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56% of USP academic programs achieve international excellence level
According to the preliminary results of the Capes Quadrennial Evaluation, 125 of USP’s 222 academic programs received scores of 6 and 7, meeting international quality standards
Artwork: Flaticon
The Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes) announced on January 12 the preliminary results of the Capes Quadrennial Evaluation. The study covered approximately 4,700 stricto sensu graduate programs in operation in Brazil between 2021 and 2024.
Of the 260 USP programs evaluated, 57 received a score of 7, the highest classification level. In the previous evaluation, this number was 55. In addition to these programs that achieved the maximum score, 68 received a score of 6, indicating performance equivalent to international quality standards. According to Capes criteria, only programs offering both master’s and doctoral degrees may be evaluated with scores of 6 and 7. Thus, considering only the 222 USP academic programs with doctoral degrees, 56% achieved the highest ratings. In the last Capes evaluation, conducted in 2021, this percentage was 50%.
Another 70 programs received a score of 5, meaning that 75% of the total programs evaluated reached an excellence level (scores 5, 6, and 7). Considering only academic programs, this percentage rises to 83%. For professional programs, the maximum score awarded by Capes is 5. USP’s 29 professional programs showed outstanding performance, eight programs received a higher score than in the previous evaluation, and three received the maximum score.
“The increase in programs with an international profile shows that USP programs are on the path to excellence”, said USP President Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Junior. “We have never had, in absolute or relative numbers, so many programs in this situation. In this administration, we implemented a new graduate education model to make courses more dynamic and attractive, which should impact the next evaluation”.
Carlotti also highlighted the creation of research centers in strategic areas. “These centers develop studies to respond more quickly to the demands of companies, governments, and civil society”, he said. “Because they are interdisciplinary, they bring together researchers and graduate students from various units of the University”.
USP President Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Junior – Photo: Cecília Bastos/USP Images
The President also noted that international laboratories on USP campuses have contributed to internationalization. Examples include the installation of the Institut Pasteur of São Paulo and the creation of the International Research Center Worlds in Transition of the French National Center for Scientific Research on the capital campus, and the partnership with the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAe) for the creation of the International Research Center (CIP) for Planetary Health on the Piracicaba campus.
Capes evaluated 56 USP programs with a score of 4, and nine others received a score of 3, indicating regular performance meeting minimum quality standards. No program received a score of 1 or 2.
“These preliminary results demonstrate the robustness and quality of USP’s graduate education”, said the Provost for Graduate Affairs, Rodrigo Calado. He explained that the Provost’s Office for Graduate Affairs has been working to highlight the social impact of these activities. “This will now become a Capes indicator for future evaluations”.
The Provost noted that the result may improve, as the University is considering filing appeals. Final results are expected at the end of May.
In addition to the Capes evaluation, the Office of the Provost for Graduate Studies also provides tools so that programs have better parameters for analysis, such as WeR-USP-PG – a quantitative analysis system that extracts data from the Janus System, the Sucupira and Lattes platforms, and three databases (Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science) to provide information on scientific output, citations, and the number of thesis defenses.
Provost for Graduate Studies Rodrigo Calado – Photo: Cecília Bastos/USP Images
Certified quality
The Capes evaluation process involved consultants, professors, and researchers from all regions of Brazil. The teams evaluated the landscape and activities of graduate programs from 2021 to 2024 to certify course quality and monitor their qualification. Evaluation criteria include the program proposal, analysis of faculty, analysis of the student body and final works, intellectual production, and social impact.
Programs are divided into 50 evaluation areas and analyzed by specific committees for each area. Programs receive grades from one to seven, with scores of one and two resulting in program de-accreditation.
Capes Evaluation
The evaluation of graduate programs in Brazil has been conducted regularly for 50 years, since 1976, and has become an important instrument for certifying the quality of national graduate education. It produces elements and indicators that allow for the induction and promotion of government actions to support graduate education, identifying asymmetries, driving scientific advancement, and providing studies and inputs to support initiatives by governments, higher education institutions, and funding agencies, both Brazilian and international.
This type of evaluation, as conducted by Capes, is unprecedented worldwide and contributes to the development of Brazilian graduate education, providing, among other things, support for advances in science, technology, and innovation in the country.
English version: Nexus Traduções, edited by Denis Pacheco
Política de uso
A reprodução de matérias e fotografias é livre mediante a citação do Jornal da USP e do autor. No caso dos arquivos de áudio, deverão constar dos créditos a Rádio USP e, em sendo explicitados, os autores. Para uso de arquivos de vídeo, esses créditos deverão mencionar a TV USP e, caso estejam explicitados, os autores. Fotos devem ser creditadas como USP Imagens e o nome do fotógrafo.
A reprodução de matérias e fotografias é livre mediante a citação do Jornal da USP e do autor. No caso dos arquivos de áudio, deverão constar dos créditos a Rádio USP e, em sendo explicitados, os autores. Para uso de arquivos de vídeo, esses créditos deverão mencionar a TV USP e, caso estejam explicitados, os autores. Fotos devem ser creditadas como USP Imagens e o nome do fotógrafo.