Best universities in South America 2022
Find the best universities in South America using Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings data
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Top 8 universities in South America
Scroll down for the full list of best universities in South America
| World University Rank 2022 | South America Rank 2022 | University | Country | City/State |
| 201–250 | 1 | University of São Paulo | Brazil | São Paulo |
| 401–500 | =2 | University of Campinas | Brazil | São Paulo |
| 401-500 | =2 | Pontifical Catholic University of Chile | Chile | Santiago |
| 501-600 | =4 | Universidad Autónoma de Chile | Chile | Temuco, Talca and Santiago |
| 501-600 | =4 | University of Desarrollo | Chile | Concepción |
| 501-600 | =4 | Diego Portales University | Chile | Santiago |
| 501-600 | =4 | Pontifical Javeriana University | Colombia | Bogotá |
| 601-800 | =8 | Federal University of Minas Gerais | Brazil | Minas Gerais |
| 601-800 | =8 | Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul | Brazil | Porto Alegre |
| 601-800 | =8 | Universidade Federal de Sergipe | Brazil | São Cristóvão |
| 601-800 | =8 | Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia | Peru | Lima |
Studying in South America may not be quite as popular as studying in North America, but the region has 19 universities in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022 top 1000.
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.
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Best universities in Latin America
Chile has 20 universities in the full ranking, followed by Colombia with 10 institutions, Ecuador with six, Argentina with five, and Peru with three. The language of instruction at these South American universities is either Portuguese or Spanish.
The South America filter of the THE World University Rankings 2022 supplements a specific Latin America ranking last published in July 2021, which includes Central American universities.
Top 3 universities in South America
=2. Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
-Pontifical Catholic University of 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 one of Brazil’s younger institutions 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 2022; 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 2022
Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2022 results
