Secretaria de Relações Internacionais | Office of International Relations

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The Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) has been ranked 5th among the most sustainable universities in Brazil in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025. The ranking evaluates higher education institutions worldwide based on three key categories: environmental impact, social impact, and governance.

UFSC excelled particularly in the Environmental Education and Environmental Research lenses, highlighting its dedication to sustainability and the preparation of professionals committed to environmental preservation. Additionally, the University performed notably in the Equality and Health and Wellbeing lenses, underscoring its commitment to fostering social values ​​through academic and institutional practices.

The 2025 rankings evaluated 1,744 universities, marking a 25% increase from the previous year’s 1,397 universities. Among Brazilian universities, participation grew by 23.5%, rising from 34 institutions in the previous year to 42 in 2025.

While the methodology underwent minor adjustments in specific indicators, the performance lenses, indicators, and weightings remained consistent with the previous year.

The QS Sustainability Rankings are globally recognized for highlighting institutions that integrate sustainable practices into their activities and curricula. UFSC’s achievement reinforces its international relevance in higher education and its leadership in promoting a sustainable future.

To view the full ranking, visit the official QS page.

The Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) achieved the 4th position among the best universities in Brazil in the Times Higher Education (THE) Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2025. The ranking, which is in its first edition, measures the contribution and commitment of global universities to interdisciplinary science.

The Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2025 evaluated 749 universities from 92 countries and is currently led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the overall ranking, UFSC is in the 136^th position. As for Brazil, the leading institution is the Universidade de São Paulo (USP).

The ranking is based on 11 indicators evaluating institutions in three main areas, each representing a stage in the life cycle of research projects: Inputs (funding); Process (measures of success, facilities, administrative support and promotion); and Outputs (publications, research quality and reputation). UFSC stood out in Inputs, with a grade 57.5 (out of 100), following Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), ranked 2^nd among Brazilian institutions in this area.

The interdisciplinary approach evaluated by the ranking is a growing trend, seen as a solution to complex problems that require the integration of different academic perspectives.

Visit the THE website to find out more about the ranking and the position of the participating univeristies.

Access here the methodology of the THE Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2025.

The Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) occupies the 10th position in the Times Higher Education (THE) Latin America University Rankings 2024, moving up two positions from last year, when it was in the 12th position. With this new ranking, the institution is now one of the  top 10 universities in Latin America.

The achievement is registered as a milestone in UFSC´s ranking in higher education in Latin America.

The Latin America University Rankings evaluates the universities according to performance indicators that covers five areas:

• teaching  (learning environment); 

• research environment  (volume, income and reputation);  

• research quality  (research strength, research excellence and research influence);  

• international outlook  (staff, students and research); and

• industry  (income and patents).

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The QS World University Rankings: Latin America & The Caribbean 2025, released on Thursday, 3 October, ranked the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) as the 21st best universities in Latin America, and 18^th best in South America. UFSC is among the top 5% of all evaluated universities. Within Brazil, the institution ranked 8th overall and 4^th among federal universities. UFSC achieved a final score of 76.6 (on a scale from 1 to 100), a notable increase from the 68.7 score it received last year, when it was ranked 23rd in Latin America. This marks a significant improvement in the university’s performance.

The QS Rankings, produced annually by the British company Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), evaluated 437 institutions across 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Leading the rankings this year is the Universidade de São Paulo (USP).

UFSC’s indicator scores in the QS World Rankings: Latin America and the Caribbean 2025.

Universities are evaluated based on eight indicators, each with weighted differently: academic reputation (30%); employer reputation (20%); faculty student ratio (10%); staff with PhD (10%); international research network (10%); citations per paper (10%); papers per faculty (5%) and web impact (5%). In this edition, UFSC excelled particularly in web impact (99.4), staff with PhD (99.1 score), and paper per faculty (98.5 score).

According to UFSC’s Director of International Relations, Dr. Fernanda Leal, the results reflect the university’s strong reputation, a criterion that accounts for 50% of the overall score. She notes that UFSC’s position also highlights its role as one of the leading research universities in Latin America. However, Dr. Leal emphasizes the limitations of relying on rankings for decision-making and formulating institutional internationalization policies, particularly due to their competitive nature and the lack of consideration for key factors that shape Brazilian public universities, such as outreach and community engagement.

Evolution of UFSC over the years in the ranking.

A fundamental aspect in evaluating universities’ performance, especially public ones, is their impact on society, says the Secretary for International Relations, Prof. Luiz Carlos Pinheiro Machado Filho. “This aspect has been addressed by university rankings, but still in an indirect way. The evaluations primarily reflect the academic work of universities, focusing on teaching, research and innovation. Faculty, staff and students engaged in academic work should therefore be congratulated, but those who work in the intermediary activities, which support these efforts, should also be recognized”, he states. The Secretary for International Relations aadded that the QS rakings assigned a 15% weight to the “global engagement” lens and that UFSC’s position in the ranking also reflects an internationalization effort by the entire academic community.

Regarding UFSC’s articles and external citations from 2018 and 2023, the primary focus was on research in the subjects of Life Sciences & Medicine.

Check out the complete ranking results on the QS website.

The results of this year’s QS World University Rankings 2025, released on Monday, 4 June, show an improvement in the performance of the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) compared to last year. In the ranking, UFSC is in the range of positions between 781 and 790. In 2023, the institution was between 801 and 850. The ranking does not specify the exact position of the universities within these ranges.

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USC is among the 5 best Brazilian federal universities in the THE World University Rankings 2024

The Times Higher Education (THE) published on Wednesday, 27 September, the results of the World University Rankings 2024, listing the best universities in the world.

In this edition, the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) was ranked among the 801-1000 best in the world, and among the 5 best federal institutions in the country.

Universities are evaluated based on 13 performance indicators which are grouped into five pillars: Teaching, Research Environment, Research Quality, Industry and International Outlook. UFSC stood out in the Industry (64.2) pilar.

The Times Higher Education (THE) is a British magazine that publishes news and articles on higher education and prepares, annually, a set of rankings considered one of the most comprehensive, balanced, and reliable in the world. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 includes more than 1.904 universities from 108 countries/regions.

Access the full rankings results here.