Flats, rooms, and residences near the USP

Flats and rooms for students near the USP

We’lll tell you where the institution is located so that you can consider the most convenient neighbourhoods to live in nearby.

Where’s the University of São Paulo located?

It has several campuses in and around the city. These are:

Campus in San Pablo

The main campus of USP is located in the city's University City area, in the Butantã neighbourhood. It’s the largest campus and home to the greatest number of faculties and institutes, as well as other centres, administrative facilities, sports facilities, restaurants and residences.

This campus also has several museums that are part of the University, such as the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

Other campuses of the USP

These are the institution's other campuses, whose names refer to their locations:

• Bauru Campus, with the Bauru School of Dentistry (FOB).
• Lorena campus, with the School of Engineering.
• Ribeirão Preto Campus, with the following schools: Physical Education and Sports (EEFERP), Nursing (EERP), Pharmaceutical Sciences (FCFRP), Law (FDRP), Economics, Administration and Accounting (FEARP), Philosophy, Sciences and Literature (FFCLRP), Medicine (FMRP), and Dentistry (FORP).
• Piracicaba Campus, with the Centre for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA) and the Luiz de Queiroz Faculty of Agriculture.
• Pirassununga Campus, with the Faculty of Animal Science and Food Engineering (FZEA).
• Santos Campus, with the Department of Mining and Petroleum Engineering.
• São Carlos Campus, with the School of Engineering (EESC) and the institutes of: Architecture and Urban Planning (Instituto de Arquitectura e Urbanismo), Mathematics and Computer Science (Instituto de Matemática e Ciência da Computação), Physics (Instituto de Física e Ciências do Espaço), and Chemistry.
• The centre of Marine Biology (CEBIMar) is in the centre of São Sebastião.

Best neighbourhoods to live near the USP

The following are some of the neighbourhoods you may wish to consider for living near the main USP campus:

Butantã

Butantã is the most comfortable option if you’re going to study in the USP because its main campus is located there. It’s a neighbourhood with a lively student scene that’s full of residencies, bars, and accessible restaurants for everyday life. There are also supermarkets, gyms, and other basic services. The transport’s also quite good thanks to the metro line and the multiple bus routes that connect to other areas of the city.

Pinheiros

It's one of the most modern and lively neighbourhoods in São Paulo and is ideal if you like to alternate between studying and socialising. It’s very well connected to the USP by metro and buses (you can get there in about 20 minutes), and it also has bars, restaurants and cafés on every corner. It’s an area with a vibrant cultural scene, street fairs, and alternative spaces that always have things going on. That being said, keep in mind that the cost of living is a bit higher than in Butantã.

Vila Madalena

Vila Madalena is this Brazilian city's quintessential bohemian neighbourhood that’s known for its urban art, bars with live music, and a youthful atmosphere every day of the week.

Although it also makes living in Vila Madalena more expensive, it offers a creative and cultural environment, much livelier than the previous two options. Furthermore, it’s relatively close to USP and well connected by underground and buses.

Student residences near the University of São Paulo

There are two student residence options near USP.

On the one hand, there are private residences. These are usually located in central neighbourhoods, so you normally have to use public transport to get to campus.

On the other hand, there are university residences, which are mostly located on campus. An important fact to bear in mind is that there are usually no places available in these residences for exchange students. For this reason, students often look for rooms in private shared flats.

Erasmus in the University of São Paulo

Some information to bear in mind when doing an exchange at this important Brazilian institution:

• The university has a programme called USP iFriends, where local students volunteer as "friends" to help international students adapt, get to know the campus and the city.
• Every semester, events such as International Week are held, with talks, cultural activities and themed parties that bring together students from all over the world. Another very popular event is the Bota-Fora, a farewell party for those finishing their exchange programme, which usually brings together a large number of students in a festive and multicultural atmosphere.
• Exchange students may only use the public health system in emergencies, so it’s necessary to have travel health insurance taken out in your country of origin.

FAQ about the University of São Paulo