The Unified Selection System (Sisu) 2025 brought updated data on the most sought-after courses in Brazil. As a result, the high competition in certain degrees reflects students' interest in specific areas. Furthermore, this demand may indicate trends in the job market and higher education. That's why, in this article, we present the most sought-after courses in Sisu 2025 and analyze the main changes in this selection process.
The most popular courses in Sisu 2025
The Biomedicine course at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) was the most sought after in Sisu 2025. That way, with 1,568 applicants for just 6 vacancies, the competition reached 261 candidates per vacancy. This scenario reflects the growing interest in the health area, in addition to highlight the high demand for qualified professionals in the sector.
Medicine programs come next. The State University of Maringá (UEM) registered 1,032 applicants for four spots, resulting in a competition rate of 258 candidates per spot. The Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCAR) received 8,717 applications for 40 spots, resulting in a competition rate of nearly 218 candidates per spot.
Most sought-after areas in Sisu 2025
The most sought-after courses in Sisu 2025 cover different areas of knowledge. Among them, health leads the list with Biomedicine, Medicine, Physiotherapy, Biological Sciences and Psychology. In all, 13 of the 20 most sought-after courses belong to this area, which demonstrates the growing search for training focused on well-being and scientific research.
Exact science courses also stand out, above all with Software Engineering, Information Systems and Systems Analysis and Development. On the other hand, in the humanities area, there are Pedagogy, Letters – Portuguese and Law, which shows the diversity of interests among the candidates.
List of the 20 most sought after courses
- UFPR (PR) – Biomedicine
- UEM (PR) – Medicine
- UFSCAR (SP) – Medicine
- UFRA (PA) – Pedagogy
- IFSP (SP) – Systems Analysis and Development
- UFPR (PR) – Physiotherapy
- UEM (PR) – Biomedicine
- UTFPR (PR) – Software Engineering
- UFRR (RR) – Medicine
- UFPR (PR) – Medicine
- UFRA (PA) – Computing
- UFRA (PA) – Information Systems
- UNIMONTES (MG) – Medicine
- UFPR (PR) – Psychology
- UFRA (PA) – Letters – Portuguese
- UFERSA (RN) – Medicine
- UNIFESP (SP) – Psychology
- UEMG (MG) – Psychology
- UEL (PR) – Law
- UFRA (PA) – Biological Sciences
The Northeast in the Sisu 2025 ranking
Despite that, the great competition in courses in the South and Southeast remained high. Nonetheless, only one course in the Northeast entered the list of the most sought after in Sisu 2025. Medicine at the Federal Rural University of Semi-Árido (UFERSA), in Rio Grande do Norte, had 6 thousand applicants for 45 vacancies, what resulted in 133 candidates per vacancy.
How did Ceará perform in Sisu 2025?
In Ceará, the Medicine course at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) led the search list, with 5,876 candidates for 160 places, what generated a competition of 37 candidates per vacancy. Furthermore, other highly sought-after courses were Psychology, with 3,760 applicants, and Physical Education, with 3,604, demonstrating the high interest in these areas.
The Medicine degrees at the Federal University of Cariri (UFCA) and UFC in Sobral were also among the most sought after in the state.
Sisu 2025 general numbers
Sisu 2025 had 1,310,781 candidates competing for 261,779 places, an increase of 3% compared to 2024. The Ministry of Education highlighted the efficiency of the process with the implementation of the new reallocation rule of the Quota Law.
If there aren't enough applicants for the reserved spots, they are redistributed among quota students. If there are still spots remaining, they are allocated to the general competition. As a result, 17,337 more students were accepted, increasing the occupancy rate to 97.4%.
Conclusion
The most popular courses in Sisu 2025 demonstrate the strong demand for healthcare programs, especially Medicine and Biomedicine. Furthermore, exact sciences and humanities courses remain popular options. The increase in applicants reflects the growing interest in public higher education in Brazil.
How does the Sisu cut-off grade work?
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