The Federal University of Minas Gerais is a federal research university located in the state of Minas Gerais. Its main and biggest campus is located in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. It is one of Brazil's five largest and highest-ranked universities,. It offers 79 undergraduate education programs, upon completion of their curricular schedule the student is awarded either a bachelor's degree, a licenciate degree, or a professional title, all officialized by the issue of a university diploma. It also has 90 postgraduate education programs, awarding 30 postbaccalaureate specialization degrees, 92 master's degrees, and 72 doctoral degrees, as well as 41 medical residency programs offered at UFMG's hospital facilities complexes. The university also has campi at Tiradentes and Montes Claros. Most courses, however, are taught at the main campus, located in the Pampulha district of Belo Horizonte.

Belo Horizonte is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, with a population of 6 million. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropolis is anchor to the Belo Horizonte metropolitan area, ranked as the third most populous metropolitan area in Brazil and the 17th most populous in the Americas. Belo Horizonte is the capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil's second-most populous state. It is the first planned modern city in Brazil.