Graduate programs at UFABC aim at the development of scientific and technological frontier research, committed to educate researchers to meet the demand for higher education and national and regional technological development. UFABC considers research to be the engine of graduate studies, expected to introduce new ideas that may help expand human knowledge. Research themes, being interdisciplinary, combine efforts from different areas of knowledge.
Types of Programs
UFABC currently offers 29 graduate programs, of which 15 include Masters and Doctor’s degrees. Three Professional Master’s Degrees are offered. They are mostly focused on the STEM areas (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) following UFABC’s natural competence, but also include programs in humanities and social sciences.
An academic Master’s program offers conditions to the development of studies that show the command of conceptual and methodological tools, essential to the field in research, which qualify the student as a researcher and professor, through education and investigative works. Master’s programs in Brazil are a level after undergraduate studies and are always focused on scientific research. A Professional Master’s program creates conditions to the development of business transforming practices by using the scientific method and applying the knowledge of new processes and techniques. Doctoral programs deepen the objective of the Master’s program by the production of a work that must be an original, creative and real contribution to the field of research.
UFABC is the first university in Brazil to offer an Academic-Industrial Doctor program, sometimes called Industrial PhD. This program actually defines a new entry mode for future PhD students, where the identification of a relevant research project is expected to be the result of a period of up to six months immersed in a research lab or center in a private or public company. In case candidates have their projects approved after this initial phase (called pre-PhD), there are regularly enrolled in a particular Doctor’s program at UFABC. This type of PhD program is currently a pilot project between UFABC and Brazilian funding agency CNPq, where students receive scholarships for this pre-PhD phase, as well as for the next four years.
Programs:
Professional Master in Philosopy
National Professional Master’s Degree in Physics Teaching
Professional Master in National Network Mathematics
lndustrial Academic Doctorate
IAD is a modality of entry into existing academic doctorate programs in which the identification of the doctoral project is the result of a period spent by the doctoral student in laboratories and research centers of companies and public or private industries. For more information click here.
Calendar
UFABC has three academic terms in a year, starting in February, May and September and graduate programs are free to choose whether they have one, two or three selections processes per year. All of them have one entry in February so that the application period falls between October and November of the previous year. Some Doctor’s programs accept applications all year round. The specific calendar for the selection process of a particular graduate program for a given year is available at the program’s website.
Tuition and fees
In Brazil, public universities are tuition-free, even for foreigners. Therefore, students have no cost at all for pursuing graduate studies at UFABC. In addition, Brazilian public funding agencies – such as Capes, CNPq and FAPESP – grant scholarships for graduate studies to cover their living expenses. Top-ranked candidates in a selection process are usually granted scholarships.
Visa
Candidates who have been approved in the selection process have to apply for a visa in order to come to Brazil. Visas are granted to students in possession of acceptance letters from a Brazilian university. The full instructions can be found at Brazilian Embassy of your country.