Secretaria de Relações Internacionais | Office of International Relations

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 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 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.