Studying in Brazil
Studying in Brazil requires sorting out several decisions before preparing the move: what degree you need, how you can gain admission, how much Portuguese the degree requires and how you are going to cover your expenses. A recognized university can be a good academic option, but it also has to fit your budget, your interests and the work you want to do afterwards.
Requirements, admission and costs for foreigners
If you are finishing high school or thinking about continuing your education in another country, this guide helps you compare alternatives and organize an application with official information.
What can you study in Brazil?
To search for degrees, it helps to know the names used by the Brazilian system. Undergraduate education is called graduação and includes three types of degrees:
- Bacharelado: education in an academic or professional field, such as Administration or Civil Engineering.
- Licenciatura: education oriented toward teaching in basic education. For example, a licenciatura in Mathematics prepares you to teach that subject. If you are interested in that work, explore the degrees related to education.
- Curso superior de tecnologia: higher education focused on a specific professional area, which grants the title of tecnólogo.
The MEC confirms that the higher technology courses are undergraduate studies and allow you to continue on to graduate studies. They are not equivalent to a technical course at secondary level. Nor should you automatically translate licenciatura as if it had the same meaning as in your country.
How to verify a university and its degree
Before paying an enrollment fee, look up the institution and the degree in the official e-MEC registry. The Ministry of Education explains what information you can check: program locations, authorizations, recognition and evaluation indicators.
Check the exact degree title, campus and study mode. Then read the curriculum and review internships, labs and schedules. Two degrees with similar names can prepare you for different tasks. If you are still comparing careers, visiting all degrees lets you explore fields before choosing an institution.
How to get into a Brazilian university?
There is no single mandatory pathway for all international students. The official call for applications, called edital, establishes who can apply, what documents you must submit and how places are allocated.
Enem, Sisu and institutional processes
The Enem is an exam; the Sisu is a selection system that uses its results to allocate places at participating public institutions. They are separate procedures: taking the exam does not automatically enroll you in a degree.
One example is admission to the Universidade Federal do Ceará through Sisu. Other institutions use a vestibular, their own admission exam, or specific calls. Before preparing for a test, identify the pathway your university accepts and whether you meet its requirements. You can learn more about these differences in our guide on access to universities in Brazil.
International selection: the UNILA example
The Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana, in Foz do Iguaçu, published an international call for admission in 2027 aimed at Latin American and Caribbean applicants, except Brazilians. It includes nationality, age and secondary education completed outside Brazil requirements.
As of September 29, 2026, registration for that process was already closed. It serves as an example of a specific pathway for foreigners: for a future application, follow the new official calls and their dates.
PEC-G: an alternative with its own conditions
The Programa de Estudantes-Convênio de Graduação, PEC-G, offers places with no academic fees for people from participating countries who reside outside Brazil and meet its conditions. Applications are processed through the Brazilian diplomatic mission in the country of residence.
The program provides for return to the country of origin upon completion of studies and requires academic documentation and proof of financial support. The place is not equivalent to a full living-cost scholarship: check which expenses you would have to cover and which aid is expressly granted.
Do you need to know Portuguese?
Preparing to have conversations is useful, but studying also involves understanding bibliography, writing papers and answering assessments. Before choosing, ask the university for the language requirements for your admission pathway and examples of degree materials.
The Celpe-Bras, administered by Inep, is the official Brazilian certification of Portuguese for foreigners. It should not be presented as an identical requirement for all institutions: check whether your call requires it, what certification it accepts and at what stage you have to submit it.
How much it costs to study and live in Brazil
Undergraduate teaching in public universities is offered, as a general rule, with no direct fee for the student and funded with public funds, in accordance with the principle set out in Article 206 of the Brazilian Constitution. That does not automatically cover housing, food, transportation or materials.
To compare destinations, build a budget in reais with three blocks:
- Initial expenses: travel, documents, translations, paperwork and the accommodation deposit.
- Monthly expenses: rent, utilities, food, transportation and connectivity.
- Academic expenses: fees at private institutions, materials, equipment and travel for practical activities.
Ask for current prices for the specific campus and neighborhood. Lower rent can mean long daily commutes. If you apply for student aid, check coverage, duration and renewal conditions; don't count it as income until its award is confirmed.
Documents and residency: what to organize before traveling
Keep academic admission separate from the immigration process. For the former, check how to submit your secondary school certificate and your grades, and what legalization, translation or equivalency the institution requires.
For study residency, the Federal Police publishes the required documentation, which includes identification, proof of enrollment, financial means and background checks, among other requirements. Confirm with the Brazilian consulate which procedure applies to your nationality and immigration status before traveling.
Keep digital and original copies of the requested documents. Also ask about the validity of the degree in the country where you want to practice: earning a diploma and becoming licensed for a regulated career are different matters.
Choose with a plan you can sustain
Make a shortlist of options and compare degree, requirements, city and budget. For each one, note the application date and the document that will take you the longest to obtain. This way you turn the idea of studying in Brazil into concrete decisions.
If your biggest doubt is still which career to choose, take time to explore your interests before committing to a degree and a move.
