Information for foreign students

UFV offers undergraduate and graduate programs in Agriculture, Biology and Health, STEM, Humanities, and Natural Sciences, distributed in 3 campuses in the cities of  Viçosa, Florestal and Rio Paranaíba.

The Ministry of Education of Brazil evaluates, annually, the programs offered by Brazilian universities. UFV has been, in the last years, consistently ranked among the top 10 universities in the country.

As a public federal university, UFV charges no fee to exchange students. Those who wish to obtain either a master’s degree or a Ph.D. can apply for a scholarship.


IMPORTANT: If you want to study at UFV as a mobility student you must do an official application

   Information about courses in English offered by UFV can be found here.


In the links below you can find information about UFV and the city of Viçosa:

About Viçosa

Living costs

Accommodation

PEC-G

PEC-PG

Tourist Information

Portuguese courses for foreigners

Guides


FAQ:

Where is the UFV?

The UFV holds three campi. Two of them, Rio Paranaíba and Florestal, were created in recent years. They are located in the Alto Paranaíba Region, near the Triângulo Mineiro, and in the Central region of Minas Gerais, next to the capital, Belo Horizonte, respectively. The campus of Viçosa is located in Viçosa, Minas Gerais, in a region of Atlantic Forest called Zona da Mata Mineira (at 648 m of altitude, with high-altitude tropical climate, with rains concentrated in the summer and average annual temperature of 19°C, ranging between 14°C and 26°C).

Viçosa is 227 km from the capital of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 980 km from Brasília, 385 km from Rio de Janeiro, 650 km from São Paulo and 410 km from Vitória. The main access from Belo Horizonte to Viçosa is the BR120 highway, crossing the cities of Itabirito, Ouro Preto, Ponte Nova and Teixeiras. From Rio de Janeiro, the best alternative is through Petrópolis, Juiz de Fora, Rio Pomba, Ubá, Visconde do Rio Branco and Coimbra.


How does the UFV academic system work?

UFV offers undergraduate programs in several areas of knowledge. For more information, access STUDENT GUIDE. We selected the most frequent doubts regarding the UFV ACADEMIC SYSTEM:

  • How is the academic year divided? The Undergraduate Didactic System  establishes that the academic year has two regular periods of academic activities, with the minimum duration of 100 workdays. There can be a special summer period to be set by the academic schedule.
  • What do “credits” mean? The academic system adopted by the UFV uses credits, based on a suggested sequence of studies. So, one credit, the unity of scholar work, refers to 15 hours of classes and the workload of each discipline. It will always be defined using multiples of 15. More information HERE
  • How is the study plan elaborated? Each student will follow an individual study plan that will be prepared with the aid to an academic advisor, on the date set by the Academic Calendar, and approved by the committee coordinator of the undergraduate program.
  • What does “discipline” mean? A discipline is the group of studies and activities corresponding to a program developed in a semester, with a pre-established number of hours. Disciplines can be mandatory (indispensable to professional qualification), optional (to complement the qualification in the knowledge area of the program, selected from a list of disciplines related to the course), and elective (disciplines that do not belong to the syllabus of the program and must be added to the Study Plan). The disciplines of each curriculum can be linked by a prerequisite, which is a formal demand of previous knowledge for the enrollment in a discipline; or co-requisites, which are the demands of parallel knowledge, in form of discipline, to a concomitant enrollment in another discipline.
  • How are students evaluated? The evaluation of academic performance in each discipline is carried out through the realization of exams, seminars, field work, interviews, tests and works required by the professors, to which they attribute notes or concepts. The final grade in a discipline is represented by a number between zero and one hundred, except for disciplines that adopt the concepts satisfactory (S) or non-satisfactory (N). Students will be disapproved in a discipline if they achieve, after the realization of a final exam, grade lower than 60 percent, attend less than 75% of the theoretical classes or attend less than 75% of the practical classes (time counted in hours).
  • What does “performance coefficient” mean? The performance coefficient is the weighted average of the notes obtained in a semester, considered as weigh the number of credits of the disciplines, and calculated in a specific way.
  • Can students lose their vacancy in the UFV? Students will be unbound from the UFV if they do not conclude the program within the maximum period fixed for the completion of the syllabus; if they fall into the cases punishable with disconnection provided in the UFV disciplinary regime applicable to the students; if they are disapproved in all disciplines of the first semester because of infrequency; if they are disapproved in all disciplines in two semesters because of infrequency; if they present insufficient academic performance (lower than 60%) in four semesters concomitantly to the number of disapprovals equal to or superior to the number of approvals.

How can you study at the UFV?

Students who intend to make an interchange at the UFV must choose one of the following alternatives:

  • Verify if their University has signed an agreement with the UFV and if it has, students must ask the Office of International Affairs to help them with the necessary procedures. 
  • PLEASE NOTE: The entire application process is carried out between the international relations offices.

    Check out the procedures HERE

  • If students intend to take a complete graduate program at the UFV, they may apply for UFV graduate program or the PEC-G program.
  •  If you want to attend a postgraduate course at UFV, the student can choose to apply for one of the vacancies of the UFV postgraduate program or try the PEC-PG Program.

Is it possible to do an internship at the UFV?

  • Yes, it is sufficient for the Home University Office of International Affairs to send DRI the required documentation. The student will then be enrolled in the internship subject (ESM490) and, at the end of the exchange, will complete a Final Internship Report, along with their advisor, to be delivered to PRE. 

Does the UFV offer accommodation and/or food to foreign students?

Some of the agreements signed by the UFV include accommodation, when there is reciprocity, but most of them do NOT have clauses specifying accommodation for foreign students in the dormitories maintained by the UFV.

UFV maintains two restaurants with varied menu and avaiable at low cost (about 0, 55 U.S. dollars). The University Restaurant (R.U.) works according to the academic calendar and some events. Therefore, January is the period of collective vacation of the employees; in February, it works only during the SEARA (catholic event); in March, it resumes its usual activities. In July, it works until the end of the final exams, during the Farmer Week or other events. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, only breakfast and lunch are served, dinner is not offered. The foreign students can use the RU providing they present proof of ties to the UFV.

Other alternatives for food sources in the campus are four snack bars which serve sandwiches and varied food.

In addition, the UFV provides free medical assistance for students at the UFV Health Division. Exchange students can also benefit from this service by presenting evidence of ties to the UFV. Some health services are charged to all users, including Interchange Students, but the cost is low.


What documents do I need to have to travel to Brazil?

Initially, students must have a passport and visa. Supplementary information can be found in Brazilian consulates abroad.


Is there any other requirement to study at the UFV?

The UFV Healthy Division recommends that all foreign students must be immunized with the followings vaccines:

  1. Influenza A (H1N1) ou swine flu.
  2. Double Adult: diphtheria and tetanus.
  3. Yellow fever.
  4. Triviral: measles, mumps and rubella.

They should also bring the vaccination card and, depending on their area of ​​activity at UFV, take specific vaccines.

The Personal Accident Insurance is mandatory for international travel and can be contracted in the country of origin or here in Brazil. It is essential to present the Policy at the time of registration.


What legal procedures must be adopted upon arriving in Brazil?

  • Prior to embarking to Brazil, you must have received the acceptance letter from the UFV, which will be used for visa application at the corresponding Brazilian Consulate. The Consulate will issue a visa application form that must be brought to Brazil along with the visa. 
  • During the flight or in the Brazilian frontier, you must fill out the entry/exit card, using block letter, without erasure, and demand the stamp from Federal Police to be printed in this card and in the passport. This is a free service, and without this procedure, entrance in Brazil is unlawful.
  • Upon arriving in Brazil, visitors must present their passport to Federal Police, the international certificate of vaccination, if necessary; health certificate; and certified copy of entry visa application.
  • Visitors must always carry their passport and the second copy of the card of entry/exit, which will be collected by the Federal Police, when they leave Brazil.
  • The registration at the Department of Federal Police is mandatory within andand you must provide complete documentation.
  • You must schedule previously and mandatorily the day and time of attendance at the Federal Police office.
  • When you receive the foreign identity card, verify if all the personal data, such as full name, parents’ names, birth date and nationality are correct. If there is any mistake, request the immediate correction, in the proper place, to avoid any future problems.

Upon arriving at the UFV, where can I search for information?

When you arrive at the UFV, look for the Office of International Affairs to make your registration and obtain all the information about your legal permanence at the University and in the country.