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Brazil Has 7 of 10 Best Universities in Latin America, According to THE Ranking, and USP Leads with Distinction in Training.
Brazil has 7 of the 10 best universities in Latin America, according to the latest THE Latin America University Ranking, released this Wednesday (3) by the British consulting firm Times Higher Education (THE).
The study, which evaluated 223 institutions from 16 countries, shows who dominates the top of regional higher education, where these institutions stand out, how they were evaluated, and why USP leads the list once again.
Thus, the massive presence of Brazilian universities confirms a trend of stability and academic excellence in the country, despite structural challenges.
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Moreover, the survey reinforces the relevance of public institutions in scientific training and knowledge production in Latin America, as six of the seven Brazilian universities among the top ten are public.
Therefore, the new ranking consolidates Brazil as a regional educational reference.
USP Leads Ranking and Maintains Latin American Hegemony
According to the publication, USP tops the ranking for the second consecutive year, reaffirming its position as the largest and most influential university in the region.
The São Paulo institution achieved superior performance in criteria such as research impact, innovation, academic citations, and international collaboration.
The rector of USP, Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Junior, explains that the result derives from structural changes made in recent years.
According to him, the university modernized undergraduate curricula and implemented a new graduate model.
“The goal is to train more qualified professionals committed to the needs of society,” he stated.
Carlotti also highlights that USP has expanded strategic partnerships and created international centers on its campuses, reinforcing the global presence of the institution.
For him, “these actions will certainly represent future advances in the evaluation of rankings.”
Brazil Has 7 of 10 Best Universities in Latin America: Domination and Diversity
Although USP is at the top, the Brazilian highlight goes beyond that. Brazil has 7 of the 10 best universities in Latin America, distributed across different states and teaching models, demonstrating structural diversity and academic maturity.
In total, the country had 81 institutions evaluated in the complete ranking—the largest number among the participating nations. Colombia follows with 39 universities, and Chile with 31.
Thus, this performance reinforces the strategic role of Brazilian education in the region and shows how research and academic expansion policies continue to generate consistent results.
Public Universities Are the Majority Among the Best
The predominance of public institutions remains evident. Of the seven Brazilian universities in the Top 10, six are state-funded institutions.
According to Professor Dawisson Belém Lopes, director of the data governance office at UFMG, this representativeness is linked to the rigor of the ranking.
He notes that the list requires a high minimum cutoff:
“To be on this list, the institution must have at least 1,000 articles published in the Scopus database in the last five years. Being included is already a victory.”
Meanwhile, Unicamp reinforces its tradition of excellence, according to Vice-Rector Fernando Sarti.
“The maintenance of Unicamp among the best universities in Latin America demonstrates the consistency of institutional work and a permanent commitment to academic quality, cutting-edge research, and social impact.”
Even after methodological changes introduced by THE in 2026, Unicamp managed to maintain its position. For Sarti, this confirms “the solidity of our university development policies.”
Ranking of the 10 Best Universities in Latin America
- USP (University of São Paulo) – Brazil
- Unicamp (University of Campinas) – Brazil
- Pontifical Catholic University of Chile – Chile
- Unesp (São Paulo State University) – Brazil
- UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) – Brazil
- PUC-Rio (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro) – Brazil
- Monterrey Institute of Technology – Mexico
- UFRGS (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul) – Brazil
- National Autonomous University of Mexico – Mexico
- UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais) – Brazil
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