On January 18, University Day spotlights a real question: what separates a university, a university center, and a college in Brazil?
According to Brazil’s 2024 Higher Education Census, published by the Ministry of Education (MEC) and Inep, the country currently has 2,561 higher education institutions. Only 206 are classified as universities—about 8% of the total.
The difference is not branding. It’s defined by academic organization, a regulatory category that determines autonomy, quality requirements, and obligations tied to teaching, research, and community outreach, as outlined in MEC’s higher education regulation policy.
What defines a university
Heliodora Collaço, Provost for Higher Education at Uniube, says a university stands apart because it is built on the inseparability of teaching, research, and extension (community outreach), in line with Law No. 9.394/1996.
“That integration strengthens learning, boosts scientific production, innovation, critical thinking, and social responsibility.”
From a regulatory standpoint, universities can create new programs and must notify MEC within 60 days of doing so. They also must maintain institutionalized outreach, undergraduate research programs, and earn an Institutional Concept (CI) score of at least 4 in Inep’s evaluation.
The key difference is the added requirement for graduate education: a university must regularly offer four master’s programs and two doctoral options, all recognized by MEC. In addition, under Inep criteria, 60% of undergraduate programs must reach a satisfactory rating.
Collaço argues this ecosystem helps students develop scientific thinking, critical inquiry, knowledge production, intellectual autonomy, interdisciplinarity, and social commitment—skills that are harder to build outside a university structure.
College: less autonomy, fewer obligations
A college (faculdade) can offer up to five programs, with an exception for teacher-training degrees. It does not have autonomy to open new programs or change the number of seats without prior authorization from MEC.
Colleges are also not required to maintain outreach initiatives, undergraduate research, or stricto sensu graduate programs (master’s and PhD).
University center: autonomy with benchmarks
A university center (centro universitário) has autonomy to create new programs, provided it informs MEC within 60 days. It must also meet benchmarks: institutionalized outreach, undergraduate research programs, and a CI score of at least 4 in Inep’s assessment.
In practice, it sits between colleges and universities: more autonomy than a college, but without the same stricto sensu graduate requirements that define universities.
How this affects students
Collaço says the university model connects theory and practice through classes, research projects, undergraduate research, internships, outreach activities, and interdisciplinary work.
In her view, that tends to produce critical, autonomous, and innovative professionals who can apply knowledge to complex workplace problems—often accelerating career progression and readiness for higher-responsibility roles.
Uniube highlights tradition and metrics
With 78 years of history, Uniube frames the discussion as part of its educational legacy. Collaço says the institution combines tradition with innovation, pointing to modernization milestones and quality measured by external indicators.
She cites a score of 4 in the IGC (MEC) and programs rated 5 and 4 in Enade, as well as Uniube’s recognition as the best private university in the interior of Minas Gerais in the 2025 Folha University Ranking (RUF), with strong performance in teaching, research, market outcomes, innovation, and internationalization.
Collaço adds that blending strong academics with structured hands-on learning can improve students’ technical-scientific repertoire and employability by placing them in real, supervised professional environments throughout their degree.
Photo: Divulgação
