Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana

About Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana

UEFS was established as part of Bahia’s effort to expand public higher education beyond Salvador. The institution traces its legal creation to State Law No. 2,784 of 24 January 1970, but it was federally authorized and formally installed in May 1976. It subsequently became a state autarchy and adopted its current name. For founding-year purposes, 1976 is used because that is the year the university began operating and the institution marked 50 years of history in 2026. The main university campus is on Avenida Transnordestina in Feira de Santana. UEFS also encompasses a Chapada Diamantina advanced campus in Lençóis, UAB distance-education activity in Rio Real, and specialized sites such as cultural facilities, an astronomical observatory, museums, dental clinics, a legal-assistance service, libraries, and agricultural or environmental facilities. Students should verify the delivery location of a particular course because special and distance offerings need not be based at the main campus. The 2026 Graduation Fair reports 35 undergraduate courses, 10,262 undergraduate students, and 1,821 postgraduate students. A separate official regular-offer page still describes 31 established undergraduate courses, while the federal 2026 SiSU agreement lists 31 participating courses and additional nonparticipating records. The difference appears to reflect the treatment of special or non-SiSU offerings rather than inactivity. UEFS remains operational and admitted students through SiSU in 2026.

For regular undergraduate entry, UEFS uses Brazil’s Sistema de Seleção Unificada as its principal route. Applicants compete using results from the Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio rather than through a US-style application process. The official first-edition 2026 SiSU agreement listed 31 participating courses and 2,167 offered places. It also specified course-by-course ENEM weights, minimum scores, schedules, places, and affirmative-action categories; these details differ by program and should be checked in the relevant cycle’s agreement. The 2026 regular-call process required successful candidates to follow UEFS enrollment instructions and upload a signed commitment document through the university system. Classes for most 2026.1 entrants began on 25 February 2026, while medicine entrants were assigned to the second semester. Those dates describe the completed 2026 cycle and should not be reused for a later application. Other undergraduate routes identified by UEFS include reinstatement, re-entry, internal or external transfer, and admission for previous degree holders. Each has separate eligibility rules and notices. Graduate admissions are program-specific. For example, the Education program’s 2027 cohort conducted separate master’s and doctoral selection, with degree prerequisites and its own application period. International applicants should consult the relevant SiSU, special-program, or postgraduate notice; UEFS does not publish a single universal international admissions procedure or general English-test requirement for all degrees.

UEFS offers undergraduate education across humanities and social sciences, health and biological sciences, languages and arts, and science and technology. The established regular portfolio includes fields such as administration, agronomy, accounting, economics, law, nursing, civil engineering, computer engineering, food engineering, pharmacy, medicine, dentistry, psychology, pedagogy, music, mathematics, chemistry, languages, philosophy, geography, history, physics, and biological sciences. Programs include both bacharelado degrees and licenciatura degrees designed for teacher preparation. Some courses operate during the day, some at night, and program length and ENEM subject weighting vary. The federal SiSU agreement for the first 2026 selection cycle recorded 31 participating courses and 2,167 offered places. UEFS also advertises specially organized undergraduate provision through initiatives such as PARFOR and the Universidade Aberta do Brasil. These include selected teacher-education and distance offerings at locations outside the principal campus, so applicants should distinguish regular Feira de Santana programs from special cohorts and UAB provision. Postgraduate study is organized through program-level structures rather than a single general curriculum. Current official materials demonstrate active academic master’s and doctoral education in areas including education, linguistic and literary studies, biotechnology, botany, ecology and evolution, civil and environmental engineering, history, territorial planning, and earth and environmental modelling. Admission requirements, research lines, available supervision, schedules, and selection stages are published by each program. Prospective graduate students should therefore assess the specific program and current call rather than relying on university-wide undergraduate information.

Key Highlights

• Public, tuition-free university maintained by the State of Bahia
• Installed in 1976 and operating as a state autarchy
• 2026 institutional event reports 35 undergraduate courses and 12,083 undergraduate and postgraduate students combined
• Main campus in Feira de Santana, with additional academic and cultural sites in Bahia

Student Life & Environment

Student life is centered primarily on the main Feira de Santana campus, although UEFS activities also extend into cultural, clinical, museum, observatory, legal-service, and community facilities elsewhere in the city. The university’s teaching, research, and extension sites can give students opportunities to participate in cultural programming and community-facing work beyond conventional classrooms. UEFS’s Student Assistance Program covers university residences, the university restaurant, resident support, emergency assistance, support for students and student organizations, and psychosocial, pedagogical, clinical, and outpatient services. It also supports cultural, sporting, and recreational activities. Bahia’s Mais Futuro student-retention program is administered locally through the university’s affirmative-action and student-affairs office. These services are not automatically available to every student. The official assistance page directs students to the applicable regulations, current notices, and competitive or eligibility-based selection procedures. Applicants who require housing or financial support should not assume that admission guarantees a residence place or allowance. They should consult the current PROPAAE notices before planning a budget. The 2026 Graduation Fair also provides a practical way to explore programs, speak with university participants, and learn about student mobility, assistance, special academic initiatives, and professional pathways.

Location & Surroundings

UEFS’s main campus is located at Avenida Transnordestina, S/N, in the Novo Horizonte neighborhood of Feira de Santana, Bahia. Feira de Santana lies in the Portal do Sertão region, and the university’s origin is closely connected to the state policy of expanding higher education into Bahia’s interior. Applicants should use the exact campus address when assessing their journey, housing options, and daily transport rather than assuming that all university facilities are in the city center. The institution has a geographically distributed footprint. Facilities in different parts of Feira de Santana include the Centro Universitário de Cultura e Arte, the Antares astronomical observatory and science museum, dental clinics, libraries, a legal-assistance service, and agricultural and environmental sites. UEFS also identifies an advanced campus in Lençóis and UAB activity in Rio Real. These sites support teaching, research, extension, culture, and professional practice, but they do not mean that every degree can be completed at every location. Course-specific documents should determine where attendance is required.

Costs & Career Outcomes

UEFS describes itself as a public and tuition-free university, so students in its regular public degree provision are not charged conventional tuition. That does not eliminate the cost of attendance. Students should budget for accommodation, meals, local transportation, study materials, personal expenses, and any costs attached to required professional or field activities. No reliable current university-wide estimate for these living costs was located, and the database supplies no tuition or room-and-board figure. The Student Assistance Program may provide access to university residences, subsidized food services, resident support, and other assistance, but eligibility criteria and selection notices apply. Applicants should not treat these benefits as guaranteed financing. Current award values, restaurant prices, residence availability, and application calendars were not consistently stated in the strongest 2026 sources, so students should request current information from PROPAAE before making a financial commitment. Career preparation varies substantially by course. Teacher-training degrees emphasize preparation for educational work, while health, engineering, law, business, agricultural, scientific, and humanities programs lead toward different regulated and nonregulated fields. UEFS’s course showcase uses contributions from faculty, students, graduates, and working professionals to explain possible occupations. However, no current institution-wide graduate-employment rate, salary figure, or employer list was verified. Candidates should review the curriculum, professional recognition requirements, practical components, and course-specific career materials rather than infer outcomes from the university name alone.