University of Vale do Itajaí

Located on the central northern coast of the State of Santa Catarina in Brazil, University of Vale do Itajaí was founded in 1964.

One of the largest universities in the country, more than 70 courses are offered, including bachelor's degrees, undergraduate courses, master's degrees and PhDs. Courses on offer include: law, philosophy, medicine, dentistry and social sciences.

It has campuses in seven towns: Itajaí, Balneário Camboriú, Balneário Piçarras, Biguaçu, Florianópolis, São José and Tijucas.

To supplement studies in medicine, the university has a teaching hospital called the Pequeno Anjo University Hospital (HUPA). It has 93 beds and offers teaching, research and extension activities within the courses of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, psychology, dentistry, pedagogy and nutrition.

There’s also a TV channel, radio station and Oceanographic Museum, which is located on the campus in Balneário Piçarras. It’s the largest oceanographic museum in the Americas and the third largest in the world of its kind. It covers the formation of the oceans, the evolution of living beings, the history of oceanography, the living and mineral resources of the oceans and the preservation of the marine environment. It has the largest collection of marine animals in Brazil, as well as the largest collection of shells in Latin America.

The university has access to several scholarship and government funding programmes that allow a large proportion of its students to have access to some type of benefit.