Universidade Federal de Santa Maria

Infobox University
name = Federal University of Santa Maria
native_name = Universidade Federal de Santa Maria


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motto = "Sedes Sapientiæ"
"Seat of Wisdom"
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established = 1960-12-14
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type = public
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endowment = R$ 365 mi (2005)
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rector = Clóvis Silva Lima
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faculty = 1,140
staff = 2, 545
students = 15,565 (2005)
undergrad = 11,687
postgrad = 1,885
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city = Santa Maria
state = RS
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country = Brazil
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website = [http://www.ufsm.br/ http://www.ufsm.br]

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The Federal University of Santa Maria (in Portuguese, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria; UFSM) is a Brazilian public university located in Santa Maria, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, funded by the federal government of Brazil. It was founded on December 14, 1960, by Professor José Mariano da Rocha Filho.

Its presence in the municipality of Santa Maria is one of the main reasons why the city is sometimes called "university city" or "culture city". Santa Maria is located in western Rio Grande do Sul, approximately 290km far from the capital city of the state, Porto Alegre. Set in the heart of the pampas of Brazil, the city thrives with gaúcho culture.

UFSM is a public, free university, and students do not have to pay any tuition fees. It is the oldest federal university not located in a Brazilian state capital city. It is also considered one of the best universities in Brazil.

Admission

Like most other Brazilian higher education institutions, the admission for undergraduate courses in UFSM is mainly based on an annual open concourse called "vestibular". The only request to be filled in order to apply for it is to have a complete high school course. UFSM's vestibular comprises a multiple-choice exam and a written essay and lasts for 3 mornings and 1 afternoon. Currently, the multiple-choice exam contains 15 questions of each of the following subjects: Portuguese Language, Brazilian Literature, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Geography, History, Biology, Philosophy and Foreign Language (the applicant may choose one among English, Spanish, French, German and Italian). The written essay is usually an argumentative text about a specific theme.

UFSM offers also an innovative serial admission program, called PEIES (or Programa de Ingresso ao Ensino Superior), which consists of a multiple-choice exam applied at the end of each of the three years of Brazilian high school, plus a written essay only in the third year. UFSM is the pioneer university in Brazil to adopt such serial admission program, through which 20% of all the undergraduate students are admitted.

UFSM's vestibular and PEIES are both prepared and administered by "Coperves" (Permanent Commission for Vestibular). In 2008, the most competitive course was Medicine, with over 32 candidates per opening.

Campuses

UFSM has three campuses: the main one in Santa Maria itself, and two smaller ones in northern Rio Grande do Sul, in the municipalities of Frederico Westphalen and Palmeira das Missões. However, the courses of Law, Business Administration, Accountancy, Psychology, Economy and Dentistry still have their classes in downtown Santa Maria, that is, outside any campus.

Academic centers

The university is divided into 9 academic centers, which administer and organize the undergraduate courses offered.

* [http://www.ufsm.br/cal Centro de Artes e Letras (CAL)] — Center of Arts and Languages

:: Courses offered: Theater (Acting and Directing), Visual Arts (Drawing and Sculpture), Industrial Design, Languages and Literatures (Portuguese; English; Spanish), and Music (Licentiate; specific musical instrument; Singing).

* [http://www.ufsm.br/ccne Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas (CCNE)] — Center of Natural and Exact Sciences

:: Courses offered: Biology, Physics, Geography, Meteorology, Mathematics, Chemistry, and Industrial Chemistry.

* [http://www.ufsm.br/ccr Centro de Ciências Rurais (CCR)] — Center of Rural Sciences

:: Courses offered: Agronomy, Forestry, Veterinary Medicine, and Animal Husbandry.

* [http://www.ufsm.br/ccs Centro de Ciências da Saúde (CCS)] — Center of Health Sciences

:: Courses offered: Nursing, Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Medicine, and Dentistry.

* [http://www.ufsm.br/ccsh Centro de Ciências Sociais e Humanas (CCSH)] — Center of Social and Human Sciences

:: Courses offered: Business Administration, Archival science, Accountancy, Economy, Sociology, Communications (Journalism; Public Relations; Advertising and Publicity), Law, Philosophy, History, and Psychology.

* [http://www.ufsm.br/ce Centro de Educação (CE)] — Center of Education

:: Courses offered: Pedagogy, and Special Education.

* [http://www.ufsm.br/cefd Centro de Educação Física e Desporto (CEFD)] — Center of Physical Education and Sports

:: Course offered: Physical Education.

* [http://www.ufsm.br/ct Centro de Tecnologia (CT)] — Center of Technology

:: Courses offered: Architecture and Urban Planning, Computer Science, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.

* [http://www.ufsm.br/cesnors Centro de Educação Superior Norte-RS (CESNORS)] — Center of Higher Education of Northern Rio Grande do Sul

:: Courses offered at the Campus of Frederico Westphalen: Agronomy, Communications (Journalism), and Forestry.

:: Courses offered at the Campus of Palmeira das Missões: Business Administration, Nursing, and Animal Husbandry.

UFSM also offers over 50 graduate courses in several areas of knowledge.

econdary and technological education

The Federal University of Santa Maria also comprises three technical and secondary education institutions: the [http://www.ufsm.br/ctism Colégio Técnico e Industrial de Santa Maria] (Technical and Industrial School of Santa Maria), the [http://www.politecnico.ufsm.br/ Colégio Politécnico da UFSM] (UFSM's Polytechnic School), and the [http://www.cafw.ufsm.br/ Colégio Agrícola de Frederico Westphalen] (Agricultural School of Frederico Westphalen).

They are administered by UFSM's "Coordenadoria de Ensino Médio e Tecnológico" (High and Technical School Coordination). They offer the plain high school syllabus, plus optional vocational education.

Paleontology

UFSM is a major center for studies of paleontology, since the city of Santa Maria sits on a huge deposit of fossils. It is an important institution of Paleorrota.

Paleontological Sites

# Paleontological Site Arroio Cancela.
# Paleontological Site Largo Padre Daniel Cargnin.
# Paleontological Site Bela Vista.
# Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco.
# Paleontological Site Sanga of Alemoa.

ee also

*Santa Maria
*Education in Brazil
*Paleorrota

External links

* [http://www.ufsm.br/ Official University website (in portuguese)]
* [http://coralx.ufsm.br/_outros/sai.php The University website (in english)]