The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (, PUCRS) is a private non-profit

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

university. With campuses in the Brazilian cities of

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

and

Viamão Viamão () is a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In size it is the largest municipality in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre and the seventh most populous in the state. The origin of the name Viamão is controversial. The more common ...

, it is the largest private university of the state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

and the first university founded by the Catholic

religious institute In the Catholic Church, a religious institute is "a society in which members, according to proper law, pronounce public religious vows, vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed, however, when the period of time has elapsed, a ...

of the

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute of Religious brother, brothers. In 1817, Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from Fr ...

. PUCRS is considered the best

private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

of Brazil's Southern Region by the Ministry of Education (MEC), and one of the best private universities in the country, with FGV,

PUC-Rio The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (; PUC-Rio) is a Jesuit, Catholic, pontifical university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the joint responsibility of the Catholic Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro and the So ...

and the PUC-SP.

Facilities

The university has 22 faculties. The educational system is organized in courses and programs, which are responsible for

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

and graduate studies, continuing education, outreach activities and research. the university had 25,000 undergraduate

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...

s, 1,800

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

students, 6,300

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

students, and 1,400

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

students. 130,000 students have graduated over the years. PUCRS offers 55 courses of graduation, 23 of master's degree, 19 of doctorate level, and more than 70 specialty training courses. University facilities include over 200

laboratories A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which science, scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as s ...

for teaching and research, as well as

university hospital A teaching hospital or university hospital is a hospital or medical center that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities a ...

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

and

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

of sciences and technology,

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

and convention center.

The Central Library

Academics

the university had 10 courses with 5

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

s (Administration, Computer science, Biological sciences,

Computer engineering Computer engineering (CE, CoE, or CpE) is a branch of engineering specialized in developing computer hardware and software. It integrates several fields of electrical engineering, electronics engineering and computer science. Computer engi ...

, History, Dentistry, Education, Psychology, Advertising and Information systems) and 21 with 4 (Urban

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

, Aeronautical sciences, Accounting, Social sciences,

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, Physical Education,

Civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

, Control and Automation,

Electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

, Production engineering, Pharmacy,

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, Physics, Physiotherapy, Journalism,

Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

, Chemistry, Public relations, Social services and

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

). And

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

in two more categories of private institutions in the Guia do Estudante: Computing and Mathematical sciences and Engineering and Production. The university has won the National Award for Innovative Entrepreneurship, "The Best

Technological Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible tools such as ute ...

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

of the Year:" TECNOPUC (conducted by the National Association of Entities Promoting Innovative Enterprises - Anprotec, Sebrae, Ministry of Science and Technology, Financing of Studies and Projects - FINEP and the National Confederation of Industry - CNI). The Museum of Science and Technology of PUCRS: The only five star attraction in Porto Alegre, according to the 2010 Guia Quatro Rodas 2010, by

Editora Abril Editora Abril is a major Brazilian publisher and printing company and one of the biggest media holdings in Latin America. The company was founded in 1950 by Victor Civita in São Paulo and is now part of Grupo Abril. Overview Civita had initiall ...

History

The origins of the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul date to the arrival in Brazil of the

, the religious congregation founded by Saint

Marcellin Champagnat Marcellin Joseph Benedict Champagnat, FMS (20 May 17896 June 1840) was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic priest who founded of the Marist Brothers, a religious congregation of Religious brother, brothers devoted to Mary, mother of Jesu ...

. In 1900 the first Marists arrived at the town of Bom Princípio (RS), following the request of Dom Cláudio José Gonçalves Ponce de Leão, bishop of Rio Grande do Sul. A number of Marists began to come from Europe and started founding schools throughout the region, culminating with the founding of the Nossa Senhora do Rosário School in Porto Alegre. That school eventually hosted college-level courses of accounting, from which the School of

Political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

and

Economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

Sciences ( Portuguese ''Faculdade de Ciências Políticas e Econômicas''), which started in March 1931 with nine students, under the guidance of Brother Afonso, and expanded. In 1940 the School of

, Sciences and Literature opened, followed by the School of

Social Services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

in 1945, and by the School of

in 1947. With these four schools, the Southern Brazil Union of Education and Teaching ( Portuguese ''União Sul Brasileira de Educação e Ensino'', USBEE), the civil entity of the Marist Brothers, requested recognition as a university by the Ministry of Education. On November 9, 1948, these schools became the Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (''Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul''). On December 8, 1948, the Archbishop of Porto Alegre and University Chancellor, Dom Vicente Scherer, inaugurated the first administration of the university with Armando Pereira de Câmara as rector and Brother José Otão as vice-rector. The rectors that followed are

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Alberto Etges (1951 to 1953), Brother José Otão (José Stefani) (1954 to 1978), Brother Liberato (Wilhelm Hunke), who completed Brother Otão's term from 5 February 1978, Brother Norberto Francisco Rauch (1979 to 2004), and Brother Joaquim Clotet from December 2004. On November 1, 1950,

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

, by request of the Marist Brothers and Archbishop Dom Vicente Scherer, granted the title of

Pontifical A pontifical () is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy Orders. While the ...

to the university, signaling the Brothers' submission to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

Notable alumni

References

External links

Official Website in Portuguese and English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul Buildings and structures in Rio Grande do Sul 1948 establishments in Brazil Universities and colleges established in 1948 Pontifical universities in Brazil