Unesp

Infobox University
name=

1976
type=Public university system
endowment=R$ 948.5 mi
rector=Marcos Macari
vice-rector=Herman Voorwald
city=São Paulo
state=São Paulo
country=Brazil
undergrad=30,000
grad=9,100
faculty=3,206
staff=6,927
campus= 23 campuses, 33 institutes
website= [http://www.unesp.br unesp.br]

UNESP, acronym for Universidade Estadual Paulista (São Paulo State University), is a public university system in the State of São Paulo. It is part of the state’s public higher education system, which also includes University of Campinas (Unicamp), University of São Paulo (USP) and São Paulo State Technological College (Fatec). São Paulo State University has a combined student body of almost 40,000 students spread by its 23 campuses. The first of them is the "Araraquara Pharmacy and Odontology Faculty", founded in 1923 and incorporated by the State of São Paulo in 1956. Before the university’s official foundation in 1976, its original twelve campuses were public independent faculties. UNESP is the most successful multi-campus university system within Brazil. It is also the country’s second largest one, comprising 33 faculties or institutes, 30 libraries, 2 hospitals, 3 animal hospitals, 5 farms and 7 complementary units.

History

Universities in Brazil are very recent phenomena, compared to other Latin-American countries. It was only in 1808 that the first one had been created (Rio de Janeiro Medicine Faculty). Before the 20th Century, there weren’t a single university within the country. All of them were public or church-maintained higher education independent institutes.

Rio de Janeiro Federal University was the first one, containing every faculty inside Rio de Janeiro city in 1926. São Paulo’s first university was University of São Paulo, founded in 1933. By the fifties, countryside people had to move toward capitals to undergraduate. There were few higher education institutes outside Brazilian metropolises then.
São Paulo state government created many colleges outside the capital between the 50s and 60s. Preeminent cities within the state received these isolated institutes, known as "“Faculdade de Filosofia”". Coordination of them was made poorly by São Paulo State Education Department, which had so many attributions.

Then came the seventies, and countless discussions were made within state government on how to hold well these separate institutes. One idea was to comprise then-14 institutes in a federation or a single university. Eventually, final decision would be the latter.Inspired by University of California multi-campus system, São Paulo State University was founded in 1976. Their original campuses were located in Araçatuba, Araraquara, Assis, Botucatu, Franca, Guaratinguetá, Ilha Solteira, Jaboticabal, Marília, Presidente Prudente, Rio Claro, São José dos Campos, São José do Rio Preto and São Paulo. Bauru campus was incorporated only in 1988.

Since then, eight new campuses were created in 2003, after a polemical decision to conform state’s expansion policies on higher education system. That overexpansion, along with low budgets, raised a series of protests and strikes among students and academics. Brazilian successive economic crisis, government mismanagement, low wages and investment put doubts about the future of public higher education in the country. São Paulo, though being the wealthiest state, is no exception to that rule.

Governance

São Paulo State University is governed by a rector, appointed by state governor who choose one in a list of three nominees. These nominees are indicated by elections among university’s academics held every four years. Usually, the governor selects the winner of those elections.

Rector preside the University Council (CO), comprised by directors of every institute within the system and academics representatives. There are also ten students representatives. CO takes most decisions which affect the whole university.

Each institute (there are campus with more than one) has one director and a council who rules with a certain degree of autonomy.

List of UNESP rectors

* Luis Ferreira Martins (10/03/1976 – 09/03/1980)
* Armando Octávio Ramos (10/03/1980 – 08/03/1984)
* Manuel Nunes Dias (27/03/1984 – 31/07/1984), pro-tempore
* Jorge Nagle (01/08/1984 – 16/01/1989)
* Milton Barbosa Landim (17/01/1989 – 15/01/1993)
* Artur Roquete de Macedo (16/01/1993 – 14/01/1997)
* Antônio Manuel dos Santos Silva (15/01/1997 – 14/01/2001)
* José Carlos Souza Trindade (15/01/2001 – 14/01/2005)
* Marcos Macari (since 15/01/2005)

Campuses

At present, São Paulo State University comprises 23 campuses and 33 institutes, which are listed below (the main campuses are bold-faced):

* UNESP, Campus de Araçatuba
** "Faculdade de Odontologia de Araçatuba (FOA)"
* UNESP, Campus de Araraquara
** "Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCF)"
** "Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL)"
** "Faculdade de Odontologia (FO)"
** "Instituto de Química (IQ)"
* UNESP, Campus de Assis
** Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL)
* UNESP, Campus de Bauru
** "Faculdade de Arquitetura, Artes e Comunicação (FAAC)"
** "Faculdade de Ciências (FC)"
** "Faculdade de Engenharia de Bauru (FEB)"
* UNESP, Campus de Botucatu
** "Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas (FCA)"
** "Faculdade de Medicina (FM)"
** "Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ)"
** "Instituto de Biociências (IB)"
* UNESP, Campus Experimental de Dracena
* UNESP, Campus de Franca
** "Faculdade de História, Direito e Serviço Social (FHDSS)"
* UNESP, Campus de Guaratinguetá
** "Faculdade de Engenharia de Guaratinguetá (FEG)"
* UNESP, Campus de Ilha Solteira
** "Faculdade de Engenharia de Ilha Solteira (FEIS)"
* "UNESP, Campus Experimental de Itapeva"
* UNESP, Campus de Jaboticabal
** "Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV)"
* UNESP, Campus de Marília
** "Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências (FFC)"
* UNESP, Campus Experimental de Ourinhos
* UNESP, Campus de Presidente Prudente
** "Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT)"
* UNESP, Campus Experimental de Registro
* UNESP, Campus de Rio Claro
** "Instituto de Biociências (IB)"
** "Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas (IGCE)"
* UNESP, Campus Experimental de Rosana
* UNESP, Campus de São José do Rio Preto
** "Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE)"
* UNESP, Campus de São José dos Campos
** "Faculdade de Odontologia de São José dos Campos (FOSJC)"
* UNESP, Campus de São Paulo
** "Instituto de Artes (IA)"
* UNESP, Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista (São Vicente)
* UNESP, Campus de Sorocaba
* UNESP, Campus Experimental de Tupã

Complementary Units

* UNESP, São Paulo
** "Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) - Institute for Theoretical Physics"

Admissions

Admissions in São Paulo State University are made through an exam, known as vestibular, which comprises the whole content taught in Brazilian high school. For physical education, architecture, arts and design undergraduate courses, a specific exam is also required.

Prepared by VUNESP, an institution specialized in exams organization, UNESP vestibular are hold in three subsequent days. The first one is made of 64 tests in those following disciplines: mathematics, chemicals, biology, geography, history, physics and English or French. Second day exam is compound of specific questions (i.e. if the student applies for an human science course, there are only history, geography and Portuguese questions). Third day comprises a Portuguese and a writing exam.

A student can only apply for a single course in entire São Paulo State University system. For example, a student cannot simultaneously apply for History in Franca and Geography in Presidente Prudente.

External links

* [http://www.unesp.br Universidade Estadual Paulista, Official Website]
* [http://www.unesp.br/eng/ Universidade Estadual Paulista, Official Website in English]