Colleges/International/Brazil/Universidade Federal de Santa Maria

Universidade Federal de Santa Maria

Brazil

ufsm.br

About

Located in Santa Maria, Brazil, the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria is a prominent public research institution recognized strongly for its contributions to agricultural sciences, veterinary medicine, and engineering. While the primary language of instruction is Portuguese, the university welcomes international students through various academic mobility agreements and offers specialized Portuguese language support to help newcomers adjust to local coursework. The dedicated International Cooperation Office assists global students with visas, housing, and integration into campus life, ensuring they can navigate the university's vibrant academic community. A particularly distinctive characteristic of the institution is its sprawling rural campus, which functions almost like a self-contained city with its own ecological reserve, planetarium, and extensive research farms that directly support its hands-on scientific programs.

Background

The Federal University of Santa Maria (Portuguese: Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, UFSM) is a Brazilian public university located in Santa Maria, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, funded by the federal government of Brazil. It was founded in 1960, by Professor José Mariano da Rocha Filho. Its campuses span over 1,837.72 ha, with a total of 386,968 m2 of buildings and 28,307 students. UFSM's presence in the municipality of Santa Maria is one of the reasons why the city is sometimes called "university city" or "culture city". It is located in western Rio Grande do Sul, approximately 290 km far from the capital city of the state, Porto Alegre, thus being set in the heart of the pampas of Brazil. As a public university, students do not pay tuition fees. It is the oldest federal university not located in a Brazilian state capital city, and the largest in number of undergraduate courses offered in Rio Grande do Sul state. As for 2015, the university was ranked at position 15 at national ranking from MEC.

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Location

Quick facts

Country
Brazil
City
Santa Maria
Founded
1960
Source: Wikidata
Type
Public
Website
ufsm.br
Source: Wikidata

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