According to the Folha University Ranking (RUF) of 2026, PUC-Campinas was recognized as the leading private educational institution located in the interior of the state of São Paulo. Furthermore, the university is listed among the eight best private institutions in Brazil in the field of Education, according to the national evaluation conducted by the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.
In terms of education, PUC-Campinas stood out by being considered the best-rated among private universities located in the interior of Brazil. The results show a progression compared to the previous year, as PUC-Campinas advanced one position and is now among the top 12 private universities in the country.
RUF 2026 listed twelve courses from the university among the top ten best-ranked among Brazilian private institutions. These include Speech Therapy (2nd), Fine Arts and Visual Arts (3rd), Geography (5th), Psychology (5th), Philosophy (5th), Architecture and Urbanism (7th), Physiotherapy (7th), Social Sciences (8th), History (8th), Civil Engineering (9th), Advertising and Marketing (9th), and Dentistry (10th), highlighting the university's strength in multiple areas of operation.
The recognition of PUC-Campinas was also validated by the job market. According to RUF 2026, the university is among the seven institutions most valued by employers in the state of São Paulo, signaling the confidence of companies in the quality of the training offered to its students. This result strengthens PUC-Campinas's position in the landscape of higher education in Brazil, emphasizing its focus on comprehensive formation and teaching quality.
Prof. Dr. Rafael Souza de Faria, Manager of the Department of Planning and Organization (DPlan) at PUC-Campinas, stated that RUF 2026 confirms what international rankings have already indicated: the excellence of the university's teaching and its commitment to comprehensive human formation, which is part of its Institutional Mission. The recognition by São Paulo employers' preference is cited as an important differential for the institution.
RUF constitutes an annual evaluation of higher education in Brazil, conducted since 2012. The survey analyzes various aspects of institutional performance, and in this edition, it ranks 205 universities, both public and private, in the country. The evaluation is structured around five main indicators: Teaching, Research, Job Market, Innovation, and Internationalization.
To compile the results, the responsible team collects data from national and international sources, covering information on scientific production, patents, academic performance, and metrics provided by the Ministry of Education (MEC). The study also uses national opinion polls conducted by Datafolha. The 2026 edition incorporated changes in the assessment instruments for higher education graduates, promoted by the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep).
In addition to the results of the National Student Performance Exam (Enade) applied to bachelor's degrees, the ranking considers the results of the new Undergraduate Enade and the National Examination of Medical Training Assessment (Enamed), specific to Medicine courses. RUF also offers detailed rankings of undergraduate courses. In this version, the evaluation was expanded from 40 to 42 areas, chosen based on high national demand, using data from the 2024 Higher Education Census. In total, 2,165 institutions are analyzed, encompassing universities, university centers, and colleges.
PUC-Campinas also achieved the title of best private university in the interior of São Paulo in the Times Higher Education World Rankings 2027, released by the British consultancy Times Higher Education (THE). For the first time, the university is part of the group of 12 globally ranked private Brazilian universities. In this ranking, PUC-Campinas is among the top 9 private universities in Brazil and among the top 7 in Teaching among private Brazilian universities. The 2027 edition included 2,297 universities from 118 countries and territories, representing the largest scope of the ranking. Its methodology is based on 17 performance indicators distributed across five categories.
Recently, PUC-Campinas also progressed 80 positions in the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings, an international benchmark for measuring sustainability in higher education institutions. Among private universities in São Paulo, it holds the second position, and considering all São Paulo institutions, it is in sixth place. Additionally, the university is listed among the 18 most sustainable higher education institutions in Brazil, according to this ranking.
The institution also gained prominence in the QS Latin America and Caribbean ranking (QS World University Rankings: Latin America & The Caribbean 2027), being classified as the best private university in the interior of Brazil. This achievement reinforces the institution's ascent, having risen in position and becoming the seventh best private university in Brazil. Among the criteria evaluated, PUC-Campinas excels in two other indicators among private Brazilian universities: TOP 4 in academic reputation and TOP 6 in employability. The QS evaluation considers several aspects of university performance, such as the view of the academic community, connection with the job market, and scientific production. For this edition, 1,600 researchers and faculty members from universities in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as 600 thousand employers, were consulted, expanding the base of perceptions used in compiling the results.