Universities
Oct 08, 2009
Structure - There are more than two thousand Higher Education Institutions (HEI´s) in Brazil.
There are more than two thousand Higher Education Institutions (HEI´s) in Brazil. These Institutions are divided in three different types:
Universities (Universidades)
According to the Brazilian law, Universities are multi-disciplinary institutions of: professional staff formation in Higher Education; research and extension; domain and stimulation of human knowledge. The Universities are obligated to invest in formation and research, they are autonomous and one third of the professors must have a Master´s or Doctor´s degree.
University Centres (Centros Universitários)
University Centres are multi-curricular Institutions, including one or more areas of knowledge, characterized by excellence in education and high-quality academic environment. The University Centres are not obligated to invest in research and are almost as autonomous as the Universities.
Faculties (Faculdades)
Faculties are High Education Institutions of professional staff formation in Higher Education in one or more areas of knowledge. Faculties are not as autonomous as University Centres or Universities and are not obligated to invest in research.
Any of these types can be Public or Private Institutions. The Public Institutions are divided in:
· Federal Institutions: Higher Education Institutions administrated y the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Education.
· State Institutions: Higher Education Institutions administrated by the State Government.
· Municipal Institutions: Higher Education Institutions administrated by the City Government.
The tables below show the distribution of Higher Education Institutions in terms of type and administrative category:
| Position | Type of Institution | Percentage of Brazilian HEI´s |
|---|---|---|
|
1° |
Faculties |
86,7% |
|
2° |
Universities |
8% |
|
3° |
University Centres |
5,3% |
Source: INEP. www.inep.gov.br
| Position | Type of Institution | Percentage of Brazilian HEI's |
|---|---|---|
|
1° |
Private |
89% |
|
2° |
Public |
11% |
|
3° |
Federal | 4,6% |
|
4° |
State | 3,6% |
|
5° |
Municipal | 2,7% |
Source: INEP. www.inep.gov.br
52% of the Brazilian Universities are Public. The large majority of the University Centres (96.7%) and Faculties (92.5%) are Private.
Normally, the private institutions are more oriented to the labour market, while the public institutions are more oriented to research. However, there are exceptions in both sides.