Belo Horizonte has two universities, the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), which is a public school and the Pontificia Universidade Catolica (PUC-MG), which is privately run.

UFMG or Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais is located inside the Pampulha neighborhood. In the Pampulha campus, one of the university’s main campus, are centers that cater to specific fields. These are the Federal Institute for Nuclear Sciences Research and the Ecological Station, where zoologists and botanists do extensive studies. The university is one of the five largest educational institutions in Brazil. Among the degrees that they offer are Medicine, Law, Economics, and Engineering. Computer Science is also another course that they offer and it is even considered as the best in Brazil.

The Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais or PUC-MG is a Catholic university. The university is one of the biggest and most prominent schools in Brazil and it’s not only situated in Belo Horizonte. There are also other campuses that are located in other municipalities of Minas Gerais. PUC-MG is considered as the best in climatological studies that is why it is named the Centre of Excellence in Climatology. It was also awarded as the best university when it came to training their students and integrating them to companies.