• Universities

The University of the Far South of Santa Catarina (UNESC) was founded in 1997. However, its history can be traced back to 1968 when its predecessor Fucri became the first higher education school in the south of Santa Catarina, Brazil. In 1997 Fucri was granted university status by the State Council of Education.The university is located in Criciúma, a city in southeastern Santa Catarina. Criciúma is the centre of Brazil’s thriving ceramic and floor tile industry. It is situated between the two larger cities of Florianópolis and Porto Alegre. The State of Santa Catarina, with its long Atlantic coastline, is known for its beautiful beaches and mountains. Students can make the most of the state’s natural beauty in their spare time and soak up the rich Brazilian culture it has to offer.There are over 30 undergraduate courses available at the university, which are divided into five faculties: business, education, engineering, health, and law. Currently the university offers three masters degrees in education, environmental sciences, and health sciences.UNESC has its own Science and Technology Park, Iparque, which is used to produce high quality research and analysis services for organisations in public and private sectors. Both professors and students at the university work at Iparque to carry out innovative research in the following five areas: applied social sciences, biological sciences, exact and earth sciences, health sciences, and human sciences. The university’s work was recognised in 2016 by the RUF (Ranking Universitário Folha) as it placed UNESC as the top non-public university in Santa Catarina, in terms of its research.