# Brazil lands nine universities in the global employability ranking

An annual survey by the consultancy Emerging, covering more than 15,000 recruiters worldwide, points to academic performance, practical skills and professional experience as the main drivers of hiring.

- Section: Education
- Published: November 12, 2026
- Address: https://ceoone.com.br/en/article/brazil-lands-nine-universities-in-the-global-employability-ranking
- Em português: https://ceoone.com.br/artigo/brasil-emplaca-nove-universidades-no-ranking-global-de-empregabilidade.md

![Aerial view of the USP University City, with the Praça do Relógio at the center, green areas and São Paulo's buildings in the background](https://pub-b80e49b2737940b3ab5d3f20d0578192.r2.dev/artigos/brasil-emplaca-nove-universidades-no-ranking-global-de-empregabilidade-foto.webp)

Photo: Cecília Bastos/USP Imagens

## Key points

- In the 2027 edition of the Geurs ranking by the French consultancy Emerging, Brazil placed nine institutions among the world's top 300 in employability, with USP ranking 89th.
- The survey heard from 15,665 recruiters in more than 40 countries, and MIT leads, followed by Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard.
- The most-cited hiring criteria were academic performance (19.3%), graduates' skills (18.6%) and professional experience (17.2%).

Brazilian higher education maintains a prominent presence in attracting talent for the international corporate market. In the 2027 edition of the Global Employability University Ranking and Survey (Geurs), a worldwide study produced by the French consultancy Emerging, Brazil placed nine institutions among the world's 300 best in the employability of their graduates. The University of São Paulo (USP) led the Brazilian group, ranking 89th in the global survey.

The research heard from 15,665 recruiters and hiring managers in more than 40 countries. About 70% of participants said they personally work with at least ten recent graduates hired in the two years before the survey. At the top of the global list, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States took first place, followed by Stanford (US), Oxford (UK), Cambridge (UK) and Harvard (US), consolidating North American dominance with five institutions in the world top 10.

Besides USP's lead, which stood at 80th in the previous edition, the list includes eight other prominent Brazilian universities. The Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) secured 212th place, followed by the State University of Campinas (Unicamp, 239th) and the São Paulo State University (Unesp, 245th). Rounding out the Brazilian presence are the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS, 266th), the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP, 273rd), the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio, 288th), the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG, 293rd) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ, 299th).

To identify the institutions of greatest productive value, the survey's methodology allowed each recruiter to vote for up to 15 universities, including proposing names outside a preset list. The study details the main criteria employers weigh when selecting higher education graduates:

Academic performance: Cited by 19.3% of executives and recruiters.

Graduates' skills: Cited by 18.6% of employers.

Professional experience: Relevant to 17.2% of the sample.

Leadership and impact: Relevant to 13.4% of companies.

Specialization and internationality: Cited by 12.6% and 10% of participants, respectively, followed by the institution's overall brand reputation (8.9%).

The result reinforces the strategic relevance of Brazilian public and private institutions in training high-level human capital, able to meet the growing challenges of innovation, efficiency and leadership in corporate ecosystems in Brazil and abroad.

## Sources and editorial notes

- Reference reporting: O Estado de S. Paulo (report by Caio Possati published in the Metrópole section, November 4, 2026).
- Study and consultancy: Global Employability University Ranking and Survey (Geurs 2027), developed by the French consultancy Emerging.

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