The Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (, UFRGS) is a Brazilian public federal research university based in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. UFRGS is among the largest and highest-rated universities in Brazil, having one of the largest number of scientific publications. From 2012 to 2019, the university was elected as the best federal university of Brazil. UFRGS has over 31,000 undergraduate students, over 12,000 graduate students, and more than 2,600 faculty members. As a Brazilian public federal institution, students do not pay tuition fees to enroll in courses offered by the university. Among the main alumni affiliated with UFRGS, there are three former presidents of Brazil, former state governors, former members of the Supreme Federal Court, members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and important Brazilian actors, musicians and journalists. Statistics History The university originated from the Escola de Farmácia e Química (School of Pharmacy and Chemistry) in 1895. It was expanded in 1896, when the Engineering College was created. This was the beginning of higher education in Rio Grande do Sul. In the end of the 19th century, the Medicine and Law schools were founded, the latter being the first school of humanities tertiary education in the state. In November 1934, the Universidade de Porto Alegre (University of Porto Alegre) was founded, initially composed of the following units: Engineering School, with its Astronomy, Electrical and Industrial Chemistry institutes; Medical College, with its Dentistry and Pharmacy institutes; Law College, with the School of Commerce; Communication College (called FABICO), which comprises the Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations programs; Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine Colleges; Philosophy, Science and Linguistics Colleges; and Institute of Fine Arts The third transformation took place in 1947, when it became the Universidade do Rio Grande do Sul (University of Rio Grande do Sul), URGS, incorporating the Law and Dentistry Colleges from Pelotas and with the Pharmacy College from Santa Maria. These units, however, separated from URGS when the Federal University of Pelotas and the Federal University of Santa Maria were founded. In December 1950, control of the university passed to the Federal Government. After that, the name of the institution became Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul). The institute also has a profound political history. Between 1964 and 1969, during the worst years of the military dictatorship, 33 professors were eliminated, as well as a good