Federal University of São Paulo
Universidade Federal de São Paulo
A tuition-free federal university grown from the Escola Paulista de Medicina, now spread across seven campuses in São Paulo state.
- Students
- 19,065
- 14,083 undergraduates
- Tuition
- Free
- 2027
- Founded
- 1933
- QS World Ranking
- 801-850
- 2027 edition
About Unifesp
Unifesp's roots are the Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM), founded in São Paulo in 1933, federalised in 1956 and turned into a federal university by law in 1994. For decades it was a health-sciences institution, and it still runs the Hospital São Paulo, which it describes as the country's largest university hospital. From 2005 a federal expansion programme added campuses in Baixada Santista (Santos), Diadema, Guarulhos, São José dos Campos and Osasco, and a Zona Leste campus in São Paulo is being set up.
Each campus has its own focus: medicine and nursing in Vila Clementino (EPM and the Escola Paulista de Enfermagem), health and marine sciences in Santos, chemistry, pharmacy and environmental sciences in Diadema, humanities and philosophy in Guarulhos, computing and engineering in São José dos Campos, and economics, business, law and international relations in Osasco. In 2025 it had 14,083 undergraduates in 57 courses, 4,982 master's and doctoral students and 1,708 faculty, about 98% of them with doctorates.
Like all Brazilian federal universities it charges no tuition. Almost every course is filled through SiSU using ENEM scores; Medicine adds Unifesp's own exams. It suits students who want serious research training, especially in health, and are ready to study in Portuguese in the São Paulo metropolitan area.
Why students choose Unifesp
No tuition at all, for Brazilian and international students alike, at a university its 2025 report places among Brazil's top ten in THE and QS Latin America rankings.
The Escola Paulista de Medicina and Hospital São Paulo give health students clinical training in one of Brazil's largest academic medical centres.
Campuses specialise, so you study computing in São José dos Campos, philosophy in Guarulhos or marine science in Santos with a dedicated institute around you.
Unifesp takes PEC-G students from partner countries: it set a limit of 64 PEC-G students for 2027 entry, spread over 39 course listings.
Admissions
2027 entry (academic year starting February/March 2027)
Selectivity
Unifesp does not publish an overall acceptance rate. It offered 3,129 new places in 2025 and will offer 3,729 from 2026. Entry is ranked on ENEM scores through SiSU, so the cut-off differs by course and quota category; Medicine is the most competitive and adds two days of Unifesp's own exams.
Typical entry requirements
| Brazilian ensino médio or a foreign equivalent (SiSU route) | Completed secondary school plus an ENEM score high enough for the chosen course and quota category. If you studied secondary school abroad, in whole or in part, you must present an equivalence of studies from a Brazilian State Education Secretariat at enrolment. |
|---|---|
| PEC-G (nationals of partner countries living abroad) | Aged 18 or over, not Brazilian and without a Brazilian parent, no Brazilian visa or residence other than a tourist visa, secondary school completed abroad with an overall average of at least 60%, a financial sponsor who can support you in Brazil, a commitment to return home after graduating, and Portuguese proof (normally the Celpe-Bras certificate). No admission exam and no tuition. |
| Transfer and diploma holders | External transfer is for students already enrolled at a Brazilian, MEC-accredited institution who have completed their first year and passed at least 70% of first-year subjects. Graduates can apply for leftover places through the Reingresso call for diploma holders. |
Deadlines
- PEC-G 2027 (via Brazilian embassies and consulates) Non-binding PassedPre-registration 31 March to 9 May 2026 (closed)
Itamaraty's PEC-G 2027 places spreadsheet gives Unifesp a limit of 64 PEC-G students, across 39 course listings, all for 2027/1 entry. First-call results were published from 28 September 2026 and selected students must confirm with their embassy or consulate by 13 October 2026. The 2027 notice was published on 30 March 2026, so the PEC-G 2028 call is likely to open in a similar period of 2027.
- External transfer 2027 Non-binding Passed18 September 2026 (closed)
Registration ran 18 August to 18 September 2026; only for students enrolled at Brazilian institutions.
- ENEM 2026 exam Non-binding Next deadline · In 33 days8 and 15 November 2026
ENEM 2026 scores are used for SiSU entry in 2027 and for the first stage of the Medicine vestibular.
- SiSU 2027 (all courses except Medicine) Non-bindingEarly 2027, per the Ministry of Education's SiSU calendar
Applications go through the federal SiSU platform using ENEM scores; Unifesp then runs pre-enrolment and document checks for each call.
- Medicine vestibular 2027 (Sistema Misto) Non-bindingRegistration notice to be published by Unifesp
The fee-exemption window ran from 10 August to 11 September 2026, with results on 25 September 2026. ENEM plus two days of Unifesp exams; 6-year full-time course on the São Paulo campus.
For most applicants the key dates are the ENEM on 8 and 15 November 2026 and the SiSU window in early 2027. The PEC-G 2027 cycle and the 2027 transfer call have closed; watch the Ministry of Foreign Affairs PEC-G page for the 2028 notice and Unifesp's admissions site for the Medicine vestibular and Reingresso calls.
How to apply
Most courses: sit the ENEM, then choose Unifesp courses on the Ministry of Education's SiSU platform; called candidates complete an online pre-enrolment. Medicine: take the ENEM and register for Unifesp's Sistema Misto vestibular, with two extra exam days. International students from PEC-G partner countries apply free of charge through the Brazilian embassy or consulate in their country, and Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs allocates places. Refugees, stateless people and humanitarian-visa holders have a separate Unifesp selection process.
What admissions looks for
- A strong ENEM score: SiSU ranks candidates purely on ENEM results for the course and quota category they choose.
- For Medicine, performance in both the ENEM and Unifesp's own two-day exams.
- For PEC-G, a secondary-school average of at least 60%, Portuguese proficiency, proof of financial support and a commitment to return home after graduating.
- For transfers, a completed first year elsewhere in Brazil with at least 70% of subjects passed.
Tips for applying to Unifesp
- 1 Pick your campus carefully: each one teaches different subjects and they are spread across six cities, from Santos on the coast to São José dos Campos.
- 2 If you are from a PEC-G partner country, contact the Brazilian embassy or consulate early: 2027 entry closed in May 2026, and applying is free, so avoid paid intermediaries.
- 3 Without Portuguese, look at PEC-PLE, which gives a year of Portuguese in Brazil before the degree.
- 4 If you finished school abroad and apply through SiSU, get your equivalence of studies from a State Education Secretariat before enrolment.
- 5 Low-income Brazilian public-school students can ask for exemption from the Medicine vestibular fee, but the window closes in September.
Costs & financial aid
2027 · figures in BRL
Tuition is free. Under Brazil's national student assistance policy (PNAES), Unifesp's PAPE programme pays monthly housing, food, transport and childcare grants to students with per-capita family income of up to one minimum wage, and PEC-G students can receive Promisaes support. Subsidised meals are served at university restaurants on every campus.
- R$ 448 a month (457 students)
- PAPE housing grant, 2025
- R$ 256 a month (987 students)
- PAPE food grant, 2025
- R$ 274 a month (10 students)
- Promisaes (PEC-G students), 2025
- 1,192 grants (research, teaching and other programmes)
- Undergraduate scholarships, 2025
Academics
Academic calendar: Semesters
Medicine (Escola Paulista de Medicina)
Unifesp's founding course, taught since 1933 with clinical training at the Hospital São Paulo; a 6-year full-time degree with its own entrance exams.
Nursing (Escola Paulista de Enfermagem)
Taught since 1939 on the São Paulo campus, part of the university's original core.
Biomedicine
An EPM degree since 1966, linked to Unifesp's strong laboratory research in biochemistry and pharmacology.
Computer Science (ICT, São José dos Campos)
Offered in Brazil's aerospace and technology hub; intake rose to 50 places from 2026.
Philosophy (EFLCH, Guarulhos)
The humanities campus where philosopher and writer Djamila Ribeiro took her degree and master's.
Interdisciplinary Bachelor in Marine Science and Technology (Baixada Santista)
Taught by the Instituto do Mar on the coastal Santos campus.
Research
- The Hospital São Paulo, which Unifesp calls Brazil's largest university hospital, anchors clinical research and teaching on the Vila Clementino campus.
- In 2025 Unifesp offered 72 master's and 51 doctoral courses, and its 92 medical residency programmes had 1,189 medical residents (plus 244 in 14 multiprofessional residency programmes), according to its 2025 management report.
- In THE's Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2026 it led Brazil's federal universities, placing 3rd in Brazil and 144th worldwide, according to its 2025 management report.
- It holds the maximum score (5) in the Ministry of Education's IGC quality index.
Schools & faculties
- Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM) - São Paulo campus
- Escola Paulista de Enfermagem (EPE) - São Paulo campus
- Instituto de Saúde e Sociedade (ISS) - Baixada Santista campus
- Instituto do Mar (IMar) - Baixada Santista campus
- Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF) - Diadema campus
- Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH) - Guarulhos campus
- Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia (ICT) - São José dos Campos campus
- Escola Paulista de Política, Economia e Negócios (Eppen) - Osasco campus
- Instituto das Cidades (IC) - Zona Leste campus (being set up)
Student life
Student life depends on the campus, because each is in a different city and has its own student unions (centros acadêmicos). Unifesp has no general halls of residence for new undergraduates: many students share rented houses called repúblicas, and the student unions help newcomers find rooms. Every campus has a university restaurant (RU, or bandejão) with subsidised meals, which served more than 620,000 meals in 2025. The São Paulo campus is built around the hospital and research buildings of Vila Clementino.
- Seven campuses in six cities of São Paulo state, each with its own academic focus.
- Subsidised university restaurants on every campus (620,423 meals served in 2025).
- Course-based student unions (centros acadêmicos) run activities and help with housing.
- An International Student Guide in English, Spanish and French from the International Relations Office.
Housing. Unifesp does not guarantee housing; students usually rent rooms in shared repúblicas or apartments near their campus, and low-income students can apply for a monthly PAPE housing grant.
Location
The historic São Paulo campus is in Vila Clementino, a district of São Paulo where the university occupies more than a hundred buildings around its hospital. São Paulo is Brazil's largest city, so expect big-city distances and rents. Other campuses are in Santos on the coast and in Diadema, Guarulhos, Osasco and São José dos Campos, so check which campus runs your course before you plan housing.
Nearest airport: São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) for domestic flights; São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) for international flights
Notable alumni
- DR Djamila RibeiroPhilosopher and writer, elected to the São Paulo Academy of Letters in 2022; BA in Philosophy (2012) and master's in Political Philosophy (2015) at Unifesp
- CL Cláudio LottenbergOphthalmologist and health executive, chair of the Albert Einstein hospital's board; MD from the Escola Paulista de Medicina (1984)
- EC Elisaldo CarliniPsychopharmacologist known for cannabis research; MD from the Escola Paulista de Medicina (1957)
- EA Esper Abrão CavalheiroNeuroscientist and former president of the CNPq research council; MD (1974) and PhD from the Escola Paulista de Medicina
- RB Rubens Belfort Mattos JuniorOphthalmologist, elected president of Brazil's National Academy of Medicine in 2019; MD from the Escola Paulista de Medicina (1970)
- WF Walter FeldmanPolitician and former federal deputy, later secretary-general of the Brazilian Football Confederation; MD from the Escola Paulista de Medicina (1977)
- NT Natalia TimermanWriter and psychiatrist; medical degree from Unifesp
- AC Arthur ChioroBrazil's Minister of Health 2014-2015; doctorate in public health at Unifesp
Frequently asked questions
Is Unifesp free for international students?
Yes. Unifesp is a federal university and charges no tuition to Brazilian or foreign undergraduates. You still need to cover your own living costs, and PEC-G applicants must show a sponsor can support them.
How can an international student get into Unifesp?
The main route is PEC-G, run by Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs through Brazilian embassies and consulates in partner countries; Unifesp accepts up to 64 PEC-G students for 2027. You can also compete through SiSU with an ENEM score and an equivalence of your foreign secondary studies, and refugees have a dedicated Unifesp process.
Do I need the ENEM to study at Unifesp?
For regular entry, yes: almost every course fills its places through SiSU using ENEM scores, and Medicine combines the ENEM with two days of Unifesp's own exams. PEC-G applicants do not sit an entrance exam.
Are Unifesp courses taught in English?
No. Undergraduate courses are taught in Portuguese, and PEC-G applicants must prove Portuguese proficiency, normally with the Celpe-Bras certificate. PEC-PLE offers a year of Portuguese in Brazil first.
Can I transfer to Unifesp from a university abroad?
Not directly. Unifesp's transfer call is only for students enrolled at Brazilian, MEC-accredited institutions who have completed their first year. Graduates can apply for leftover places through the Reingresso call for diploma holders.
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.
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