information for exchange students - fea - usp · ibirapuera park (the second largest park of the...

Information for Exchange Students

International Office – CCInt FEA

Phone/Fax: +55 11 3091 6075

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.fea.usp.br/ccint

Address: Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto, 908

FEA 1 - sala A103

CEP: 05508-010 São Paulo, SP.

More at: www.fea.usp.br

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and South America, and is among the four largest metropolitan

regions of the world. The city is the capital of the State of São Paulo, the most populous Brazilian

state. It is also the richest city of Brazil. The name means Saint Paul in Portuguese. São Paulo exerts

strong regional influence in commerce and finance as well as arts and entertainment.

The city has many renowned landmarks. The Immigrant's Hostel greeted millions of immigrants as

they came to Brazil in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Paulista Avenue, in Downtown, is the

most important financial center of the country and South America. The city is home to the São Paulo

Stock Exchange (BOVESPA). São Paulo has been home to several of the tallest buildings in Brazil,

including the Mirante do Vale Building.

With an estimated population of 11,105,249 residents within an area of 1,523 square kilometres

(588 sq mi), São Paulo is the most populous city in the Southern hemisphere.

The city also lies at the center of the heavily urbanized São Paulo metropolitan area, which, with an

estimated 21,616,060 people in 2008 over 7,944 square kilometres (3,067.2 sq mi), is the largest

metropolitan area in the nation. Depending on which definition is used, the São Paulo metropolitan

area is ranked as either the first or second most populous in the Americas, just comparable to Mexico

City.

People from the city of São Paulo are known as paulistanos, while paulistas designates anyone from

the whole of São Paulo state, including the paulistanos. The city's Latin motto, which it has shared

with the battleship and the aircraft carrier named after it, is Non ducor, duco, which translates as "I am

not led, I lead". A famous nickname for the city is "Sampa". São Paulo is also known for its unreliable

weather, the size of its helicopter fleet, architecture and multitude of skyscrapers. The São

Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport operates many domestic and international flights.

Location in Brazil and in the State of São Paulo

São Paulo’s flag

A few tips to help out

Landmarks

Paulista Avenue (one of the most important

thoroughfares of the city and the site of many cultural

centers and museums, such as the MASP and Centro

Cultural Itaú).

Banespa Building (skyscraper with observation deck

and museum designed after the Empire State building).

Catedral da Sé (the metropolitan cathedral, a symbol of

the city in gothic style).

Edifício Copan, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, in the

Centro neighbourhood. Built between 1951 and 1966, its

wavy shape gives the building an impression of

movement, and the integration of small businesses and

residential flats are of innovative urbanism.

Edifício Itália (skyscraper with observation deck).

Estação da Luz (historical railway station built 1895-

1901).

Ibirapuera Park (the second largest park of the city

(Parque do Carmo is the biggest), is also home to several

museums. It is known for its buildings designed by

Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, such as the Oca and

the new Ibirapuera Auditorium).

Liberdade (Asian district of São Paulo).

Mercado Municipal (historical market place in São

Paulo).

Municipal Theatre of São Paulo (magnificent opera

house built in the early 20th century.)

Museu de Arte Sacra (museum of religious art located in

a colonial convent).

Museu do Ipiranga (museum built where the

Independence of Brazil was proclaimed in 1822).

Museum of the Portuguese Language (located inside

Estação da Luz).

Pátio do Colégio (founding site of the city, former Jesuit

mission-school to convert the natives to Catholicism).

Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (important

museum of Brazilian art).

Praça da Sé (large square next to the São Paulo

Cathedral. Official centre of the city).

Shopping Malls Center Leste Aricanduva, Iguatemi,

Ibirapuera, Morumbi, Eldorado, Pátio Higienópolis, Anália

Franco, Cidade Jardim, and many others.

Climate Weather in São Paulo is Subtropical:

Winter (June, July, Aug.) is usually cool and dry, with

temperatures hardly lower than 5º Celsius / 41º

Fahrenheit at night, around 15º C / 59º F during the day.

Summer (Dec., Jan., Feb.) is hot and it rains frequently,

usually in the afternoon (temperatures range from 20º C /

68º F at night, and 30º C / 86º F or warmer during the

day).

Spring (Sept., Oct.) and Autumn (April, May) are mild,

swapping warm sunny days with cooler, rainy days.

However, it’s good to keep in mind that the weather in

São Paulo is rather unstable. One says it’s possible to

experience the four seasons in a single day.

Avenida Paulista

To learn more about São Paulo, visit the pages below:

Local web guides:

www.fodors.com/world/south-america/brazil/sao-paulo/

www.spturis.com/v6/index.php

www.cidadedesaopaulo.com/sp/en

Streets guides:

www.zonu.com/brazil_maps/s_SaoPauloBrazil.htm

www.apontador.com.br

Sightseeing of São Paulo:

www.prodam.sp.gov.br/aniversario/virtualtour/abre.htm

City Hall: www.prefeitura.sp.gov.br/

State of São Paulo:

www.saopaulo.sp.gov.br

Subway:

www.metro.sp.gov.br/ingles/index.asp

Bus Lines: www.sptrans.com.br

USP

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USP – University of São Paulo

The University of São Paulo is the largest higher education and research institution in Brazil. It has

outstanding projection around the world, especially in Latin America, and develops great part of Brazilian

masters and doctors who work in higher education and research institutes. It is a public and free university,

with open access for students selected by the vestibular (Brazilian entrance exam for universities). Many of

these students, after graduation, hold strategic and leading functions in different segments of public and

private industries.

USP is composed of seven campi, 40 learning and research units, five hospitals, five museums, five

specialized institutes, besides multiple experimental laboratories and centers of scientific and cultural

diffusion. It comprises all areas of the human activity and offers approximately 700 regular courses. There

are around 230 undergraduate courses (including different habilitations), with more than 3,400 disciplines, an

average of 5,500 students graduate annually. Its graduate studies, with more than 500 concentration areas

(master and doctors), are an international reference in Science and Technology.

All USP media: Radio USP, TV USP, USP\'s News Agency, USP Magazine, USP\'s Newspaper, USP\'s

Internet Portal and Open Space Magazine are integrated into the Social Communication Coordination (CCS),

in order to maintain good communication with both the internal and external public all its medias. CCS

maintains auxiliary services which reinforce this integration: Visitors\' Center, Documentation Argus, Division

of Graphic Arts and Division of Public Relations, Marketing and Publicity.

In order to support the end activities, USP has an administrative infrastructure that includes a rectory, pro-

rectories, a university council, city halls of the university campi and central and service departments, besides

outsourced services, such as bank agencies, post offices, stationary shops, snack bars, collective

transportation, gas station and others are also present , to assist the needs of USP community.

More at: www.usp.br

FEA

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FEA - School of Economics, Business Administration and Accountancy

The School of Economics, Business Administration and Accountancy

of the University of São Paulo was founded in 1946, to offer a solid

technical-professional formation for its students, along with an

indispensable humanistic formation. FEA is constantly striving to offer

the student body an adequate curricular structure, capable of assuring

not only an efficient professional background, but also enabling the

student to deal with the challenges of a modern society, extremely

dynamic and unstable.

Structured in three departments, FEA is in the vanguard of education

on Economics, Business Administration and Accountancy. It is

recognized in both national and international environments, due to the

intense efforts of its professors, researchers and employees, as well

as to the high level of its students.

FEA has built, throughout the years, a solid tradition on teaching and research, graduating groups that not only

created the basis for an economic- driven school, but also shaped new policies for the country, implementing these

at the state and federal levels.

Since 1969, with the University Reform, the graduate courses of the School were structured in the Master of

Research and Ph.D. levels, representing a considerable stimulus to the improvement of the faculty, as well as of the

professionals and researchers interested in these areas of knowledge.

Nowadays, FEA has around 4000 students enrolled in graduate and post-graduate courses, and offers annually 620

openings in its graduate degree courses, distributed among the three Departments: Economics, Business

Administration, Accountancy and Actuarial Sciences.

Bachelor/Graduate Courses

Bachelor or Graduate programs are 4 year long.

Exchange students can apply for courses in any of the

three areas offered by FEA: Economics, Business, and

Accountancy, in morning and afternoon classes.

Evening courses are not available.

Although there is no an official table of conversion with

ECTS, exchange students are recommended to apply

for a minimum of 12 local credits per semester. Each

USP credit lasts 15 contact hours. Exchange students

should also check with their home institution whether

they are asked for a specific work load before applying

for courses.

Grading system ranges from 0,0 (zero) to 10 (ten)

where zero is the lowest grade and ten the highest

one. To pass a course, students must score from 5,0

(five) and above. Each professor has his/her own

evaluation criteria, usually involving tests and reports.

It is usually detailed in the first classes.

However, notice that grade is not the only requirement

to pass a course: a minimum attendance of classes is

mandatory. Students must attend at least 70% of

classes for each course they are enrolled in.

Exchange students are allowed to write reports and

answer exams in English or Spanish in FEA courses.


Portuguese language course

Exchange students coming to FEA-USP are not required a specific level of Portuguese language. However, for those who don't have a previous knowledge of this language, some Portuguese lessons are recommended, as it will be of great help. A Portuguese for Foreigners course is offered during the academic semester by USP Language Center.


Post-graduate courses

First of all, it is important to note that there are no

Master of Science courses in FEA-USP but only

Master of Research and Ph.D. (or Doctorate) courses.

To apply for post-graduate courses at FEA exchange

students must be enrolled at least in the second year

of a Master of Science (MSc), or preferably attending a

Master of Research or a Doctorate (Ph.D.) program in

their home institution. As explained above, our

Bachelor programs last 4 years and the Post-Graduate

programs are totally research-based. The professor in

charge of each course determines each enrollment.

He/she will analyze the academic background of the

student before giving a final decision.

Exchange students who are enrolled in the first year of

a Master of Science program in their home institution

are recommended to take 4th year graduate courses.

Each post-graduate course is 8 credits, considering

contact hours and research time. No more than 2

courses are recommended per semester because of

the high demand of reading and researching. A good

command of the Portuguese language is highly

desirable.

There are only four grades: A (excellent), B (good), C

(pass) and R (fail). And an attendance of at least 75%

of classes is also mandatory to pass a course.

Enrollment and grading system

Visa Information

Exchange students must ask for a temporary visa for studies at

the nearest Brazilian Consulate before coming. A tourist visa is

not valid for an exchange semester. Students without a

temporary visa for studies cannot be enrolled in any course,

and will earn no credits.

FEA-USP International Office will provide a letter of acceptance for visa purposes to all students accepted into the exchange program.

A complete list of the Brazilian consulates around the world can be found at www.mre.gov.br/Postos.htm. Brazilian

authorities of the students’ home country should be contacted in advance to be known which documents must be attached

to the visa application, besides the letter of acceptance. After receiving the visa students have 90 days to enter the

Brazilian territory; otherwise the visa will be no longer valid.


VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING VISA PROCEDURES

When applying for the temporary visa for studies at a Brazilian Consulate, students are required to fill

in the form "PEDIDO DE VISTO" (Visa Order).

Here come some tips to avoid future problems:

DO NOT abbreviate names.

Write them completely, with CAPITAL LETTERS. If you have three, five, as many names as you may have, write them all.

DO NOT scratch or erase any information

DO NOT add titles with the names (like Mr. Mrs. Prof. Dr.)

DO NOT write with different pens, even if you are told to do so

The Federal Police in Brazil will NOT ACCEPT the document by the time of your after-arrival

registration. Do not forget to bring the visa order with you

Foreign ID

(RNE – Registro Nacional de

Estrangeiro)

The foreign card application is mandatory to all foreigners who come to Brazil holding a VISA. The requested

documents are:

� Original Visa order expedited by a Brazilian Consulate (see the box above)

� Photocopies of all used pages of the passport notarized in a Brazilian public notary (provided in Brazilian

territory)

� 2 colored photos size 3 cm (wide) x 4 cm (tall): with white backdrop, looking towards the camera and not

smiling, both eyes must be visible (glasses should be see-through)

� Payment of two fees (last semester amounted to R$ 188,91) for the Immigration Department (provided in

Brazilian territory)

Obs.: The RNE number is required in order to get the students’ public transportation card (“Bilhete Único”) and to

open a banking account if necessary.

Accommodation On-campus accommodation is not available. However the International Office will provide the contact

information of agencies that are specialized in helping international students to find places to stay in São

Paulo, as well as a list of available rooms in family homes and students’ apartments. Students may also

choose to stay in a local hotel or hostel while they are searching for permanent housing. For their

convenience and information another list will be provided with all contact information.

Please note that São Paulo is not a cheap place to live. According to the 2008 The Economist magazine

ranking, São Paulo is the 25th most expensive city in the world considering cost of living and cost of

services. The students should keep it in mind when looking for accommodation for their exchange period.

Traditionally most exchange students prefer to live in the neighbourhoods of Pinheiros, Vila Madalena, and

Jardins. Nice and safe places, one-bus distant from the campus, and plenty of cultural and leisure activities,

day and night. The price of renting, however, may be expensive. In the neighbourhoods of USP campus

(Butantã and Rio Pequeno) cheaper places can be found but distance from downtown and safety issues

aren't the same.

Health Insurance All International Students must have health insurance while studying in Brazil, it is absolutely indispensable.

They may obtain it through an agency of their own.

C.I. – The International Club

The international students can count on the C.I. during their study program! The C.I. is a club of Brazilian students created to assist the international students during their stay in São

Paulo, promoting integration activities, cultural events and trips.

Join the C.I. group on face book: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18714076087.



information for exchange students - fea - usp · ibirapuera park (the second largest park of the...

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