The Ceará State University (UECE) is a public university located in Ceará, a state in northeastern Brazil.
It was established in 1975, after an initial law was passed in 1973 granting the executive branch permission to create the Educational Foundation of the State of Ceará (FUNEDUCE). UECE originally incorporated the higher education units of various existing schools in the region, and today it is Ceará's second largest university, and the largest public institution.
The university is spread across a total of 10 campuses. Two of these (including Campus du Itaperi - the main campus) are located in the State capital of Ceará, Fortaleza. Other campuses are located in Itapipoca, Limoeiro do Norte, Quixada, Crateus, Iguatu, Pacoti and Taua. Across these campuses there are a host of well resourced libraries, including the Antônio Martins Filho Library, the Education School of Crateús Library, the Raquel de Queiroz Library, and the Humberto Teixeira Library.
Undergraduate teaching programmes at the Ceará State University include: biological sciences, which includes courses such as nursing, biology, physical education and medicine; humanities, which has courses including business administration, geography, pedagogy, psychology, history and social sciences; and exact sciences, with subjects such as computer science, mathematics, physics, chemistry and accounting.
The motto of Ceará State University is "lumen ad viam" which translates as "the way, the light", and the university aims to show students the light and the way via knowledge and wisdom, with the goal to "train professionals to promote sustainable development and quality of life in the region".
