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Best universities in South America 2024

Find the best universities in South America using Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings data

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October 16 2023
Caminito Street in Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Top six universities in South America 2024

Scroll down for the full list of best universities in South America

South America Rank 2024World University Rank 2024 World University Rank 2023 UniversityCountryCity/state 
1201–250 201–250 University of São PauloBrazilSão Paulo
2351–400 401–500 University of CampinasBrazilSão Paulo
3401–500 401–500 Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileChileSantiago 
=4601–800 1001–1200 Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)BrazilPorto Alegre 
=4601–800 1001–1200 Federal University of Rio de JaneiroBrazilRio de Janeiro 
=4601–800 601–800 Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do SulBrazilPorto Alegre 

There are 13 universities from South America in the top 1,000 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024. 

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Just under half of these South American universities are in Brazil, including the University of São Paulo in first place, in the top 250 in the world. 

Chile has 28 universities in the full ranking, followed by Colombia with 21 institutions, Ecuador with seven, Argentina with three, and Peru with three. The main language of instruction at these South American universities is either Portuguese or Spanish.

The South America filter of the THE World University Rankings 2024 supplements a specific Latin America ranking last published in July 2023, which includes Central American universities.

Top 3 universities in South America

=2. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile has a history that dates back to 1888, making it one of the country's oldest universities.

It is one of six private Catholic institutions in the country.

The university has four campuses located in Santiago, Chile's capital, and one in Villarrica, a city in the south of the country.

When the university was first established it offered courses in law, mathematics, legal sciences, and physical sciences. The university has since expanded and today it has courses available in a wide range of subjects such as architecture, engineering, and philosophy.

=2. University of Campinas

The University of Campinas is commonly called Unicamp, and it is a public research university in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.

It was opened in 1966, and although it is one of Brazil’s younger institutions it has established itself as a primary medical and scientific research centre.

The campus has a unique design, with the main library, student service buildings and restaurant in a central circular plaza, and most of the academic buildings located in blocks radiating out from the centre. 

1. University of São Paulo

The University of São Paulo is Brazil’s largest public institution of higher education and one of the largest in South America.

There are currently about 83,000 students enrolled across 11 campuses, four of which are in São Paulo.

It is unsurprising that the institution is the best South American-university in the World University Rankings 2024; it was also named the most prestigious Latin American-university in a survey of top scholars and is second in the overall Latin America rankings.

Alumni have a strong track record of becoming CEOs of the world’s largest companies. Twelve Brazilian presidents graduated from USP.

When it was founded in 1934, the university attracted famous foreign professors and created a new standard for teaching and research in the country.

More than 200 undergraduate programmes and 200 postgraduate programmes are offered across the full range of academic disciplines.

In addition to its faculties, the university operates four hospitals and 24 museums and galleries across its campuses.

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Best universities in South America 2024

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2024 results

South America Rank 2024World University Rank 2024 World University Rank 2023 UniversityCountryCity/state 
1201–250 201–250 University of São PauloBrazilSão Paulo
2351–400 401–500 University of CampinasBrazilSão Paulo
3401–500 401–500 Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileChileSantiago 
=4601–800 1001–1200 Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)BrazilPorto Alegre 
=4601–800 1001–1200 Federal University of Rio de JaneiroBrazilRio de Janeiro 
=4601–800 601–800 Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do SulBrazilPorto Alegre 
=7801–1000 1001–1200 University of the Andes, ColombiaColombiaBogotá
=7801–1000 1001–1200 University of ChileChileSantiago 
=7801–1000 NR University of la CostaColombiaBarranquilla
=7801–1000 801–1000 Federal University of Minas GeraisBrazilMinas Gerais 
=7801–1000 1001–1200 Universidade Federal de Santa CatarinaBrazilFlorianópolis
=7801–1000 601–800 Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)BrazilSão Paulo
=7801–1000 801–1000 Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)BrazilRio de Janeiro 
=141001–1200 801–1000 Universidad Autónoma de ChileChileTemuco, Talca and Santiago
=141001–1200 601–800 University of DesarrolloChileConcepción
=141001–1200 801–1000 Diego Portales UniversityChileSantiago 
=141001–1200 1201–1500 Federal University of São CarlosBrazilSão Carlos
=141001–1200 601–800 Icesi UniversityColombiaCali 
=141001–1200 601–800 Universidad Peruana Cayetano HerediaPeruLima 
=141001–1200 801–1000 Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS)BrazilPorto Alegre 
=141001–1200 1001–1200 Universidad San Francisco de QuitoEcuadorQuito 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Adolfo Ibáñez UniversityChileSantiago 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 University of the Andes, ChileChileSantiago 
=221201–1500 601–800 University of AntofagastaChileTemuco, Talca and Santiago
=221201–1500 1201–1500 University of AntioquiaColombiaMedellín
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Austral University of ChileChileValdivia 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 University of BrasíliaBrazilTaguatinga 
=221201–1500 NR Universidad de CartagenaColombiaCartagena 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 University of ConcepciónChileConcepción
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Del Rosario UniversityColombiaBogotá
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Escuela Superior Politécnica del LitoralEcuadorGuayaquil 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ)BrazilRio de Janeiro 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)BrazilSão Paulo
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Universidade Federal da BahiaBrazilSalvador 
=221201–1500 1501+ Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC)BrazilFortaleza 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Federal University of Espírito SantoBrazilEspírito Santo
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Federal University of GoiásBrazilGoiás
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Federal University of LavrasBrazilLavras 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR)BrazilParaná
=221201–1500 1501+ Federal University of PernambucoBrazilRecife 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Federal University of Rio  Grande do Norte (UFRN)BrazilNatal 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Federal University of Santa MariaBrazilSanta Maria 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Federal University of UberlândiaBrazilMinas Gerais 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Federal University of ViçosaBrazilViçosa
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Federico Santa María Technical UniversityChileValparaiso 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 University of La FronteraChileTemuco 
=221201–1500 1001–1200 National University of ColombiaColombiaBogotá
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Pontifical Catholic University of PeruPeruLima 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Pontifical Catholic University of ValparaísoChileValparaiso
=221201–1500 801–1000 Pontifical Javeriana UniversityColombiaBogotá
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Pontifícia Universidade Católica do ParanáBrazilParaná
=221201–1500 801–1000 University of La SerenaChileLa Serena 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 University of TalcaChileTalca 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 University of TarapacáChileArica 
=221201–1500 1201–1500 Unisinos UniversityBrazilSão Leopoldo
=561501+ 1501+ University of the Andes, VenezuelaVenezuelaMérida
=561501+ 1201–1500 Universidad Andrés Bello (UNAB)ChileSantiago 
=561501+ NR Antonio Nariño UniversityColombiaBogotá
=561501+ NR Bernardo O’Higgins UniversityChileSantiago 
=561501+ 1501+ University of Bío-BíoChileConcepción
=561501+ NR University of CaldasColombiaManizales
=561501+ 1501+ Catholic University of BrasíliaBrazilTaguatinga 
=561501+ 1201–1500 Catholic University of the NorthChileAntofagasta 
=561501+ NR Universidad Católica del MauleChileTalca 
=561501+ NR Universidad Católica de la Santísima ConcepciónChileConcepción
=561501+ 1501+ University of Caxias do SulBrazilCaxias do Sul 
=561501+ 1501+ Ceará State UniversityBrazilFortaleza 
=561501+ NR Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica Celso Suckow da Fonseca (CEFET-RJ)BrazilRio de Janeiro 
=561501+ NR CES UniversityColombiaMedellín
=561501+ 1501+ EAFIT UniversityColombiaMedellín
=561501+ 1201–1500 El Bosque UniversityColombiaBogotá
=561501+ 1501+ Escuela Politécnica NacionalEcuadorQuito 
=561501+ 1501+ Universidade do Estado de Santa CatarinaBrazilSanta Catarina 
=561501+ 1501+ Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy RibeiroBrazilRio de Janeiro 
=561501+ 1501+ Universidade Estadual de MaringáBrazilMaringá
=561501+ 1501+ Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná (Unioeste)BrazilParaná
=561501+ 1501+ Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA)BrazilPorto Alegre 
=561501+ 1501+ Federal University of ItajubáBrazilItajubá
=561501+ 1501+ Universidade Federal de Juiz de ForaBrazilJuiz de Fora 
=561501+ 1501+ Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA)BrazilSão Luís
=561501+ 1501+ Federal University of Mato Grosso do SulBrazilCampo Grande 
=561501+ 1501+ Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP)BrazilOuro Preto 
=561501+ 1501+ Federal University of ParáBrazilBelem 
=561501+ 1501+ Federal Rural University of PernambucoBrazilRecife 
=561501+ 1501+ Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-AridoBrazilMossoró
=561501+ 801–1000 Universidade Federal de SergipeBrazilSão Cristóvão
=561501+ 1501+ Fluminense Federal UniversityBrazilRio de Janeiro 
=561501+ 1001–1200 University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR)BrazilFortaleza 
=561501+ 1501+ Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas – ESPEEcuadorQuito 
=561501+ 1501+ Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS)ColombiaSantander 
=561501+ 1201–1500 Londrina State UniversityBrazilLondrina 
=561501+ NR University of Los LagosChileOsorno 
=561501+ 1501+ Mackenzie Presbyterian UniversityBrazilSão Paulo
=561501+ NR Universidad MayorChileSantiago 
=561501+ 1501+ Universidad Nacional del LitoralArgentinaSanta Fe 
=561501+ 1501+ National University of CórdobaArgentinaCórdoba
=561501+ 1201–1500 National University of San MartínArgentinaBuenos Aires 
=561501+ 1201–1500 University of the North, ColombiaColombiaBarranquilla 
=561501+ 1501+ Universidade Nove de Julho (Uninove)BrazilSão Paulo
=561501+ 1501+ Nueva Granada Military UniversityColombiaBogotá
=561501+ 1501+ Pedagogical and Technological University of ColombiaColombiaTunja 
=561501+ 1501+ University of PernambucoBrazilRecife 
=561501+ NR Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC)PeruLima 
=561501+ 1501+ Universidad Politécnica SalesianaEcuadorCuenca 
=561501+ 1501+ Pontifical Catholic University of Minas GeraisBrazilMinas Gerais 
=561501+ 1501+ Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB)ColombiaMedellín
=561501+ 1501+ Pontificia Universidad Católica del EcuadorEcuadorQuito 
=561501+ 1501+ University of La SabanaColombiaChia 
=561501+ 1501+ San Sebastián UniversityChileSantiago 
=561501+ 1201–1500 University of Santiago, Chile (USACH)ChileSantiago 
=561501+ NR State University of BahiaBrazilBahia 
=561501+ 1501+ State University of Ponta GrossaBrazilParaná
=561501+ 1501+ State University of Santa CruzBrazilBahia 
=561501+ 1501+ Technical University of LojaEcuadorLoja 
=561501+ 1201–1500 Technological University of PereiraColombiaPereira 
=561501+ 1501+ Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná (UTFPR)BrazilParaná
=561501+ 1501+ Temuco Catholic UniversityChileTemuco 
=561501+ NR Universidad del ValleColombiaCali 
=561501+ 1501+ University of ValparaísoChileValparaíso

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