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The Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre (or the Universidade Federal de Ci¨ºncias da Sa¨²de de Porto Alegre in Portuguese - UFCSPA), was founded in 1961 under the title of Faculdade Cat¨®lica de Medicina de Porto Alegre.

Made into a federal institution in 1980, it was then renamed the Funda??o Faculdade Federal de Ci¨ºncias M¨¦dicas de Porto Alegre.

Specialising in health sciences, it offers 15 degrees in biomedicine, medicine, nursing, nutrition, physiotherapy, psychology, pharmacy, toxicology, gastronomy, medical physics, health management, medical chemistry, biomedical informatics, food technology and speech therapy.

UFCSPA is linked to Santa Casa de Misericordia Hospital, one of Latin America¡¯s biggest hospitals. Regarded as one of the best higher education institutions in Rio Grande do Sul, it also comes high up in the rankings of Brazilian universities, although has a small student body, with around 1,070 undergraduates and 396 postgraduate students.

The university¡¯s main building has six floors and there is a library, amphitheatres, conference rooms, art rooms, a cafeteria, restaurant and chapel. Notable alumni of UFCSPA include the physician Ciro de Quadros. Porto Alegre is the largest city in the south of Brazil and is the capital city of Rio Grande do Sul, home to the Gauchos and the churrasco barbecue.

Located on the eastern shore of Lake Guaiba, at the junction of five rivers, Porto Alegre was founded in 1742 and has now become an important port as well as one of the most important industrial and commercial cities of Brazil. The population of Porto Alegre is estimated to be around 1.409 million.