Rio de Janeiro, Federal University of

Rio de Janeiro, Federal University of 

(Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro), the first and largest university in Brazil, founded in 1920 as the University of Brazil after the merger of the polytechnic, medical, and law schools. The university has the following faculties: architecture, economics and administration, law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, letters, and education. It has schools of fine arts, music, engineering, social services, chemistry, communications, physical education and sport, and nursing. The university also has research institutes in such fields as biophysics, social sciences, electronics, physics, mathematics, chemistry, geosciences, gynecology, microbiology, psychology, and child health. The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro also has a National Museum and 22 libraries. In the 1973-74 academic year there were 22,000 students at the university and 2,800 teachers and researchers, including more than 100 professors.