About UPM

The history of Mackenzie Presbyterian University (MPU) dates from the 19th century, when Presbyterian missionaries founded, in Sao Paulo, the “American School”. The foundation of the new school represented a turning point in Brazil. The school introduced a series of pioneering and innovative pedagogical and social practices. Among them, the end of racial discrimination in admissions (legally authorized by the government until then), the creation of mixed gender classes and the abolition of physical punishments.

In 1896, the School of Engineering was established by the inauguration of the “Mackenzie Building n°1”. By this time, the first seeds of the University were sown. The new building gave birth to Mackenzie College that soon started to offer several courses.  In 1952, after six decades of tradition in offering solid scientific formation, the Brazilian government granted the institution the condition of University. The contributions of the Institution to the socioeconomic and technological needs of country were recognized. In the following decades, MPU became one of the biggest and most reputable universities in South America.

Mackenzie Presbyterian University (MPU) undergraduate courses offer high quality educational standards. This evaluation was conducted by both the Ministry of Education and independent sources. The Academic Ranking issued by the Folha de São Paulo newspaper (Ranking Universitário Folha de São Paulo) classified MPU as the best non-public university in the state of São Paulo. The Student Guide Magazine – a well-known Brazilian guide designed for students to get information about the universities in Brazil -  rated the all  undergraduate courses offered MPU as “excellent” or “good”.

The articulation between practical experiences and theoretical reflections are a distinctive feature in the pedagogical projects from the undergraduate courses at MPU. They place the student in an active role in the teaching-learning process. The sponsor organization of MPU – The Mackenzie Presbyterian Institute – has been making permanent Investments in laboratories in order to give the students the opportunity to develop their works and researches in the same conditions of the professional settings found in the market.

Social recognition

Besides the good evaluations by the government and independent sources, Mackenzie undergraduate courses are also well recognized by professional associations and the civil society. A good example of that is the seal of recommendation attributed by the Brazilian Bar Association to Mackenzie Law School. The seal is given only to the best Law Schools in the country.

CLICK HERE to see the list of undergraduate courses offered by MPU.

In face of all the transformations that happened in Brazil in the last two decades, the university became a fundamental part for the development of the country. The future of any university depends on the production and transmission of new knowledge to society by means of research. Conscious that scientific knowledge will never happen without a distinguished graduate program, Mackenzie Presbyterian University has made investments in its eleven graduate programs. Eight of them can offer doctoral degrees and all of them are able to offer master’s degrees (two of them are Professional Master’s Degree). The remarkable qualifications of the faculty, the quality of the infrastructure and the library standards have granted excellent evaluations from governmental organs, such as CAPES*.

Researchers formation funding

MPU understands that it is necessary to create objective conditions to the development of its researchers. For this reason, it has started to offer their PhD students full scholarships. In addition, the PhD student can also count on sandwich scholarships funded by different institutions such as CAPES, Santander Universities (the Academic division of the Santander Bank) and funding program of Mackenzie called Mack-Pesquisa (Mack-Research) that is also available for its professors.

International Events

Great emphasis has been given to hold scientific events well-regarded internationally. And to receive national and international High-profile, visiting scholars. That includes names such as Orhan Pamuk, Nobel Prize in Literature, Robert Shapiro, politics expert and Sir André Geim, Nobel Prize in Physics.

* CAPES: Coordination for the Improvement of higher education personnel

Please, find bellow the graduate courses offered by MPU:

• Business Administration
• Professional Master in Management of Business Development
• Architecture and Urbanism
• Professional Master Program in Management Control and Business Finance
• Science and Geospatial Applications
• Economic and Political Law
• Development Disorders
• Professional Master in Economics and Markets
• Education, Art and History of Culture
• Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology
• Eletrical Engineering and Computing
• Linguistics and Literature
• Professional Master in Computer Science

The Continuing Education Programs offered by Mackenzie Presbyterian University (MPU) aim at giving the students a market knowledge, which is not found in graduate courses in general. These courses seek to improve knowledge in specific subjects and develop the skills necessary for the full exercise of their professional activities.

One of the major assets of the Continuing Education Programs is to give its graduates greater competitiveness in the market that values professionals who are able to establish a critical dialogue and act with a strategic and integrated vision. The entrepreneurial vision is greatly stimulated through the management of innovation, present in our courses.

 The courses offered cover practically all areas of knowledge of a University recognized by the market as one of the best Brazilian universities. Check bellow the list of regular courses offered semesterly by MPU. The faculty is of the highest quality, made up of masters, doctors and specialists with deep knowledge in their respective areas of activity. All courses respect the regulations of the Brazilian Ministry of Education and comprise a minimum workload of 360 hours, fulfilled over 18 months, plus the time needed for the student to complete his dissertation.

The courses of the continuing Education Program are offered in the face-to-face modality that begin at the beginning and in the middle of each semester, as well as courses in the distance modality (Distance Learning) that also begin on the same occasions. All the Distance Learning Courses are online with accompaniment of professors, from contents updated and developed by our own team. All courses present opportunities for the student to enroll in international modules offered in partnership with European and North American universities. In addition to regular courses, MPU can elaborate an in-company courses that meet the specific needs of a company or of a group of students.

MPU Continuing Education Courses are offered in all its campuses: São Paulo, Campinas and Alphaville, with two units in São Paulo: Higienópolis and Berrini (World Trade Center).

MPU offers a unique opportunity for high-level managers, which is the Executive MBA. This is the only Master of Business Administration (MBA) course in Brazil, in English, which guarantees the student the Master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

CLICK HERE to see the list of the Continuing Education Courses.

The extension activities developed at Mackenzie Presbyterian University (MPU) reinforce its communitarian and philanthropic reputation, showing its social commitment. Following The National Extension Plan (2000), which defines that “academic extension is the educational, cultural and scientific process that joins teaching and research, in an inseparable way, and enables a transforming relation between university and society”, Mackenzie has continually tried to involve its professors and students in actions beyond the university walls.

Cultural Preservation

Cultural practices, when guided by a broader policy, can allow the involvement of a great number of people in the preservation and deep understanding of representative cultural values in society. That is how events and exhibitions are held at Mackenzie Historical and Cultural Center, encouraging the debate of cultural Brazilian aspects. Music and theater, promoted by our art groups like choirs, instrumental music and theater groups, are a pleasant way of ‘culture making’.

A University for all ages

Formal education needs to fit several legal aspects that end, in spite of all regulation benefits, in certain restrictions to access what is produced inside the university. The Open University - OU, with its variety of extension courses, has an important role in opening the university doors and the academic world to all citizens.

• Walking Together – Project developed to meet social demands, based on knowledge produced at the University. It aims at attending the specific needs of Basic Education, considering both Mackenzie Presbyterian Schools and partnerships with public schools (state and local).
• Socio-environmental Responsibility – Viewing sustainability and the conscious socio-environmental management, the project searches for partnerships and integration with other institutions, from the public and/or private sector and/or the so-called third sector, without losing sight of the approach and integration with the community.
• Communication for Citizenship – it aims at the supervision and integration of all the extensions communication actions, both the ones related to the internal public as well as the external ones, in all possible media. It works in partnership with several institutions (ONGs, educative TVs, publishing houses), viewing the dissemination and the exchange of products, services and expertise in community acting.
• MackLife – Considering students’ formation as a whole, it promotes prevention actions to the usage of tobacco, drugs and alcohol, in a perspective of life consciousness and value, attending the internal and external MPU communities.