The ways of training nursing professionals are linked to history and to the socio-political and economic context. This article discusses the academic training for nurses in Brazil in three different public universities: the University of São Paulo (Ribeirão Preto campus); the Federal University of Goiás (Catalão campus); and the Federal University of Minas Gerais, in Belo Horizonte. It notes the challenges and the universities’ differences and similarities. The networks of health services, the universities, and university training for nurses are highly varied across Brazil. A national law regulates nursing training, but the universities have some autonomy when it comes to their programs. How is nursing training structured in these three different universities that we compare? Despite having different resources and backgrounds, the training programs all focus on the management of comprehensive care and on maintaining the quality of all health and social services in the country. The success of the training is influenced in each university by reality and the situation of the health care system and universities, as well the work of the professors and nurses.