The international academic rankings, created in the 21st. Century, have become a frequent source of reference on the quality of higher education, despite being critiziced by their legitimacy and uses. This paper presents the results of a study on the uses of rankings in print and electronic medias of two brazilian universities: The University of São Paulo and the State University of Campinas. Articles about rankings published in the universities oficial medias during the period of 2013-2017 were selected and analizes in order to look fo their uses. It was found that they are identifies, explaindes and used in several comparisons. Despite the performances of the universities being celebrated, the rankings are also critiziced and their methodological limitations, exposed, mainly by academics who hold management positions and experts on the issue.
Keywords:
Academic rankings; University; USP; UNICAMP; Academic media