Universidade Federal de Itajubá

About Universidade Federal de Itajubá

UNIFEI developed from the Instituto Eletrotécnico e Mecânico de Itajubá, opened in 1913 to train electrical and mechanical engineers through practically oriented education. It became a federal institution in 1956, later operated as the Escola Federal de Engenharia de Itajubá, and acquired its present university status and name under federal law in 2002. That law constitutes UNIFEI as an autonomous federal public entity and assigns it undergraduate, postgraduate, research, and extension functions. The university is headquartered at the Itajubá campus, officially addressed as Avenida BPS, 1303, in the Pinheirinho district. It also operates the Itabira campus, whose activities began in 2008. Applicants should treat these as distinct study locations: the undergraduate course lists and postgraduate catalogue identify where each offering is based, and students cannot assume that a course available at one campus is duplicated at the other. UNIFEI retains a strong engineering and technological identity while extending beyond engineering alone. Its official Itajubá list includes computing, physical and natural sciences, mathematics, administration, design, and licensure programs alongside numerous engineering fields. Institutional opportunities connect teaching with research, technological extension, entrepreneurship, internships, scientific initiation, and international exchange. Approved undergraduate and postgraduate calendars for 2026, active selection processes, and current course catalogues confirm that the university remains operational and accepting students.

For entry in 2026, UNIFEI used more than one undergraduate route, including its own Vestibular and Brazil's SISU system. The university's admissions office also lists other processes such as serial selection, transfers, ENEM-related routes, Olympic-vacancy selection, and processes for unfilled places; availability and eligibility vary by intake. Applicants must follow the notice for their chosen route rather than combining requirements from different processes. The 2026 Vestibular was open to candidates who had completed, or would complete, secondary education by enrollment. It allowed one course-and-campus choice and included both open competition and legally defined reserved-place categories. Registration opened on 1 September 2025, the examination occurred on 19 October 2025, and the application fee was R$150, with an exemption route for eligible low-income CadÚnico applicants. These dates and the fee apply only to the 2026 intake and must not be reused for 2027. SISU 2026 was administered through a separate official page and schedule. Documentation requirements differed for reserved-place categories, including income, disability, racial-identification, public-school, and other applicable criteria. Candidates using a quota category should check the exact evidentiary rules and deadlines in the relevant notice. As of 20 August 2026, the researched official pages did not provide a complete 2027 undergraduate timetable. Future applicants should monitor UNIFEI's admissions office for the new edital. Master's and doctoral admission is program-specific: prospective graduate students should identify the relevant program and use its current selection call, since there is no single institution-wide deadline or requirement.

UNIFEI's academic profile is anchored in engineering, applied science, and technology, but its undergraduate range is broader. At Itajubá, the official catalogue includes electrical, mechanical, civil, environmental, chemical, energy, materials, production, computer, control and automation, electronics, bioprocess, and water engineering. It also lists computer science, information systems, applied data science, atmospheric sciences, administration, design, physics, chemistry, mathematics, and biological-sciences teacher education. The Itabira campus has its own course portfolio, so applicants should verify the campus attached to each selection choice. Undergraduate awards include bachelor's degrees and licenciatura programs for teacher preparation. Portuguese is the working language indicated in the database record, and the official course material does not support treating the standard curriculum as English-taught. International applicants should therefore evaluate Portuguese-language readiness and consult the relevant selection notice rather than relying on English-language institutional pages alone. At postgraduate level, UNIFEI officially offers stricto sensu master's and doctoral study across its two campuses. The June 2026 postgraduate directory includes academic and professional programs spanning fields such as engineering, computing, materials, energy, environmental and water studies, physics, mathematics, chemistry, education in science, development and society, and administration. Availability differs by level and campus; some areas offer only a master's degree, while others extend through the doctorate. Students can also pursue scientific initiation, monitoring, tutorial education, extension projects, internships, and final-degree projects through institutionally listed opportunities. These routes provide ways to add research or applied experience, but participation, funding, and eligibility depend on the relevant program or call.

Key Highlights

• Federal public university established in its present legal form in 2002
• Institutional history begins with an engineering institute founded in 1913
• Headquartered in Itajubá, with a separate campus in Itabira
• Active undergraduate and postgraduate academic calendars published for 2026

Student Life & Environment

Student support is organized through UNIFEI's student-affairs structure. Official pages identify pedagogical, psychological, social, health, and inclusion services, as well as financial assistance intended to help students facing socioeconomic vulnerability. Listed aid categories include entry, food, childcare, and maintenance support. Eligibility is not automatic: students should consult the current assistance notices and prepare for socioeconomic assessment and documentation requirements. University restaurants operate at the Itajubá and Itabira campuses. UNIFEI does not operate student residences. Its incoming-student guidance says students generally arrange their own accommodation in shared repúblicas, boarding houses, or small apartments, and the university does not recommend particular properties or estate agents. Housing therefore requires an independent search and a separate personal budget. Outside class, the university lists sport, cultural and social projects, technological extension, entrepreneurship, scientific initiation, tutorial education, and exchange opportunities. Student-run junior enterprises undertake consulting and technical projects for public and private organizations under academic guidance, offering practical project and management experience. Campus-specific availability and selection procedures vary, so prospective students should examine current calls after enrollment rather than assuming every activity is continuously open.

Location & Surroundings

The record corresponds to UNIFEI as a whole, which is headquartered in Itajubá in southern Minas Gerais. The main campus, Campus Professor José Rodrigues Seabra, is at Avenida BPS, 1303, Pinheirinho, Itajubá. UNIFEI also operates Campus Theodomiro Carneiro Santiago at Rua Irmã Ivone Drumond, 200, Distrito Industrial II, Itabira. These locations are in different municipalities and should not be treated as one commuting campus. Applicants should choose location together with course, since undergraduate and postgraduate offerings differ by campus. The 2026 entrance examination required candidates to select a single course and campus, illustrating that location is part of the admissions decision rather than an interchangeable preference after selection. For Itajubá students, accommodation is arranged in the local private market because UNIFEI has no residence halls. The university notes shared student houses, boarding houses, and small apartments as common arrangements but does not endorse landlords or agencies. Prospective students should investigate rent, deposits, utilities, transport, and the route to the Pinheirinho campus directly. Comparable planning is necessary for Itabira, using the precise campus named in the relevant course or admissions notice.

Costs & Career Outcomes

UNIFEI states that its undergraduate courses are tuition-free because it is a federal university. This removes tuition from the study budget but not the wider cost of attendance. Students remain responsible for housing, food outside subsidized arrangements, transport, learning materials, and personal expenses. The university publishes no residence charge because it does not provide student housing; students normally rent privately in Itajubá or Itabira. Financial assistance is available for students in socioeconomic vulnerability through categories including entry, food, childcare, and maintenance support. University restaurants operate on both principal campuses. Awards and access conditions depend on current notices and assessment, so applicants should not assume that admission automatically guarantees aid. The R$150 fee shown on the official Vestibular page concerned the 2026 application process, not tuition, and an exemption procedure existed for eligible low-income applicants. For career preparation, UNIFEI lists internships, scientific initiation, monitoring, tutorial education, extension projects, exchange opportunities, and final-degree projects. Its junior enterprises allow undergraduates to work on supervised technical, consulting, software, engineering, feasibility, and management assignments for outside organizations. The university also maintains entrepreneurship and innovation structures. These opportunities can provide applied experience and professional contacts, but participation normally requires a separate selection or project commitment. No current official institution-wide graduate salary, employment rate, or employer-placement figure was found, so outcomes should be assessed through the chosen program, its curriculum, internship requirements, and available career-building activities rather than an unsupported university-wide statistic.