Universidade do Vale do Itajaí (UNIVALI)

Universidade do Vale do Itajaí (UNIVALI) is a private community university whose main campus is located in Itajaí, in the state of Santa Catarina, with additional campuses in Balneário Camboriú, São José and Biguaçu. Founded in 1967, it is one of the largest and highest-rated community institutions in southern Brazil, holding top evaluation scores from the Brazilian Ministry of Education. UNIVALI is especially distinguished by its marine science programmes connected to the ocean, navigation and aquaculture, in close relation to the Port of Itajaí and the Santa Catarina coastline. It also covers law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, engineering, computing, tourism, design, education and business. Its graduate school administers around fifteen master's and doctoral programmes, particularly in marine science, education, health and management. Monthly fees for stricto sensu master's programmes start at around BRL 1,505.56, or about BRL 18,067 per year, and doctoral programmes at around BRL 2,262.27 per month, or about BRL 27,147 per year; FAPESC and institutional scholarships provide substantial reductions.