The Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid Region (UFERSA) is a public university located in the city of Mossoro in Brazil's Rio Grande do Norte state.
It was established in 1967 and began life as the Mossoro Higher School of Agriculture, created by Brazilian agronomist Jeronimo Vingt-Un Rosado Maia after three years of campaigning for an agricultural school in the Mossoro region - an ambition of his dating as far back as the mid 1940s.
UFERSA has three campuses, the main one being the Angus campus in the municipality of Angicos. This is home to the department of exact, technological and human sciences, offering degrees and bachelor degrees in subjects including computer science, science and technology and pedagogy.
The Caraubus Campus was the second campus to be built. Teaching began here in 2010, originally from the Antonio Carlos State School, the Lourenco Gurgel State School and the Josue de Oliveira Municipal School until the building of the official campus had been completed. Here, courses include mechanical engineering and civil engineering.
The final Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid Region campus, known as the Campus of Pau Dos Ferros, hosts courses including architecture and urbanism, information technology, and environmental and sanitary engineering.
UFERSA has official recognition from the Ministry of Education, Brazil, and has won a host of awards for its work in research and teaching.
The motto of UFERSA is "per scientia aridam terram floret", translating as "science flourishes through the arid land". This aims to perfectly sum up the university's mission to bestow scientific and technological knowledge upon the community of the region.
