851-900 in the world · QS 2027

University of Brasília

Universidade de Brasília

The capital's tuition-free federal university, planned by Darcy Ribeiro and Anísio Teixeira and built by Oscar Niemeyer.

Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil Public federal research university Founded 1962 Official website

See my chances at UnB Admissions office

Photo: Universidade de Brasília · CC BY 2.0

Students: 50,843; 39,190 undergraduates
Tuition: Free; 2027
Founded: 1962
QS World Ranking: 851-900; 2027 edition

About UnB

The University of Brasília was authorised by law in December 1961 and opened on 21 April 1962, when the new capital was only two years old. The anthropologist Darcy Ribeiro set out its founding ideas, the educator Anísio Teixeira designed its teaching model, and Oscar Niemeyer turned them into buildings, most famously the long Instituto Central de Ciências, nicknamed the Minhocão.

Today UnB is one of Brazil's largest federal universities: in the second half of 2024 it had 39,190 undergraduates, 6,805 master's students and 4,848 doctoral students, taught by 2,612 permanent faculty. It is organised into 14 faculties and 12 institutes across four campuses: the main Darcy Ribeiro campus in central Brasília and satellite campuses in Ceilândia, Gama and Planaltina. It also runs the University Hospital (HUB) and the Água Limpa experimental farm.

Being in the capital shapes the place: law, international relations, political science and economics students are a short ride from the ministries, courts and embassies where many graduates end up working. Tuition is free. The university is a good fit for students who want a big, politically engaged public campus and can study in Portuguese.

Why students choose UnB

Undergraduate study is tuition-free, and UnB holds the top band (5) in the Ministry of Education's IGC quality index.

Its location in Brasília connects students to the federal government, courts and embassies; alumni include a WTO Director-General, a Central Bank president and a Prosecutor General.

There are several ways in: SiSU with ENEM scores (all courses from 2027), UnB's own Vestibular, the three-year PAS serial exam, and for foreign students PEC-G or transfer.

The Darcy Ribeiro campus, designed around Niemeyer's modernist buildings, covers about 392 hectares, with a large library and a subsidised restaurant.

Admissions

2027 entry (first and second semesters of 2027)

Selectivity

UnB does not publish a single admit rate. In 2024 it received 48,482 applications for 8,415 new places in its main selection processes (5.76 applicants per place, Censo da Educação Superior data in its statistical yearbook), and 7,047 new undergraduates started that year. Competition varies widely by course and quota category.

Testing ENEM scores for SiSU, Acesso Enem, transfer and diploma-holder routes; UnB's own Vestibular (Cebraspe exams) and PAS serial exams for their quotas of places. PEC-G applicants sit no entrance exam but need Portuguese proficiency.

Typical entry requirements

Brazilian ensino médio or a foreign equivalent	Completed secondary school plus a qualifying result in the ENEM (SiSU or Acesso Enem), the UnB Vestibular or the PAS; candidates choose between universal places and quotas for public-school students, Black candidates and trans people.
PEC-G (nationals of partner countries living abroad)	Aged 18 or over (UnB says preferably up to 23), secondary school completed abroad with an overall average of at least 60%, not Brazilian and without a Brazilian parent, proof that a sponsor can support you in Brazil, a commitment to return home after graduating, and Portuguese proficiency, normally the Celpe-Bras certificate.
Transfer (Transferência Facultativa)	Open to regular students of Brazilian or foreign institutions who have completed between 25% and 75% of the credits of the same or an equivalent course and have taken the ENEM; selection by transcript check and ENEM results, twice a year, only for courses with vacant places.
Diploma holders (Portador de Diploma de Curso Superior)	Graduates of Brazilian or foreign universities, provided a foreign diploma has been revalidated in Brazil; selection by ENEM results, twice a year, for vacant places only.

Deadlines

PEC-G 2027 (via Brazilian embassies and consulates) Non-binding Passed

Pre-registration 31 March to 9 May 2026 (closed)

First-call results from 28 September 2026; selected students must confirm by 13 October 2026. Itamaraty's PEC-G 2027 places spreadsheet sets a limit of 15 PEC-G students at UnB, although it lists 45 UnB course options (Darcy Ribeiro and Ceilândia campuses). Watch for the PEC-G 2028 notice (the 2027 notice was published on 30 March 2026).
Vestibular 2027 registration Non-binding Passed

21 September 2026 (closed)

Registration ran 28 August to 21 September 2026 on the Cebraspe portal; fee R$ 173 payable by 9 October; 1,074 places for entry in the second semester of 2027.
ENEM 2026 exam Non-binding Next deadline · In 33 days

8 and 15 November 2026

Scores are used for SiSU 2027, Acesso Enem, transfer and diploma-holder selections.
Vestibular 2027 exams Non-binding In 46 days

21-22 November 2026

Knowledge tests and a Portuguese essay, held in the Federal District and in Alto Paraíso de Goiás, Formosa, Goiânia, Valparaíso de Goiás and Uberlândia; results and the call for online registration are expected on 12 February 2027.
SiSU 2027 (UnB call) Non-binding

UnB notice expected around 28 December 2026; applications on the Ministry of Education's SiSU calendar in early 2027

From 2027 every UnB course offers SiSU places for first-semester entry.

UnB changed its admission policy in 2026 (Cepe Resolution 0130/2026): from 2027, SiSU covers all courses with first-semester entry, while Vestibular and Acesso Enem admit students in the second semester; PAS entry moves entirely to the first semester from 2029. Vestibular registration for 2027 has closed; the next steps for new applicants are the ENEM in November 2026 and SiSU in early 2027. Transfer and diploma-holder notices are published each semester.

How to apply

Choose a route: SiSU (national Ministry of Education platform, ENEM scores, all UnB courses from 2027 with first-semester entry); Acesso Enem (UnB's own ENEM-based selection, second-semester entry); the Vestibular run by Cebraspe (knowledge exams plus a Portuguese essay, second-semester entry from 2027); or PAS, a three-stage exam taken during the three years of secondary school. International applicants from PEC-G partner countries apply free of charge through the Brazilian embassy or consulate; others can apply through SiSU or the Vestibular with a foreign secondary diploma, or transfer from a foreign university.

What admissions looks for

Strong performance in the exam used by your chosen route: the ENEM for SiSU and Acesso Enem, or UnB's own Vestibular and PAS exams.
For transfers, a course of study equivalent to the UnB course, with 25% to 75% of the credits completed, plus a good ENEM score.
For PEC-G, a secondary-school average of at least 60%, Portuguese proficiency, financial support and a commitment to return home after graduating.
For courses that require it, a pass in a specific skills test (Certificação em Habilidade Específica).

Tips for applying to UnB

1 Note the new timetable: if you enter through the Vestibular or Acesso Enem you start in the second semester (August), not in March.
2 If you are at a university abroad, Transferência Facultativa accepts students from foreign institutions, but you still need an ENEM score and 25-75% of your course completed.
3 PEC-G places at UnB are few (a limit of 15 for 2027), so list other universities in your PEC-G application as well.
4 Foreign graduates who want a second degree must have their diploma revalidated in Brazil before applying as diploma holders.
5 Check which campus runs your course: engineering is in Gama, many health courses are in Ceilândia, and Planaltina has its own faculty.

Costs & financial aid

2027 · figures in BRL

No tuition: UnB is a federal public university and charges no fees for undergraduate courses (the Vestibular 2027 registration fee is R$ 173, with exemptions available) Tuition R$0

Financial aid

Tuition is free. UnB's Community Affairs Deanery (DAC) runs student assistance for low-income students, including food grants (8,133 beneficiaries in 2024), a socio-economic Bolsa Permanência (2,911), student housing (1,186 undergraduate residents) and transport and childcare grants. At the university restaurant, low-income students (Group I) eat free and other students pay R$ 6.10 for lunch or dinner.

8,133 students
Food grant beneficiaries, 2024: 1,186 residents
Undergraduate student housing, 2024: Free for Group I (low-income) students; R$ 6.10 for other students
University restaurant, lunch or dinner (2024): R$ 173 (exemptions for eligible candidates)
Vestibular 2027 registration fee

Academics

Academic calendar: Semesters

International Relations (IREL)

Taught by a dedicated Institute of International Relations in the capital, a short trip from the foreign ministry and embassies.

Law (Faculdade de Direito)

Close to the federal courts and prosecutors' offices; former Prosecutor General Raquel Dodge graduated in law from UnB.

Economics (FACE)

UnB-trained economists include former Central Bank of Brazil president Alexandre Tombini.

Architecture and Urbanism (FAU)

Taught on a campus that is itself a case study in modernist planning, and rated 5 in the ENADE 2023 national exam.

Medicine (Faculdade de Medicina)

Clinical training at the University Hospital of Brasília (HUB); rated 5 in the ENADE 2023 national exam.

Political Science (IPOL)

A dedicated Institute of Political Science in the seat of Brazil's federal government.

Research

UnB offers 102 master's and 76 doctoral programmes and awarded 681 doctorates in 2024.
The Centro de Desenvolvimento Sustentável runs interdisciplinary graduate programmes in sustainable development; its alumni include International Seabed Authority Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho.
The University Hospital of Brasília (HUB) and two veterinary hospitals support health research and training.
UnB's institutional components include 12 research centres, the Fazenda Água Limpa experimental farm and a site in Alto Paraíso de Goiás.

Schools & faculties

Faculdade de Direito
Faculdade de Economia, Administração, Contabilidade e Gestão de Políticas Públicas
Faculdade de Medicina
Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde
Faculdade de Tecnologia
Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo
Faculdade de Comunicação
Faculdade de Educação
Instituto de Relações Internacionais
Instituto de Ciência Política
Instituto de Ciências Exatas
Instituto de Ciências Biológicas

Student life

Life centres on the Darcy Ribeiro campus, where the Minhocão's long garden corridors act as the university's main street. The university restaurant serves about 4,100 meals a day, free for low-income students and heavily subsidised for others, and the Biblioteca Central holds more than 1.7 million items. UnB has student housing for around 1,200 undergraduates in need, and its community affairs deanery offers mental-health support and cultural programmes, from a dance centre to film showings. Most students commute or rent rooms in the city.

Oscar Niemeyer's Instituto Central de Ciências, the Minhocão, is the heart of campus.
The university restaurant served over 1.5 million meals in 2024.
The Biblioteca Central holds 1,784,024 items.
Four campuses across the Federal District: Darcy Ribeiro, Ceilândia, Gama and Planaltina.

Housing. UnB offers student housing to low-income undergraduates through its Community Affairs Deanery (1,186 residents in 2024); most students rent privately.

Location

Brasília is Brazil's planned capital, only two years old when UnB opened. The main Darcy Ribeiro campus is in the Plano Piloto, the planned core of the city, close enough to the Esplanada dos Ministérios that some officials in the 1960s worried about students' influence on political life. The city is spread out, with large green spaces, and the satellite campuses in Ceilândia, Gama and Planaltina serve the wider Federal District.

Nearest airport: Brasília International Airport (BSB)

Notable alumni

RA
Roberto Azevêdo

Director-General of the World Trade Organization 2013-2020; electrical engineering graduate
AT
Alexandre Tombini

President of the Central Bank of Brazil until 2016; economics graduate (1984)
RD
Raquel Dodge

Prosecutor General of Brazil 2017-2019; law graduate (1986)
ML
Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti

Diplomat, Brazil's Permanent Representative to the UN 2007-2013 and later ambassador to the United States; bachelor's (1979) and postgraduate degree in economics
ML
Miriam Leitão

Economics journalist and author; journalism graduate
LC
Leticia Carvalho

Oceanographer, Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority since 2025; master's in sustainable development
CX
Célia Xakriabá

Indigenous rights activist and federal deputy; master's in education (2018)

Frequently asked questions

Is the University of Brasília free for international students?

Yes. UnB is a federal university and charges no tuition to Brazilian or foreign undergraduates. You pay only exam fees (R$ 173 for the 2027 Vestibular) and your living costs.

How can a foreign student get into UnB?

Nationals of PEC-G partner countries can apply free through the Brazilian embassy or consulate, with no entrance exam but proof of Portuguese; UnB set a limit of 15 PEC-G students for 2027. Other routes are SiSU with an ENEM score, the Vestibular, transfer from a foreign university (with an ENEM score), or refugee admission.

Can I transfer to UnB from a university outside Brazil?

Yes. Transferência Facultativa is open to regular students of foreign institutions who have completed 25% to 75% of an equivalent course and taken the ENEM; notices are published every semester, for courses with vacant places.

What is the PAS at UnB?

The Programa de Avaliação Seriada is a three-stage exam taken during the three years of secondary school; the PAS 3 cycle ending in 2026 offers 4,930 places for 2027 entry. From 2029 PAS entry will be in the first semester only.

How competitive is UnB?

UnB does not publish an admit rate, but in 2024 it received 48,482 applications for 8,415 new places, about 5.8 per place, with much higher competition for courses such as medicine and law.

Sources & methodology

Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.