Brazil has 22 universities among the best in the world.

Giselle Garcia – Correspondent for Agência Brasil/EBC

The University of São Paulo was ranked 132nd in the QS World University Ranking 2014, released yesterday (15). The result represents a drop of five positions compared to last year, when the institution was ranked 127th. In total, 22 Brazilian universities are among the 800 best in the world: 14 are federal, five are state and three are private.

Among the top 10 in the ranking, six are American and four are British. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), located in the United States, occupies the first position, followed by the University of Cambridge and Imperial College, both located in England.

When compared only to institutions in Latin America, USP occupies the second position in the ranking, with 98,2 points, behind only the Catholic University of Chile. Five other Brazilian universities are among the 10 best positioned among Latin American universities: the State University of Campinas (3rd), the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (4th), the São Paulo State University – Unesp (9th), and the Federal University of Minas Gerais (10th).

In the ranking of the 200 best institutions located in the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), only two Brazilian institutions are among the top ten: the Federal University of São Paulo (7th), and the State University of Campinas (9th). The top-ranked institution among the BRICS countries is Tsinghua University, in China.

The QS World University Ranking is a globally recognized ranking conducted annually since 2004. The research methodology considers the university's reputation from the perspective of students and staff; the institution's structure, including the average student-to-faculty ratio; citations in research papers; and the presence of international students and staff.

Check out the list of Brazilian institutions in the QS 2014 ranking:

University of São Paulo (USP) – 132nd place
State University of Campinas (Unicamp) – 206th place
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) – 271st place
São Paulo State University Júlio de Mesquita Filho (Unesp) and Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) - 421-430*
Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) - 451-460
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) - 471-480
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) - 501-550
Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP) – 551-600
University of Brasília (UnB) – 551-600
Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) - 551-600
Federal University of Bahia (Ufba) – 601 - 650
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS) – 651-700
Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) – 651-700
Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) – 651-700
State University of Rio de Janeiro (Uerj) – 701-800
State University of Londrina (UEL) – 701-800
Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) – 701-800
Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) – 701-800
Federal University of Ceará (UFC) – 701-800
Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) – 701-800
Federal Fluminense University (UFF) – 701-800

*From position 400 onwards, the ranking places the university in a range.