São Paulo – July 31 is the deadline for non-locals to enroll in graduate courses in Brazil, effective next year, under the Graduate Agreement-Students Program (PEC-G). Students from countries with which Brazil sustains framework agreements in education, culture, science and technology are eligible – including from Arab countries Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon and Syria.
The information is from the website of the Educational Affairs Division of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Students can enroll in courses on offer from PEC-G-affiliated universities, which are mostly public. Top-tier universities like Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and Universidade de Brasília (UnB) are included.
Requirements include having completed or being in the final year of the equivalent of a Brazilian high school, speaking fluent Portuguese – with attestation required in the form of a Certificate of Proficiency in Portuguese Language for Foreigners (Celpe-Bras) or proof of enrolment for said exam. In case the Celpe-Bras exam isn’t available in the student’s country, they must take it in Brazil in the second half of 2020.
Candidates are not allowed to have Brazilian citizenship or dual citizenship if one of their countries is Brazil. They are required to be 18, and preferably 23, at the end of 2019. A written statement is required stating that their financial provider has at least USD 400 available per month to ensure their livelihood in Brazil throughout the course.
Enrolments are to be made at the embassy or consulate of Brazil in charge of the candidate’s country of origin. There, students are required to fill in an enrolment form and produce the originals and copies of their High School graduate certificate (where applicable), own and parents’ birth certificates, and the Celpe-Bras certificate or proof of application (for those not intending to take the exam in Brazil), an original certificate of good physical and mental health, a term of financial responsibility, and a signed term of commitment.
A commission will look into each candidate’s school track record and documentation. Criteria will include or higher average high school grades and high school curriculum compatibility with the intended course.
The PEC-G program is run by the Secretariat for Higher Education of the Brazilian Ministry of Education and by the Cultural and Educational Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It targets mostly developing countries, and the idea is for foreign students to return to their home countries upon completion.
The PEC-G covers 62 different countries. Apart from the ones mentioned earlier, countries include South Africa, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Kenya, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela, China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Thailand, East Timor, Armenia, North Macedonia, and Turkey.
Quick facts
PEC-G 2020
Enrolments through July 31, 2019
Find out more
Click here for the call for enrolments
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
