About Metodista
History
Methodist education is found in many countries around the world. It is distinguished as a result of the combination of teaching practice and citizenship formation. It started out in England, with the foundation of the first Methodist Educational Institution, Kingswood School, targeting primary students, in 1748. In Brazil, more than 50 educational institutions form the COGEIME – Instituto Metodista de Serviços Educacionais [Methodist Institute of Educational Services] – adding to 60 thousand students.
Universidade Metodista de São Paulo is located in São Bernardo do Campo, an important city of the industrial region of the Greater ABC, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo. The region is known for being the home to a lot of industries, mainly in the auto industry. More recently, it has grown strong in the services field, featuring a population of more than 2.3 million people.
The teaching history at Metodista started with the construction of the Methodist Church School of Theology, in São Bernardo do Campo, in 1938. Together with the evolution, growth, structural and socio-economical strengthening of the region, the recognition of the vocation and of the educational quality of Metodista´s teaching led to the creation of the Instituto Metodista de Ensino Superior (IMS) [Methodist Institute for Higher Education], in 1970. As a church-related school, based on moral, ethical, and Christian values, devoted to community, it soon found a place among the highly regarded institutions for higher education in the country.
In 1997, with the strengthening of research and extension, the consolidation of the pedagogical project and the educational quality excellence accomplished over the years, Metodista acquired the status of University. From then on, the number of schools and courses available increased. In early 2007, it created distance support poles, carrying its educational quality to a larger number of cities and towns all over Brazil.
Today, Metodista has three campi and is considered one of the largest universities in the country. Metodista is distinguished by providing the job market with qualified profissionals, who are highly prepared to practice anywhere with competence and responsibility, always adopting innovative methods and totally committed to citizenship.
