)
Postgraduates	14,838 (in 2010)
Location	Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Campus	Urban, 8,794,767 square meters (2,173 acres)
Website	www.ufmg.br

Federal University of Minas Gerais (Portuguese: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, UFMG) is a federal university located in Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. UFMG is one of Brazil's five largest universities, being the largest federal university. It offers 75 undergraduate degrees, including a Medicine degree, Law and Economics, plus Engineering and Science and Art degrees. It offers 57 PhD programs, 66 MSc programs, 79 Post-Baccalaureate programs and 38 medical internship programs. UFMG has a population of 49,254 students.

The undergraduate students are admitted through the national annual exams called Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (National High School Exam). Its undergraduate courses were ranked in 1st place^[2] in the 2007 results for the National Student's Performance Exam (ENADE)^[3] and 4th place^[4] in the 2008 results. Its Computer Science course was considered the best in the country, as well the Social Sciences course, from FAFICH^[5] by the latest edition of ENADE.

The rector of UFMG is Jaime Arturo Ramírez. Past students include former Brazilian presidents Dilma Rousseff, Juscelino Kubitschek and Tancredo Neves; former Governor of Minas Gerais Rondon Pacheco;^[6] writer, medical doctor and diplomat João Guimarães Rosa, writers Fernando Sabino, Pedro Nava and Cyro dos Anjos; plastic surgeon Ivo Pitanguy, poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade and musicians Fernando Brant, Samuel Rosa of Skank and Fernanda Takai of Pato Fu.

UFMG is the tenth in the rankings of best universities in Latin America, according to the QS World University Rankings (2011/12).^[7] As reported by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), UFMG is one of the five best universities in Brazil in 2013, and in the World Rank is in the range of 301-400 best universities.^[8]

Location

UFMG campus is located in the northern part of Belo Horizonte, in the neighborhood of Pampulha. The campus area totals 8,775,579 square meters, while built area reaches 620,735 square meters. This is divided in three main campuses - Pampulha Campus, Health Sciences Campus in Central Belo Horizonte and Rural Sciences Institute in Montes Claros, together with a few buildings in other parts of Belo Horizonte, such as the School of Architecture.

Inside the Pampulha Campus there is the CDTN, a Federal Institute for Nuclear Sciences Research; it includes 38 buildings, dozens of scientific research laboratories and a 250 kW TRIGA nuclear reactor from General Atomics. There is also an extensive area of secondary forest known as the Estação Ecológica ("Ecological Station"), where some university scientists - mainly ecologists and zoologists - carry out research; this is the largest "green" area within the city boundaries, and is home to endemic insect species.

In the academic years of 2007 and 2009, the Ministry of Education ranked UFMG as the best university in Brazil.

History

The origins of the university go back to the 19th century, when it first appeared in the Republic as a continuation of a process that began during the Empire, with the opening of the first institutions of higher education.

In 1898, the Ouro Preto Faculty of Law was transferred to Belo Horizonte, which at the time was set to be the new state capital.

A few new unconnected faculties would be founded later: in 1907, the Free School of Dentistry; in 1911, the Faculty of Medicine, the School of Engineering, and a course in pharmacy attached to the Free School of Dentistry.

A group of patriots, the "Inconfidentes," who rebelled against Portuguese domination, conceived of the idea of a university in the state of Minas Gerais, which was founded as the Universidade de Minas Gerais (UMG) in 1927. The state-subsidized private institution brought together the four institutions of higher learning that existed in Belo Horizonte. UMG remained within the state system until 1949, when it was federalized.

In 1927, these four schools merged to found UMG, University of Minas Gerais, a private institution subsidized by the state government.

The UMG remained funded by Minas Gerais government until 1949, when funding had been delegated to Brazilian Government. Even though, the name UFMG was not adopted until 1965.

In the 1940s, a large area in the Pampulha region became the site for the construction of University City. The first structures erected were the Institute of Mechanics (now the Vocational School) and the Main Building. The effective occupation of the campus by the university community started only in the 1960s, when the construction of the buildings that today house most of the academic units was started.

At the time of federalization, the schools of architecture, philosophy and economics were already integrated in the university. As its expansion carried on, the School of Nursing (1950), Veterinary Science (1961), Information Science (1962), Music (1962) and Physical Education (1969) were founded.

In 1968, a university reform altered profoundly the structure of UFMG. The College of Philosophy spawned multiple institutions: the College of Philosophy and Human Sciences, the Institute of Biological Sciences, the Institute of Exact Sciences, the Institute of Geosciences and the Colleges of Literature and Education.

Additional courses have been established, among them agronomy, archival science, theater, museology, control engineering, computational mathematics, and speech therapy/audiology.

Teaching Units

Schools

School of Architecture

The UFMG School of Architecture is in the central region of Belo Horizonte, more precisely at the intersection of Gonçalves Dias and Paraíba streets in the Savassi region. Founded in 1939, UFMG School of Architecture was the first course of architecture in Brazil released from engineering or fine arts. The building was designed by architect Shakespeare Gomes, one of the most representative works of modernism in Belo Horizonte. Currently, the school has the architecture courses (Day), Architecture (Night) and Design (Night).

School of Fine Arts

The School of Fine Arts of the Federal University of Minas Gerais is an institution located within the Pampulha campus of the university. It is taught the course in visual arts and performing arts course materials.

School of Information Science

The School of Information Science (ECI) is an institution of the UFMG. Its foundation date of March 25, 1950 and its incorporation into the Federal University of Minas Gerais took place in 1963. The ECI is dedicated to the training of people dealing with information science. The School currently offers undergraduate courses in Library, Archival and Museology. The building has one of the most peculiar architectures between units of UFMG. The various palm trees in the central part, the hanging gardens over the four floors, balconies and floor details create an interesting aesthetic effect.

School of Physical Education, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy

The School of Physical Education, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais is an institution located within the Pampulha campus of the university. It is taught the course of physical education, physical therapy and occupational therapy.

Nursery School

The UFMG School of Nursing was established on July 7, 1933. It currently holds a prominent position on the national scene for its undergraduate courses and Graduate Studies, and its research and extension projects. Currently, the School of Nursing is organized by the Departments of Applied Nursing (ENA), Basic Nursing (ENB) and Maternal Child Nursing and Public Health (EMI). Undergraduate courses in Nursing, Nutrition Course and System Analysis Course and health services are offered.

Research

The Office of the Dean of Research advises the university administration on scientific and technological research, as well as encouraging research. The Center for Technology Innovation and Transfer promotes activities that apply technology development and transfer knowledge between UFMG and the community, via the creation of partnerships between researchers and business.

Applied Social Sciences

Information Science

The School of Information Science (former School of Librarian Science) has a full-time academic staff that explores research topics in the areas of Scientific and Technological, Managerial, and Social and Historical Information. In addition, using the Lab of Information Treatment, the unit works on topics related to information storage and diffusion.

Law

The Law School of UFMG has four main departments, which are devoted to the following areas: General Theory of Law (Jurisprudence), Legal History, Private Law and Civil Procedural Law, Criminal Law and Criminal Procedural Law, International Law, Conflict of Laws, Public Law, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Economic Law, Tax Law, Labour Law amongst others. On 20 December 2012, the School of Law will celebrate its 120th anniversary, being one of the oldest Law Schools in Brazil after University of São Paulo (USP) and Universities of Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro.

Between 1892 - year of its foundation - and 1927 the Law School was an autonomous institution and congregated several important lawyers and politicians in national context. In the year of 1927, the Free Law Faculty of Minas Gerais (Faculdade Livre de Direito de Minas Gerais) joined the administrative framework of the Federal University of Minas Gerais. Since then, it is one of UFMG's main Schools and Research Centres.

Architecture

One of the research centers at the School of Architecture, which is divided into four departments, is the Graphic Laboratory for the Teaching of Architecture (Lagear), equipped with computer-assisted design programs. Among the research topics are Computer-Assisted Photogrametry, Computer-Assisted Photo-Documentation, Photorealistic Representations, as well as studies on accessibility (Architecture without barriers for disabled people).

Economics

Most research topics explored at the School of Economics (Face) are related to work done at the Center for Regional Development and Planning (Cedeplar), at the Center for Research and Graduate Studies in Business Administration (Cepead), and at the Research Institute in Economics, Business Administration, and Accounting (Ipead).

At Cedeplar, where 25 teachers have a doctoral degree and 10 have a master's degree, there is research on Demographics and on Economics, with projects on Fecundity, Historical Demographics and Labor, Agricultural and Industrial Economics, Economic History, Economics and Environment, and Privatizations. At Cepead, 11 teachers have a doctoral degree and eight have a master’s. They study Sectors of Support for Decision Making, Human Behavior in Organizations, Performance and Financial Strategy in Organizations. With four teachers holding a doctoral degree and two holding a master’s, the Ipead provides consultancy and calculates monthly rates of indices, such as price and rent variation.

Biological Sciences

Six graduate programs and around 300 topics of research occupy 290 teachers at the Institute of Biological Sciences (ICB), 90% of whom holding doctoral, master’s or post-baccalaureate degrees.

The laboratories of the institute’s ten departments conduct research in Biology, some of them being national standards, such as the Center of Electronic Microscopy. ICB has developed a simple non-radioactive methodology for the study of DNA impressions and the American visceral leishmaniasis vaccine. Among the ICB topics of research responsible for the largest number of publications are those related to the development of new vaccines and medications – Biochemistry, Immunology, and Microbiology – to Genetics and to Ecology. The unit makes contributions to Botany, Zoology, Morphology, and Parasitology.

To assist researchers and teachers, ICB has four laboratory animal facilities with hundreds of guinea pigs kept in accordance to international principles of animal experimentation.

The university operates the 114 hectares (280 acres) Federal University of Minas Gerais Ecological Station on the Pampulha campus, used for various research projects including a Master's course in Ecology Conservation and Wildlife Management.^[9]

College of Veterinary Medicine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3x2gHU_xqw&feature=player_embedded https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPyiXXKwEHM

Founded in 1932, the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) (Veterinary College of UFMG) completed 80 years in 2012, and has trained over 5,000 veterinarians. CVM conducts animal science and veterinary medicine education and research. In addition to Veterinary Medicine, CVM offers an undergraduate degree in Aquaculture. MSc and PhD degrees in Animal Science and Animal Husbandry, Veterinary Medical Residency, and Professional MSc are available in 19 areas of knowledge. The college is located in the Pampulha Campus and has four departments: Veterinary Clinic and Surgery (DCCV), Preventive Veterinary Medicine (DMVP), Technology and Inspection of Animal Products (DTIPOA) and Animal Science (DZOO). Two experimental farms and the Veterinary Hospital are available.

The five-year Veterinary Medicine course takes 120 students per year and over 95% of undergraduate students complete the course. Most faculty at teaching are full-time, permanent and have PhD degrees (more than 90%). About 1/3 of undergraduate students participate in research activities in 112 laboratories and produce around 250 academic research abstracts per year. More than 140 scientific papers are produced per year by faculty members.

Engineering

Around 70% of the 280 teachers at the School of Engineering work on 60 topics of research.

Most research work done in Engineering is related to technological development, with application in industry, funded by national and international agencies. By means of agreements and service contracts signed through the Christiano Otonni Foundation, the school makes contact with companies from the public and private sectors.

In Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, an Environmental Monitoring and Water Treatment Project has been run in collaboration with the German agency TGZ.

Three topics of research are pursued in Electric Engineering, monitored by the department’s Research Center: High Tension, which includes studies on protection against atmospheric discharges, Power Electronics, and Control of Industrial Processes.

In the Department of Civil Engineering, research is carried out at the Laboratory of Structural Analysis, where structures submitted to very high pressure are evaluated. Work is being done on Energy Alternatives, mainly on Photovoltaic Energy (the transformation of sun light into energy) and Solar Collectors. The projects are supported by the Minas Gerais Energy Company (Cemig) and Eletrobrás.

At the Department of Chemical Engineering, there is research on Liquid/Liquid Separation and on Heat Sensitive Substances. At the Department of Mining Engineering, two of the most important research topics are Mineral Treatment and Prospecting. The School of Engineering’s largest department is Metallurgic Engineering, which has an X-Ray Lab and an Electronic Microscopy Lab, among others. Research involves Extractive Metallurgy, Physical Metallurgy, which deals with material molding, and "Trefilação".

Still at the School of Engineering, there is the Center for Electronic Computation, linked to the Scientific Computation Lab.

Human Sciences

Fafich

Six academic units conduct research in Human Sciences and Applied Social Sciences. At the Faculty of Philosophy and Human Science (Fafich), 90% of its near 220 teachers from the six departments have master’s or doctoral degrees and are doing research. At the Department of Sociology, researches focus mainly on Urban and Industrial Sociology and Sociology of Culture. At the Department of History, the characteristic topics are Oral, Political, and Economic History. The Department of Political Sciences works mostly with Public and Administrative Policies, Brazilian and International Politics, and Political Theory. At the Department of Philosophy, most works focus on the relationship between Philosophy and Psychoanalysis, Marxism, Social and Political Philosophy, Esthetics, Art Philosophy, and Logic. Also linked to Fafich, the Esthetics Laboratory does research and documentation work on Esthetics and Art and Civilization History.

Education

The School of Education (FAE) has three departments, which carry out interdisciplinary activities with other university sectors. The Center for Literacy, Reading, and Writing (Ceale), which develops projects on child and adult literacy, has been the major source of publication at FAE. The Center for Mathematics and Science Teaching in Minas Gerais (Cecimig) studies the learning processes in the area and offers permanent courses for primary and secondary teachers.

Health Sciences

Medicine

The UFMG School of Medicine’s ten departments research more than 100 topics, using the infrastructure of the Hospital das Clínicas and its 14 labs. Around 60% of the unit’s more than 470 teachers hold a master’s or a doctoral degree, and most of them take part in scientific production.

A large part of the research stems from the 12 Medicine graduate programs offered by UFMG. Among the topics are Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Hematology and Oncology, Gastroenterology and Digestive Tract Surgery, Ophthalmology, and Endocrinology.

There also publications on Pathology, Surgery, Ambulatory Surgery, Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Spider and Snake Poisons, Transplants, Toxicology, Tropical Medicine, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, AIDS, Fetal Medicine, Oncology, Gynecology and Obstetrics, and Preventive and Social Medicine.

Nursing

More than half the 82 teachers of the School of Nursing, most of whom have master’s and doctoral degrees, are involved in projects that are largely interdisciplinary.

Distributed among the unit’s three departments, they work at the university hospitals and in the public health system. Some of their research topics are Education and the Nursing Curriculum, Transmitted Diseases, Work Force, Workers’ Health Quality, and Rites of Death in Senior Citizens’ Memories.

Dentistry

Many of the School of Dentistry’s 100 teachers, one-fifth of whom hold a master’s or doctoral degree, does research. Research includes Bio-Safety in Dental Practice, Dental Trauma, Social Representation of Health and Mouth Disease, Orthodontics for Deciduous and Permanent Teeth, Surgery, Peridental Disease and Cyst, and Prevention and Epidemiology of Cavities and other Diseases.

Pharmacy

The School of Pharmacy, which has four departments, does mostly experimental research. Of the unit’s more than 70 teachers, about 35% hold a doctoral degree and approximately the same percentage have a master's degree. Research includes the development of new substances and medicines at the school’s laboratories, mainly the Labs of Medicines and of Pharmacognosis and Plant Chemistry.

The Department of Food does research on Biotechnology (quality control and food science and technology). The Department of Clinical Analyses has work on Parasitology and Applied Toxicology, as well as on Clinical Bio-Chemistry.

Physical Education

The School of Physical Education investigates about 20 research topics. At the two departments linked to the Physical Education program, nearly half the 35 teachers do research, most of which is done in the Labs of Exercise Physiology and of Sport Psychology. Research includes studies of the behavior of the human organism, athlete conditioning, prevention of temperature accidents during exercises, effects of caffeine on the body, and neuroendocrinologic response to exercise. In the Department of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, there are projects related to Neuropediatrics and to Physiotherapy in Geriatrics. The department’s researchers work at the Hospital das Clínicas and at the Lab of Therapeutic Gymnastics, which belongs to the school.

UFMG information

Websites

• Colégio Técnico - Coltec
• Centro Esportivo Universitário - CEU
• Escola de Arquitetura
• Escola de Belas-Artes - EBA
• Escola de Ciência da Informação (Escola de Biblioteconomia)
• Escola de Educação Física, Fisioterapia e Terapia Ocupacional - EEFFTO
• Escola de Enfermagem
• Escola de Engenharia
• Escola de Música
• Escola de Veterinária
• Faculdade de Ciências Econômicas - FACE
• Faculdade de Direito
• Faculdade de Educação - FAE
• Faculdade de Farmácia
• Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas - FAFICH
• Faculdade de Letras - FALE
• Faculdade de Medicina
• Faculdade de Odontologia
• Instituto de Ciências Agrárias da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - ICA
• Instituto de Ciências Biológicas - ICB
• Instituto de Ciências Exatas - ICEx
• Instituto de Geociências - IGC
• Parque Tecnológico - BHTEC

See also

• Brazil University Rankings
• Universities and Higher Education in Brazil

References

External links

• University homepage

Coordinates: 19°52′19″S 43°57′58″W / 19.871904°S 43.966248°W / -19.871904; -43.966248