This article provides a panoramic analysis of the historical process of the emergence of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and their role as mediators of medieval knowledge, which later also exerted significant influence as they reshaped themselves for the consolidation of national states and modern Western scientific culture. In Brazil, unlike the European context where universities have materialized in space for many centuries, we only find these higher education institutions beginning in the early 20th century. We must consider the time and space in which they are inserted from the moment of their emergence to the present period. We will highlight the spatial dimension of the process from the origins and evolution of these institutions. Studies indicate that in Brazil, only from the turn of the 21st century has there been a better distribution of HEIs across the territory, but their provision is still concentrated in two perspectives: the majority of enrollments are in private higher education, and spatially they are in larger cities.