The Law School of the University of São Paulo (in Portuguese: Faculdade de Direito da Universidade São Paulo, also known as Faculdade de Direito do Largo de São Francisco) is an institution of

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

and

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

in the field of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

located in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It joined the

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...

(USP) in 1934, when the latter was established.

History

One of the oldest establishments of higher education in

, and the oldest law school, the São Francisco Law School (in Portuguese: "Faculdade de Direito do Largo de São Francisco"), was founded together with the Olinda Law School (later moved and renamed

Recife Law School The Recife School of Law, is the law school of the Federal University of Pernambuco (formerly in Portuguese ''Faculdade de Direito do Recife'' and now ''Faculdade de Direito da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco''), it is located in Recife, Pern ...

), by Brazilian Emperor

Dom Pedro I Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an eth ...

on August 11, 1827, but its classes began earlier than Olinda's. As it was founded a few years after the proclamation of the

Independence of Brazil The Independence of Brazil comprised a series of political and military events that led to the independence of the Kingdom of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves as the Brazilian Empire. Most of the events occurre ...

, it was essential for the administration of the Brazilian Empire, having taught most of those who would later be part of the Brazilian government. The school was first installed in a monastery building from the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

order, which has been rebuilt several times since, for instance, after a fire. The most recent construction dates from 1934. A number of Brazilian politicians and famous writers have studied at Largo de São Francisco since its foundation, such as Castro Alves,

Álvares de Azevedo Manuel Antônio Álvares de Azevedo (September 12, 1831 – April 25, 1852), affectionately called "Maneco" by his close friends, relatives and admirers, was a Brazilian Romantic poet, short story writer, playwright and essayist, considered to b ...

Fagundes Varela Luís Nicolau Fagundes Varela (August 17, 1841 – February 18, 1875) was a Brazilian Romantic poet, adept of the "Ultra-Romanticism" movement. He is patron of the 11th chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. Biography Luís Nicolau Fagun ...

, Ruy Barbosa, Monteiro Lobato. There is a statue of

in front of the building with this quote: "Foi poeta, sonhou e amou na vida", which translates to "He was a poet, dreamed and loved in life". Students come from all over the country to study at São Francisco and contribute with bohemian and cultural lifestyle to the Brazilian most cosmopolitan city of São Paulo. There is a gravestone in its patio, where Julius Frank, a German professor dear to students, was buried in 1841. Because Frank was a Protestant, he could not be buried in any of the Catholic graveyards in São Paulo, so the students chose to bury him inside the school as homage.

Ranking

Consistently ranked as the best Law School in Brazil, São Francisco Law School has been the ''alma mater'' to 13 Brazilian presidents and many outstanding public officers, diplomats, scholars, writers, politicians and businessmen. Each year São Francisco Law School admits 460 new students in its undergraduate (LL.B.) program, from roughly 10,000 to 15,000 applicants.http://www.fuvest.br/estat/insreg.html?anofuv=2016 Graduate programs ( MSc and PhD) are also available.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Sao Paulo University of São Paulo Law schools in Brazil Educational institutions established in 1827 Universities and colleges in São Paulo 1827 establishments in Brazil