Federal University of Ouro Preto - UFOP

The Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP) was created on August 21, 1969, with the merger of the centuries-old and traditional School of Pharmacy and School of Mines. Over the years, it has grown and expanded its physical space, gaining new courses, professors and collaborators.

The School of Pharmacy was created in 1839. Built in the former headquarters of the Provincial Assembly, where the 1st Republican Constitution of Minas Gerais was sworn in, the School was the first college in the State and is the oldest in Latin America in the pharmaceutical field. Currently, its administrative sector, collegiate and boards are located on the Morro do Cruzeiro campus, in Ouro Preto. Laboratories and classrooms are located at the School's headquarters, downtown, and on campus.

In 1876, scientist Claude Henri Gorceix founded the School of Mines, the first Brazilian institution dedicated to teaching mining, metallurgy and geology. Headquartered in the former Palácio dos Governadores, in the center of Ouro Preto, it was transferred, in 1995, to the Morro do Cruzeiro campus.

Since 1970, the University Sports Center (Cedufop) has developed activities in partnership with several undergraduate courses, but it was only in 2008 that it was possible to implement a Physical Education course, with the Support Program for Restructuring and Expansion Plans of Federal Universities ( gathered).

In 1978, the Nutrition course was created, however, the School of Nutrition was only founded in 1994, operating on the Morro do Cruzeiro campus. In 1979, in the city of Mariana (MG), the Institute of Human and Social Sciences (ICHS) began. Located in the building where the Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte Seminary used to be, today the campus houses the History, Literature and Pedagogy courses.

In view of the interest of the community in the area of the arts, the Institute of Philosophy, Arts and Culture (Ifac) was structured in 1981, where graduations in Performing Arts, Music and Philosophy are offered.

The following year, in 1982, on the Morro do Cruzeiro campus, the Institute of Exact and Biological Sciences (Iceb) was created, initially responsible for the undergraduate disciplines of the basic cycles of the courses at the School of Mines, Pharmacy and Nutrition. Currently, it also covers undergraduate courses in Biological Sciences, Mathematics, Computer Science, Statistics, Physics, Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry. It also attends to the basic disciplines of courses in the health area, such as Medicine and Physical Education.

In the 1990s, five new courses began to be offered at UFOP. The first is Law, founded in 1993, which was recommended by the Brazilian Bar Association, through the granting of the Seal of the OAB. In 1997, the Production Engineering course was created in Ouro Preto. The same course was also created in João Monlevade, at Icea, but in 2001. Still at the Escola de Minas, in 1999, the Control and Automation Engineering course and the Environmental Engineering course were created. In 1999, the Tourism course was created, which, in addition to reinforcing the role of the University in the region, promotes a vision focused on the integrated and sustainable development of the tourism market. Another achievement was the implementation of a degree in Museology, in 2008, the first in Minas Gerais. Its activities are also carried out in Morro do Cruzeiro. In 2013,

In the year 2000, through the former Núcleo de Educação Aberta e a Distance, today Center for Open and Distance Education (Cead), the University implemented graduate and undergraduate courses in the distance modality, covering 90 cities in Minas Gerais, four in the state of São Paulo and eight in Bahia. Currently, the undergraduate courses offered are Public Administration, Geography, Pedagogy and Mathematics.

In 2002, the University, in the expansion process, inaugurated the advanced campus of João Monlevade, offering courses in Information System and Production Engineering. In 2009, two new courses became part of the Institute of Exact and Applied Sciences (Icea) on the campus of João Monlevade, Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering.

In Ouro Preto, the Escola de Minas started to offer two more courses: Architecture and Urbanism and Mechanical Engineering, both created in 2008.

In early 2013, the School of Medicine was created, on the Morro do Cruzeiro campus, responsible for hosting the Medicine course. The course, which appeared in 2007 and worked together with the Department of Pharmacy, now has its own building.

Through its adhesion to the Reuni Program, UFOP created another unit in the city of Mariana, where four courses were housed: Administration, Economic Sciences, Journalism and Social Work, which have been operating since 2008 at the Institute of Social and Applied Sciences ( Icsa).

Today, UFOP offers 51 undergraduate courses, 47 of which are on-site and four are distance learning. As for postgraduate studies, 24 academic and eight professional master's courses are offered, 15 doctoral options and 10 specializations. In total, there are more than 11,000 students, around 800 administrative technicians and approximately 900 teachers, including permanent and substitute teachers.

UFOP seeks to bring the 21st century to a city that is over 300 years old. At the same time, the preservation proposal is reaffirmed through projects such as the Stonework Workshop, which recovers important historical monuments, and the Arts Forum, which promotes reflection on arts and heritage. The Museum of Science and Technique, the Museum of Pharmacy and the Astronomical Observatory are important memory and culture conservation centers that keep a legacy of knowledge for society.