Objective: To study whether humanization is taught in college disciplines as part of the syllabus of nurse training courses in the city of São Paulo. Methods: The sample comprised 13 higher education institutions, totaling 588 disciplines. The education programs of nursing curricula from the institutions recognized by the Ministry of Education and Culture until May 2006 were used as reference. Rresults: Terms referring to humanization were encountered in 59%, indicating that it could be taught at these institutions. Only one institution, however, was able to offer any teaching on humanization in the subjects Philosophy (to define the dimensions for defining humanization) and Philosophic Anthropology (applying these definitions to specific healthcare situations). The latter discusses social roles, suggesting that supremacy of social roles prevails over inter-subjectivity, or inter-subjectivity operates notwithstanding social roles. Cconclusion: Nursing undergraduate programs in the present study tended to be ambiguous, most contained terms related to humanization, but few presented this theme consistently.