Secretaria de Relações Internacionais | Office of International Relations

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.

The results of the QS World University Rankings: Latin America  & The Caribbean 2024 were published on Wednesday, 13 September, and ranked the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) among the 23 best universities in Latin America. UFSC occupies the 8th position among the Brazilian universities and the 4th among the federal education institutions in Brazil.

The ranking is produced annually by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a British company specialized in education. The ranking analyzed 430 institutions in 25 Latin American and Caribbean countries and at the top of the list is the Universidade de São Paulo (USP). The overall score of each institution is calculated using eight metrics, each with a different weight: Academic Reputation (30%); Employer Reputation (20%); Faculty Student Ratio (10%); Faculty Staff with PhD (10%); International Research Network (10%); Citations per Paper (10%); Papers per Faculty (5%) and Web Impact (5%). The strongest indicators for UFSC in this edition were Faculty Staff with PhD (99.7 score), International Research Network (98.1 score) and Web Impact (97.4 score).

In terms of UFSC articles and external citations between 2017 and 2022, the main theme for UFSC was studies in the Life Sciences & Medicine areas.

Check out the complete ranking results here.

Times Higher Education (THE) has published the results of the Impact Rankings 2023, which assesses universities against the United Nations’  17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In this edition, 1,591 universities from 112 countries/regions were included in the ranking. In the overall ranking, UFSC is in the 601-800 range, with a score between 59.7 and 66.7.

Among Brazilian institutions, UFSC is in the fifth ranking range. Among the federal universities, it is in the third range. Our university stood out for its actions towards the following SDGs:

• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production;
• SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure;
• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy.

The best overall performance was from Western Sydney University, in Australia, followed by the University of Manchester, in the UK, and Queen’s University, in Canada. Among the Brazilian universities, the Universidade de São Paulo (USP) is the one which performed best, placed in the 101-200 range worldwide. The Impact Rankings 2023 indicators provide comparisons across four broad areas: research, stewardship, outreach and teaching.

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. In addition to the institutional actions regarding the SDGs, the THE Impact Rankings also assesses the institutions based on the research carried out for each goal.

Check out the THE Impact Rankings 2023 here.

Read the methodology of the Impact Rankings 2023 here.

On 22 and 23 September, the QS Higher Ed Summit: Americas 2022 will take place in Vila Velha, Espirito Santo. The congress will announce the official Latin American University Rankings 2023 and will award institutions from the entire continent in the following categories:

• Reputation Impact
• Research Excellence
• New Entrant
• Top 10
• Recognition of Improvement

The Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) will be awarded in the Research Excellence category and will be represented by the acting Prorector for Research, Prof. William Gerson Matias. The conference will gather higher education leaders and experts to discuss the “Mission-led Universities: elevating higher ed in the Americas”. The event will feature debates, lectures, panel discussions and case studies, in addition to the opportunity to network with the international higher education community and build strategic partnerships.

In the QS World University Rankings 2023, UFSC was ranked for the eleventh consecutive time and placed among the thousand best universities in the world. The ranking is produced annually by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a British company specialized in education. The methodology is based on several criteria, including Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, Faculty/Student Ratio, Citations per Faculty, International Faculty Ratio, and International Student Ratio.

Access the QS Higher Ed Summit: Americas website here.