Race, Development, and Social Inequality: Developing Cross-Cultural, Interdisciplinary Curricula in Brazil and the United States

Universidade de São Paulo

The University of São Paulo (commonly referred to as USP) is the largest institution of higher education and research in Brazil , and the third in size in Latin America . It is also classified among the largest one hundred of the approximately six thousand such organizations in existence in the world today. USP is influential in the area of higher education in the South-American continent, having educated countless professors with masters' and doctors' degrees now teaching at private colleges and universities in Brazil . With its numerous accomplishments throughout the years, USP continues to evolve in the areas of education, science, technology, and the arts.

USP was founded with the purpose of fostering research, advancing science, and transmitting the knowledge that enlivens and develops the human spirit and promotes human life. The university aims at the preparation of specialists in all fields of culture and in all scientific and artistic professions, its motto being: "You shall conquer through knowledge." Its objectives include providing the students with a dynamic education which will enable them to keep pace with the transformations in knowledge and maintain permanent dialogue with society in a productive integration that joins education, research and university extension.

The University of São Paulo was founded in 1934 in a historical period marked by important social, political and cultural transformations, by the State Decree n. 6.283 of January 25, 1934 , by decision of the Governor of São Paulo, Armando de Salles Oliveira. Its intellectual mentor was Júlio Mesquita Filho, editor-in-chief of the O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper, who published numerous articles and studies favorable to the founding of a university in São Paulo and promoted discussions on the problems of higher education in Brazil .

Today, as ever, the University of São Paulo strives to be a vigorous and dynamic institution, in constant growth and renovation with the arrival of new generations of students and teachers. However, in these almost seven decades of existence, it has already reached sufficient maturity to prepare a solid path for the future.

Universidade de São Paulo : The School of Economics, Business and Accounting
Website address: http://www.usp.br

The School of Economics, Business and Accounting (FEA) of the University of Sao Paulo was founded in 1946, aiming a solid technic-professional formation for it students, along with a humanistic focus.

FEA is constantly searching for an adequate curricular structure, providing its students with an effective professional background in order to deal with the challenges of a dynamic and unstable society.

Structured in three departments, FEA remains in the vanguard of education on Economics, Business and Accounting, It is recognized in both national and international extent, due to the intense efforts of its professors, researchers, and employees, as well as the high level of its students.

FEA has around 4000 students in undergraduate and graduate courses and more than 200 high qualified faculty. In order to absorb a great demand, FEA created in 1992 a new unit in the city of Ribeirao Preto , 280 km west of Sao Paulo .

FEA facilities include a large library – one of the most important Brazilian libraries in its area – computer labs, video conference rooms, and a placement office. The international office connects FEA to more 40 renowned institutions of higher education around the world through agreements on academic cooperation, providing exchange programs for its students, researchers and professors.