Types of Scholarships in Brazil in 2024 and Their Websites

There are many types of scholarships in Brazil. Although tuition and living costs are generally lower in Latin America compared to the rest of the Americas, a little additional funding can be beneficial to many international students. Let’s check it out!

Generally, if you check the latest QS ranking for Latin American universities, you’d know that there are many leading universities to choose from across the region. Check our compilation of the top 10 universities in Brazil to learn more about it.

Below you’d find a selection of current scholarships abroad, and funding opportunities offered for those wanting to study in Brazil or elsewhere in the Latin American region.

While some of these scholarships are from the government. Others come from individual universities or external organizations for students at all levels of study. Among the scholarships available there are:

Table of Contents

BRASA Brazil Initiation Scholarship

A scholarship of $1,500 dollar for students in the United States to do an exploratory research or language study in Brazil. Basically, an entire summer for your studies for free!

Such awards apply also in Canada and Brazil. These awards are given to promote cross-cultural research projects between Canadian universities and Brazilian partners.

Similarly, you can learn more by clicking here.

PAEC OAS-GCUB scholarship in Brazil

When talking about scholarships in Brazil, this is the first program that pops out. This initiative exists since 2011 and the funding consists of a full tuition scholarship for 2 to 4 years study (master or doctorate), to study at select Brazilian universities.

Funded by the Organization of American States, the scholarship is open to all citizens of 34 OAS countries except for Brazil. Moreover, the scholarship comes with a settlement stipend of $1,200 and free access to language lessons online or in person for the recipient.

Learn more about the program here

Scholarships from the Brazilian government through the CAPES Foundation

CAPES, a foundation within the Ministry of Education in Brazil which offers grants to graduate students at universities and research centers in Brazil and worldwide. The foundation’s purpose is to improve the quality of Brazil’s higher education faculty and staff’s quality. It has supported about 22,000 students enrolled in university programs in Brazil and 1,500 others outside of Brazil.

Learn more on the program here.

Post-doctoral and PhD scholarships for international students in Brazil

TWAS Scholarships in Brazil

This one provides fellowships for PhD and post-doctoral students to students from developing countries, to work abroad in Brazil, Mexico or other countries.

Similarly, click here to learn more.

AUIP (PAEDEx) PhD scholarships

This is an international doctoral support program which grants scholarships for up to 48 months for PhD students. This program is run in partnership with Iberoamerican University Association of Posgrado (AUIP). It offers funding for international, non-Brazilian teachers and researchers in universities and higher education institutions integrated with AUIP. Among these HEI are the State University of São Paulo.

But the AUIP offers other scholarships, you can check on their website.

International Postdoctoral Fellowships by the FAPESP

The FAPESP offers every year postdoctoral positions in various study fields for international students and researchers at institutions of higher education in Brazil. These post-doctoral fellowships are offered for 24 months that can be renewed for 12 months.

The open positions and opportunities you can apply to include:

A position at the School of Chemical Engineering of Unicamp that you can check here
The Experimental Medicine Research Cluster opportunity, also at Unicamp
Another postdoctoral fellowship granted to a researcher at any research institutions in the State of São Paulo, which you can check here.

For more information on all the open positions, visit the FAPESP’s website

College Scholarships

The Institute of Studies in Latin America and the Caribbean at the University of South Florida has a “full education” program. It offers a scholarship for qualified students to study in Brazil and other international sites.

The preference, however, is primarily for students in Latin studies. Qualified applicants must possess an advanced level of skills in the Spanish language.

Scholarships opportunities at the São Paulo State University

The São Paulo State University is one of the best universities in Brazil. And for local and international students to be able to study in the institution, the university offers a few opportunities of funding. Grants are both for undergraduate and graduate students.

For graduate students, there are the CAPES, OAS and FAPESP-related grants, about which you can learn more above. Moreover, there is the Graduate Student-Agreement Program (PEC-PG) which offers 24 months master and 48 months PhD scholarships to conduct studies in Brazilian HEIs, including the São Paulo State University.

Furthermore, the University is part of the Student-Graduation Agreement Program (PEC-G), which offers students from developing countries the opportunity to pursue undergraduate studies in Brazilian universities.
And last, UNESP is also part of different ERASMUS+ projects in Latin America. This one offers international scholarships to European Union students to study, train and gain experience in Brazil. The university a member of Erasmus+ projects such as Laweeda, Acacia or RIESAL which you can check here.