The origins in Brazil of the university go back as far as the 19th century, when it first appeared in the Republic as a continuation of a process that began during the Empire, with the opening of the first institutions of higher education.
In Minas Gerais, the first institution of higher education, the School of Pharmacy in Ouro Preto, was founded in 1839. In 1875, the School of Mining was created and, in 1892, already under the Republican regime, the School of Law was established in the ancient capital of the state.
In 1898, when the capital was moved to Belo Horizonte, the School of Law was moved as well. Then, in 1907, the Free School of Dentistry was created and, four years later, the Schools of Medicine and Engineering opened. In 1911, the School of Pharmacy was added to the Free School of Dentistry.
A group of patriots, the "Inconfidentes," who rebelled against Portuguese domination, conceived of the idea of a university in the state of Minas Gerais, which was founded as the Universidade de Minas Gerais (UMG) in 1927. The state-subsidized private institution brought together the four institutions of higher learning that existed in Belo Horizonte. UMG remained within the state system until 1949, when it was federalized.
In the 1940s, a large area in the Pampulha region became the site for the construction of University City. The first structures erected were the Institute of Mechanics (now the Vocational School) and the Main Building. The effective occupation of the campus by the university community started only in the 1960s, when the construction of the buildings that today house most of the academic units was started.
The present name – Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) – was not adopted until 1965.When the university was federalized, the Schools of Architecture, Philosophy, and Economics had already been integrated into UFMG.
Afterward, as part of its expansion and diversification, the university incorporated and created new units and schools: the Schools of Nursing (1950) and Veterinary Medicine (1961), the Minas Gerais Conservatory of Music (1962), and the Schools of Library (1962), Fine Arts (1963), and Physical Education (1969).
In 1968, the organization of UFMG was reformed, which resulted in the division of the old School of Philosophy into various schools and institutes. Thus, the present School of Philosophy and Human Sciences, the Institutes of Biological Sciences and Exact Sciences, the Institute of Geo-Sciences, and the Schools of Letters and Education appeared.
Today, firmly established as a model of excellence for the rest of the country, UFMG continues to expand. Agronomy (in Montes Claros), Drama, Control and Automation, Computational Mathematics, Audiology and Speech Pathology, and Nutrition have been added in the last five years, bringing the total of courses offered at the undergraduate level to 48.
COURSES
UFMG offers its courses in the following areas:
Agriculture
Biological Sciences
Engineering
Exact and Earth Sciences
Human Sciences
Health Sciences
Applied and Social Sciences
Linguistics, Letters, and Arts
UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
At present, UFMG offers 44 undergraduate courses in all areas of knowledge to 19,016 students. Most courses are offered in Belo Horizonte at 19 academic units, of which 11 are located on the Pampulha campus. There six off-campus units, and the Schools of Medicine and Nursing, together with the Hospital das Clínicas, constitute the Saúde campus. Only the Agronomy course is taught outside the State capital, at the Center for Agriculture, in Montes Claros, in northern Minas Gerais.
GRADUATE COURSES
UFMG offers graduate courses in Agriculture, Biological and Physiological Sciences, Exact and Earth Sciences, Human Sciences, Health Sciences, Engineering, Linguistics, Letters, and Arts. Of the 141 courses offered, 51 are at Specialization, 55 at Masters', and 35 at Doctoral level. In the first semester of 2000, there were 6,729 students enrolled, of which 2,293 in Specialization, 3,094 in Masters', and 1,343 in Doctoral programs.
EXTENSION PROGRAMS
UFMG's extension programs are characterized by the broad range of services provided for the community, from professional updating courses to environmental revitalization projects to cultural events, such as the Winter Festival. In 1999, around 2.2 million people received some kind of assistance from UFMG via extension projects. The University is present in all the 856 municipalities of Minas Gerais, with 650 extension projects and activities developed in nine strategic areas.
UFMG IN NUMBERS
Teaching Programs
Undergraduate: 49
Baccalaureate: 34
Teaching Licensure: 1
Baccalaureate and Teaching Licensure: 14
Distance courses
Undergraduate:4
Post-Baccalaureate: 4
Graduate
Doctorate: 56
Master's: 65
Post-Baccalaureate: 77
Medical Internship: 38
Total openings: 5,780
Research
Research groups : 645 (2008)
Research topics : 817
Scientific publications : 10,816 (2006)
National patents : 238
International patents : 55
Contracts of Technologic Transfer: 14
Registered Trademarks and software: 46
Extension
Projects: 281
Programs: 436
Events promoted: 310
Services rendered: 445
Public reached: 5.639.115
Monthly grants
Undergraduate : 703
Master's : 1,005
Doctorate : 689
Extension : 369
Undergraduate Research : 900
University population
Enrollment
Undergraduate: 23.709
Post-Baccalaureate: 5.027
Master's: 3.129
Doctorate: 2.409
Medical Internship: 285
Vocational School and Primary School: 1.343
Total UFMG students: 35.324
Degrees and certificates
Undergraduate: 4,017
Post-Baccalaureate: 1.220
Master's: 1.115
Doctorate: 304
Total degrees and certificates until 2003 : 114,247
Degrees held by Faculty
Graduate: 102 (4,2%)
Post-Baccalaureate: 152 (6,2%)
Master's: 600 (24,5%)
“Livres Docentes” and Doctorate: 1.592 (65,1%)
Staff
Staff : 4,445
Territory
Total area: 8,794,767 square meters
Built area: 592.053 square meters
Campi: 3
Academic units: 19
Special units: 3
Libraries
Built area (square meters): 24,130
Number of libraries: 28
Registered users: 60.642
Number of documents: 707.007
Journals: 18.280
Loans: 838.700
Publications (yearly)
Editora UFMG
New titles: 32
Issues of Vestibular 2004: 16
Revised and expanded editions: 5
Catalogs: 1
Reprints: 10
Revista UFMG Diversa:
150.000 year
Boletim da UFMG: 368,000 copies
Support
University Hospital – Hospital das Clínicas
Area: 50,562 sq. m.
Installed capacity: 450 beds
Outpatient care: 306,284 patients/year
Number of patients cared for: 323,904/year
Emergency care: 48,057/year
In-patients: 17,620/year
Lab exams: 1,152,934/year
Dentistry
Clinics: 214
Appointments: 9,138 patients/year
Surgeries: 7,278/year
Student support (FUMP)
Maintenance grants: 1.310
Daily care grants: 31
Apprenticeship grants: 1.542
Meals served: 955,839
University housing tenants: 550
Students helped: 5,500
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