Education and Culture of Sao Paulo

São Paulo vies with Rio de Janeiro as the nation’s principal center of education and culture.

The city has major public and private institutions of higher education.

Public universities include the State University Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (1976), and the even larger University of São Paulo (1934), which incorporates the city’s famous and influential Faculty of Law.

Important private universities are Mackenzie University, originally founded by Presbyterian missionaries from the United States (1870); the Paulista University (1972); the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (1946); and the University São Judas Tadeu (1971).

The city is home to the São Paulo Museum of Art, which houses the best collection of Western art in Latin America, including originals of Rembrandt, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso.

The São Paulo State Museum specializes in Brazilian art, while the Sacred Art Museum focuses on religious art and artifacts. Other important museums include the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Aeronautics Museum, the Folklore Museum, and the House of the Bandeirante.

The São Paulo International Bienal, an international contemporary art show, held from October through December in odd-numbered years is one of the city’s premier cultural events.

Two symphony orchestras make their home in the city, the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and the Municipal Symphony Orchestra.