Universities in João Pessoa beyond UFPB and IFPB

Alongside UFPB and IFPB, Unipê is the only private institution in Paraíba with the Ministry of Education's top rating.

Besides the Federal University of Paraíba and the Federal Institute of Paraíba, both with strong performance in national evaluations, João Pessoa has the largest supply of private higher education in the state. The University Center of João Pessoa (Unipê), founded in 1971, reports holding a rating of 5 from the Ministry of Education — the maximum score on the General Course Index scale —, obtained in an in-person evaluation for the renewal of its in-person accreditation and its distance-learning accreditation, which the institution describes as a unique feat among the state's private colleges, according to institutional material released by the university itself.

Unipê concentrates courses in the health field, such as Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine, in addition to Psychology and Law, among the most sought after, according to a list of featured courses on the institution's website. This institutional rating score (the "IGC") is distinct from the Ideb used in basic education and from the Enade score of each individual course — so anyone evaluating a specific college should always check the score of the intended course, not just the institution's overall rating.

No recent, consolidated public comparisons among all of João Pessoa's private colleges by course-by-course Enade score were found in the sources consulted — data that would require a direct search of the Ministry of Education's e-MEC system for each course of interest before enrollment.