Best universities in Latin America 2023

Publicado: 29 julio 2023 a las 2:00 pm

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Best universities in Latin America

Explore the best universities in Latin America from data collected by Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings

Top 10 universities in Latin America 2023

Latin America Rank 2023	Latin America Rank 2022	University	Country/region	World University Rank 2023
1	1	Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile	Chile	401–500
2	2	University of São Paulo	Brazil	201–250
3	3	University of Campinas	Brazil	401–500
4	5	Monterrey Institute of Technology	Mexico	801–1000
5	4	Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)	Brazil	601–800
6	8	Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul	Brazil	601–800
7	9	Federal University of Minas Gerais	Brazil	801–1000
8	10	Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)	Brazil	801–1000
9	7	University of Chile	Chile	1001–1200
10	12	Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)	Brazil	1001–1200

If you are looking to study at one of the top universities in Latin America, heading to Brazil might be your best bet, based on the results of the 2023 Times Higher Education Latin America University Rankings. The country has an impressive 65 universities in the ranking.

The 2023 ranking includes 197 institutions in 15 countries.

Even though Brazil is the most-represented country in the ranking, the top university for the fourth consecutive year is the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Brazil’s University of São Paulo comes second.

Colombia is another good choice for students looking to study in Latin America, with 36 universities in the ranking. Other countries with a strong presence include Chile (32 universities) and Mexico (24).

The rest of the top five comprises the University of Campinas (ranked third), the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ranked fourth) and Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) in fifth position.

The Latin America University Rankings uses the same methodology as THE’s World University Rankings, but some of the indicators have been recalibrated to reflect the profile of higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean. The full methodology can be found here.

1. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile

The Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile is one of six private Catholic universities in Chile and one of two pontifical universities in the country.

Founded in 1888, the university originally taught law, mathematics, legal sciences and physical sciences. However, the course catalogue has since expanded to include subjects such as theology, philosophy, commerce and technology.

Four of the university’s campuses are located in Santiago, Chile’s capital and its cultural, political and financial centre, home to the headquarters of many multinational companies.

The fifth campus is in Villarrica next to the city’s lake.

2. University of São Paulo, Brazil

The University of São Paulo is Brazil’s oldest and largest university. Four of its 11 campuses are in São Paulo, while the remaining campuses are in the cities of Bauru, Lorena, Piracicaba, Pirassununga, Ribeirão Preto and São Carlos, which has two.

The university has many recreational activities and facilities, including museums and galleries, two theatres, a cinema, a TV channel and an orchestra.

Five hospitals are also affiliated with the institution, including the University of São Paulo Medical School Public Hospital, which is a major training hospital for the university’s School of Medicine.

3. University of Campinas, Brazil

The University of Campinas, or Unicamp, is based in the city of Campinas in the São Paulo region of Brazil.

Although it is one of Brazil’s youngest universities (it was founded in 1964), Unicamp has established itself as a primary medical and scientific research centre. The institution is responsible for about 15 per cent of academic research conducted in Brazil.

International undergraduates will need to sit an exam before acceptance. The exam requires prospective students to have a good grasp of Portuguese.

Neither Brazilian nor international students pay tuition fees, as is the case in all state-run universities in the country.

The university offers 66 undergraduate programmes and 152 graduate programmes across four main areas: exact sciences, human sciences, biological sciences, and technologies.

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4. Monterrey Institute of Technology, Mexico

The Monterrey Institute of Technology is a private university system founded in 1943 in Monterrey, Mexico. Today, it has 29 campuses in 25 cities.

It offers undergraduate, master’s and PhD programmes across disciplines such as engineering, management, social sciences, arts, science and medicine.

The university encourages students to study abroad for a period of time. Its students represent more than 70 nationalities.

5. Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)

Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) is located in the Brazilian state of São Paulo.

The university was established to provide teaching and learning in the health sciences, but from 2005 it began offering courses in areas such as the humanities, computer science and engineering.

The university has six campuses.

The 50 top universities in Latin America 2023

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2023 results

Latin America Rank 2023	Latin America Rank 2022	University	Country/region	World University Rank 2023
1	1	Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile	Chile	401–500
2	2	University of São Paulo	Brazil	201–250
3	3	University of Campinas	Brazil	401–500
4	5	Monterrey Institute of Technology	Mexico	801–1000
5	4	Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)	Brazil	601–800
6	8	Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul	Brazil	601–800
7	9	Federal University of Minas Gerais	Brazil	801–1000
8	10	Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)	Brazil	801–1000
9	7	University of Chile	Chile	1001–1200
10	12	Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)	Brazil	1001–1200
11	11	Federal University of Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	1001–1200
12	6	Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina	Brazil	1001–1200
13	14	Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS)	Brazil	801–1000
14	13	University of the Andes, Colombia	Colombia	1001–1200
15	16	National Autonomous University of Mexico	Mexico	1001–1200
16	17	Federal University of São Carlos	Brazil	1201–1500
17	15	University of Brasília	Brazil	1201–1500
18	22	Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)	Brazil	1201–1500
19	20	Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR)	Brazil	1201–1500
20	18	National University of Colombia	Colombia	1001–1200
21	23	Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ)	Brazil	1201–1500
22	26	University of Concepción	Chile	1201–1500
23	33	Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC)	Brazil	1501+
24	19	Federal University of Viçosa	Brazil	1201–1500
25	21	The University of the West Indies	Jamaica	501–600
26	32	Universidade Federal da Bahia	Brazil	1201–1500
27	44	Austral University	Argentina	NR
=28	37	Federal University of Pernambuco	Brazil	1501+
=28	27	Federal University of Santa Maria	Brazil	1201–1500
30	25	Pontifical Javeriana University	Colombia	801–1000
31	30	Metropolitan Autonomous University	Mexico	1201–1500
32	24	Federal University of Lavras	Brazil	1201–1500
=33	43	University of Antioquia	Colombia	1201–1500
=33	35	Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia	Peru	601–800
35	=28	Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN)	Brazil	1201–1500
=36	40	Fluminense Federal University	Brazil	1501+
=36	48	National University of San Martín	Argentina	1201–1500
38	34	University of Santiago, Chile (USACH)	Chile	1201–1500
39	42	University of Havana	Cuba	1501+
40	36	Pontifical Catholic University of Peru	Peru	1201–1500
41	53	University of the Andes, Chile	Chile	1201–1500
42	41	Federal University of Goiás	Brazil	1201–1500
43	38	Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso	Chile	1201–1500
44	31	University of Costa Rica	Costa Rica	601–800
=45	=28	Austral University of Chile	Chile	1201–1500
=45	47	Federal University of Uberlândia	Brazil	1201–1500
47	39	Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná	Brazil	1201–1500
48	46	National University of Córdoba	Argentina	1501+
49	54	Federal University of Espírito Santo	Brazil	1201–1500
50	45	Universidade Estadual de Maringá	Brazil	1501+

Explore the full searchable results table of the Latin America University Rankings 2023