Instituto de Arquitetura e Urbanismo - USP São Carlos

What Instituto de Arquitetura e Urbanismo - USP São Carlos does

The Instituto de Arquitetura e Urbanismo - USP São Carlos (IAU-USP) is a public teaching and research institute within the Universidade de São Paulo, located in São Carlos in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It delivers a five-year undergraduate program in Architecture and Urbanism, along with master's and doctoral graduate programs in the same field, with the graduate program in continuous operation for 55 years. The institute serves prospective undergraduate applicants admitted through USP's centralized FUVEST and ENEM-based selection pipeline, graduate students supported by CAPES scholarships, faculty researchers, and architecture professionals engaging with extension and residency activities.

The institute operates 15 active research groups spanning themes across architecture, urbanism, and related design disciplines, and holds the maximum CAPES Nota 7 rating, the highest tier in Brazil's federal graduate education quality assessment framework. Physical capacity is being expanded through a new research building and a new didactic-pedagogical building on the São Carlos campus, and the institute maintains an international partnership network spanning at least seven countries, anchored by 2026 USP Academy cooperation with Tsinghua University and the Universidad de Buenos Aires.

The business model is that of a publicly funded state university unit rather than a commercial enterprise. Revenue flows from the USP central budget and federal CAPES funding lines, not from commercial sales, subscriptions, or enterprise contracts. Applied engagement occurs through a residency-type program with the Conselho de Arquitetura e Urbanismo de São Paulo (CAU/SP) and the Secretaria de Patrimônio da União (SPU), and through the institute's UrbVerde research platform presented at COP30. There is no disclosed commercial pricing model, and traditional revenue mechanics (ARR, GMV, per-customer contracts) do not apply.

Name

Instituto de Arquitetura e Urbanismo - USP São Carlos

Legal name

Instituto de Arquitetura e Urbanismo - USP São Carlos

Website

https://iau.usp.br

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Instituto de Arquitetura e Urbanismo - USP São Carlos is a public teaching and research institute within the Universidade de São Paulo that delivers undergraduate and graduate programs in Architecture and Urbanism, serving students, researchers, and architecture professionals under the maximum CAPES Nota 7 rating.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education and Architecture Research

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHAAAI

Public Research Universities with Multi-Campus Systems

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Public Research Universities

SECONDARYEDAHAAAG

Public Research Universities with Major Extension & Outreach Missions

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Public Research Universities

SECONDARYEDAIAIAF

Research & Lab-Based Short-Term Programs (Undergraduate/Graduate)

Education/International Education & Study Abroad/International Summer/Winter Schools & Short-Term Academic Programs

SECONDARYEDAIAAAJ

Study Abroad Program Management & Administration (for Institutions)

Education/International Education & Study Abroad/Study Abroad Program Providers (Multi-Country & Multi-Discipline)

Keywords

• Architecture education
• Urban planning research
• Graduate architecture studies
• Academic research programs
• Urban design research

Headquarters

HQ city

São Carlos

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IAU-USP delivers tuition-free undergraduate and graduate academic programs in Architecture and Urbanism, supported by 15 research groups and producing scientific journals (Risco, GT Projetos, V!RUS). The institute also offers continuing education through residency programs in territorial management in partnership with CAU/SP and SPU, and pursues international academic cooperation agreements with universities across multiple countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Graduação em Arquitetura e Urbanismo

Quantifiable outcome

• CAPES Concept 7 (maximum) achieved by the graduate program PPGAU-IAU/USP
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• CAU/SP (Conselho de Arquitetura e Urbanismo de São Paulo)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2026Partnership for the Residency Program in Architecture and Urbanism. The agreement was signed to establish a specialization course offering 30 vacancies for professionals in Architecture and Urbanism, with immersion in real land regularization processes.
• SPU (Secretaria do Patrimônio da União)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2026Partnership with the Federal Public Heritage Secretariat for the Residency Program in Architecture and Urbanism, focusing on territorial management and urban processes.
• University of Birmingham (UK)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2026International cooperation agreement through UBBI (Instituto Brasileiro da University of Birmingham) for academic exchange and collaboration.
• Tsinghua University (China)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 August 2025Academic cooperation through USP Academy 2026 project 'Modern Architecture in Brazil, China, and Latin America: A Decolonial Glance'. Coordinated with Tsinghua School of Architecture for international course delivery and short-term work missions.
• Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 August 2025Academic cooperation through USP Academy 2026 project. Partnership with Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo (FADU-UBA) for joint international course and collaborative research.
• FAU-USP (Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo - USP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 August 2025Co-coordination of USP Academy 2026 international course on modern architecture, working together on promoting internationalization at USP.
• Fudan University (China)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for summer session programs and graduate exchange opportunities for students and researchers.
• Polytechnic University of Milan (Italy)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerExchange partner institution for undergraduate student mobility programs.
• University of Porto (Portugal)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerExchange partner institution for undergraduate student mobility programs.
• Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería (Peru)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerExchange partner institution for Latin American student mobility.
• Université Lumière Lyon 2 (France)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerExchange partner institution for undergraduate student mobility programs.
• École Nationale d'Architecture de Marseille (France)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerExchange partner institution for French architecture students and IAU students.
• AUCANI (Agência USP de Cooperação Acadêmica)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSP's central international cooperation agency managing academic agreements and mobility programs.
• PRCEU-USP (Pró-Reitoria de Cultura e Extensão Universitária)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSP's culture and university extension division supporting extension programs and internationalization initiatives.
• Fundação Pró-Memória de São CarlosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal foundation receiving research outputs including scale models of railway station developed by students.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• School of Architecture, Tsinghua University: Top-tier international architecture school and active IAU-USP partner in the USP Academy 2026 international course. Direct peer in architecture and urbanism research intensity and a benchmark for international collaboration models.
• Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (FAU-UFRJ): One of Brazil's leading public architecture schools, also offering undergraduate and graduate programs under CAPES evaluation. Direct peer as a federal public university architecture faculty competing for the same graduate student pool and CAPES rating.
• Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo, Universidad de Buenos Aires (FADU-UBA): Argentina's leading public university architecture school, co-coordinating USP Academy 2026 with IAU-USP. Directly comparable as a Latin American public research university with strong urban studies tradition and active bilateral exchange.
• Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da USP (FAU-USP São Paulo): The flagship architecture and urbanism faculty within the same Universidade de São Paulo system as IAU-USP. Both share USP's research infrastructure, entrance exam pipeline (FUVEST), and graduate program framework, and explicitly co-coordinate international programs such as USP Academy 2026.
• Faculdade de Arquitetura da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (FAU-UFRGS): Federal public university architecture faculty in southern Brazil with comparable graduate program structure and CAPES-recognized research output. Direct peer for graduate student recruitment and faculty competition in Latin American urban studies.
• Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade de São Paulo (FAUUSP) — vs IAU-USP positioning: Already covered above as FAU-USP; included as the most directly comparable Brazilian architecture faculty given shared USP governance, overlapping faculty research interests in urban studies and sustainability, and direct co-coordination of internationalization programs.
• Escola de Arquitetura da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (EA-UFMG): Public federal university architecture school with established graduate and research programs in urbanism and design. Comparable peer in scale, CAPES evaluation tier, and research output within Brazil's federal university system.
• Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade de Brasília (FAU-UnB): Public university architecture faculty in Brasília with graduate programs evaluated by CAPES. Comparable peer given parallel public-university status, urbanism research tradition, and similar graduate program scale.

Broad incumbents

• Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie: Established private Brazilian architecture school with both undergraduate and graduate programs. Broad incumbent in the same architecture/urbanism education market in Brazil, though differentiated by private (tuition-based) funding model.

Emerging players

• Escola de Belas Artes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (EBA-UFRJ): Public university unit at UFRJ covering architecture and arts education. Emerging/adjacent player with overlapping urban and design research themes but smaller graduate architecture footprint than IAU-USP.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/iauusp
• Facebookfacebook.com/iau.usp
• Instagraminstagram.com/iauusp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iau-usp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Instituto de Arquitetura e Urbanismo - USP São Carlos