Browse the THE Latin America University Rankings 2020 results
It has not been an easy year for universities in Latin America.
The coronavirus pandemic has been a huge shock to the sector, with institutions facing access and infrastructure-related issues in the race to move online. There are also widespread concerns over the financial future of many universities. A recent survey found that the vast majority of higher education institutions in the region were predicting a drop in student enrolments this year in light of Covid-19, while salary cuts were also expected, particularly at public institutions.
Of course, the crisis is affecting universities around the world but even before the pandemic, institutions in the Latin American region were struggling.
Brazilian universities have been hit with large funding cuts since 2019 and faced restrictions on the number of researchers who can travel to international conferences. In Chile, there have been protests regarding the high cost of higher education. And in Venezuela there has been a huge drop in the amount of research being produced by scholars.
But universities in the region are also proving their value and their resilience. Marcelo Knobel, rector of Brazil’s University of Campinas, told Times Higher Education in May that he thought the pandemic had led to “a turning point” in science engagement.
“If we can take a positive side of this crisis, it is that, at least in Brazil, we can now show to society that public universities are really important to the future of the country and the future of the world,” he said.
The results of this year’s Latin America University Rankings also demonstrate the importance of universities across the region.
This year’s table is led by the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile for the second consecutive year but overall 166 institutions from 13 countries are featured. The results show that many of Brazil’s universities are excelling in the area of teaching environment, institutions in Colombia and Chile are leading on research impact and campuses in Ecuador have the most international outlook.
Meanwhile, our graph on page 21 reveals which countries are leading on citations in the life sciences and clinical sciences and therefore may be having the most research impact in relation to Covid-19.
While our analysis on pages 6-8 provides a somewhat bleak picture of the potential future facing Latin American universities it also raises an important question: will the crisis trigger a new paradigm of higher education in the region?
If institutions are to survive and thrive in the post-pandemic future the answer must be yes.
ellie.bothwell@timeshighereducation.com
Countries/regions represented
Country/region |
Number of institutions |
Top institution |
Rank |
Brazil |
61 |
2 |
|
Chile |
30 |
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile |
1 |
Colombia |
23 |
11 |
|
Mexico |
22 |
Monterrey Institute of Technology |
4 |
Ecuador |
9 |
University of San Francisco, Quito |
56 |
Argentina |
8 |
36 |
|
Peru |
6 |
26 |
|
Venezuela |
2 |
57 |
|
Costa Rica |
1 |
32 |
|
Cuba |
1 |
44 |
|
Jamaica |
1 |
18 |
|
Puerto Rico |
1 |
53 |
|
Uruguay |
1 |
101–125 |