Although education is a key factor in Brazil's social and economic development. public funding is not enough to answer society's demands. Partially responsible for this funding, society also has the right to demand efficiency in the application of funds. This article assesses the cost by undergraduate student at the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV). The data was obtained through the analysis of documents, accounting reports and reports generated by the institution's data center. The mean cost by student in 2004 was R$ 8,965.91. The cost by student of the departments ranged from R$ 3,948.59 (Mathematics) to R$ 17,022.79 (Zootechnics). The most influential variables were the number of enrolments, assets, faculty members and technical-administrative personnel. Student-based costing can guide UFV's expansion without increasing costs, as well as the use of its installations.
undergraduate education; cost by student; public university
