Welcome to São Paulo
Understanding identity abroad is important—regardless of whether or not you think it will play a role in your own experience. While we strive to create and maintain programs that support students of all races, religions, abilities, gender identities, and sexual orientations, you also play a crucial role in creating a welcoming and supportive environment for your peers navigating aspects of their identit(ies) in a new country. The information and resources on this page serve as a starting point to help you understand experiences you or your CET classmates may encounter while abroad.
Cultural Climate
Race & Ethnicity
Brazil is often described as a “racial democracy,” a concept that suggests that the nation’s race relations developed to be tolerant and without conflict. However, this has proven to be a myth in practical day-to-day life over time. Although acts of discrimination based on race and color are considered crimes by national law, classism and colorism still exist within the population. White individuals often enjoy more opportunities and privileges, while those that are most affected by racism typically have lower incomes and live on the outskirts of the city. Additionally, Brazil is made more diverse by the refugee population that has doubled in the last four years. Students can reach out to on-site staff for suggestions of local organizations and community groups if interested.
LGBTQ+
Due to the huge geographic reach of the country, the LGBTQ+ climate in Brazil varies from place to place. São Paulo is generally friendly towards LGBTQ+ issues and individuals. The city boasts many LGBTQ+-friendly spaces, as well as the largest LGBTQ+ pride parade in the world. Same-sex marriage has been legal since 2013, and there are many groups and communities that students can join—including those at our host universities. Former CET Brazil students have reported feeling comfortable and respected regarding their sexual/gender identities in São Paulo, sometimes even more so than in their hometowns.
Gender
The city of São Paulo itself tends to be more liberal, progressive, and inclusive compared to other parts of Brazil. Issues of gender roles and equality have seen the passing of protective laws and wider overall acceptance. Issues related to gender diversity and gender neutral language are gradually gaining awareness, but are still largely limited to academic and progressive circles.
Religion
Brazil is rich with religious diversity, and students will encounter many different faiths while living in São Paulo. Brazil has more Roman Catholics than any other country in the world, though this number has been dropping in recent decades. At the same time, the percentage of Brazilians who belong to Protestant churches has been rising. Students wishing to maintain their religious practices while in São Paulo can reach out to on-site staff for more information.
Cost of Living
The cost of living in São Paulo is higher than that of other Brazilian cities and most of South America, but generally lower than that of larger US cities. Produce is affordable (particularly if purchased at farmers’ markets), and students can find lunch in their neighborhood for around 7 to 11 USD. As with any major city, your spending can vary widely depending on your own habits and lifestyle. Public transport costs around 1 USD per trip. Past students have mentioned that establishing and adhering to a budget at the beginning of the term was a strategy that helped manage any financial stress. Check out a budget sheet to get an idea of what life in São Paulo might look like financially.
Accommodations Abroad
CET makes every effort to offer accommodations comparable to those of your home institution. Disclosing early helps us to make proper preparations and work with you to determine if a program will be a good fit. We recommend that you use the following details to inform your decisions and conversations with your Student Services Coordinator.
ACCESS in ACADEMICS
CET Brazil: Social Justice
Day-to-Day
Students typically attend classes for 2 to 6 hours a day. On average, language classes have 4 to 8 students, CET electives can have up to 20 students per class, and direct-enroll electives at PUC-SP have 10 to 50 students per class on average. Direct-enroll courses may take place at times that are unusual and typically challenging for American students, such as 7am or 10pm.
Services available for students with documented need: Low-distraction test environment; extra time on exams; modified deadlines and seating; audio recordings of lectures; a computer to take exams; a mobility orientation to campus; permission for on-campus service animals; term syllabi/readings/assignments in advance. These accommodations may differ for direct-enroll courses at PUC-SP and will need to be negotiated with professors in advance.
Classrooms & Campus
The CET Center is a four-story building that houses on-site staff offices, classrooms, the student lounge, a library, a meeting room, and other common areas. It is not currently wheelchair accessible. The core course, language courses, and orientation are held here.
Many spaces on the PUC-SP campus are wheelchair accessible, except for the “Cardeal Mota” (Prédio Velho) building. Both PUC-SP and the CET Center are located in a hilly area which may present challenges for students with mobility issues. Students receive a transportation stipend to cover commute costs between their housing and PUC-SP.
Out-of-Class Activities
CET occasionally plans mandatory academic activities and optional trips to nearby sites and other cities after class and on weekends. Excursions may involve urban walking, rural hiking, use of public transportation, and/or going up and down stairs.
Itinerary modifications and accommodations can be made for students with documented need. Transportation can be arranged as necessary, and excused absences are provided for mandatory excursions that are inaccessible due to a disability.
CET Brazil: Socially Sustainable Business at FGV
Day-to-Day
Students typically attend classes for 2 to 6 hours a day. On average, language classes have 4 to 8 students, the core course has up to 10 students, and FGV classes vary widely but typically have 10 to 50 students.
Services available for students with documented need: Low-distraction test environment; extra time on exams; modified deadlines and seating; a computer to take exams; audio recordings of lectures; a mobility orientation to campus; permission for on-campus service animals; term syllabi/readings/assignments in advance. These accommodations may differ for direct-enroll courses at FGV (the host university) and will need to be negotiated with professors in advance.
Classrooms & Campus
The CET Center is a four-story building that houses on-site staff offices, classrooms, the student lounge, a library, a meeting room, and other common areas. It is unfortunately not currently wheelchair accessible. The core course, language courses, and orientation are held here. The CET Center is located in a hilly area which may present challenges for students with mobility issues. Fundação Getúlio Vargas (the host university) has ramps, elevators, and bathroom suites designed for those with mobility issues. Additionally, all elevators feature braille panels, and fire alarms have both visual and audible signaling.
Students receive a transportation stipend to cover commute costs between their housing and FGV.
Out-of-Class Activities
CET occasionally plans mandatory academic activities and optional trips to nearby sites and other cities after class and on weekends. Excursions may involve urban walking, rural hiking, use of public transportation, and/or going up and down stairs.
Itinerary modifications and accommodations can be made for students with documented need. Transportation can be arranged as necessary, and excused absences are provided for mandatory excursions that are inaccessible due to a disability.
CET Brazil: Direct-Enroll at USP
Day-to-Day
The average class hours per day differs for each student depending on how they choose to enroll in their USP classes. On average, the language courses have 4 to 8 students, CET electives have up to 20 students, and USP classes vary widely from 10 to 50 students. Courses at USP may take place at times that are unusual and typically challenging for American students, such as 7 am or 10 pm.
Academic accommodations for direct-enroll courses at USP will need to be negotiated with professors in advance, and host universities/individual professors may deny specific requests at their discretion.
Classrooms & Campus
The CET Center is a four-story building that houses on-site staff offices, classrooms, the student lounge, a library, a meeting room, and other common areas. It is unfortunately not currently wheelchair accessible. The CET electives, language courses, and orientation are held here. The CET Center is located in a hilly area which may present challenges for students with mobility issues. Direct-enroll classes are held at the Universidade de São Paulo (USP). The USP campus is quite large. Depending on their course selections, students may take classes in very different areas and buildings throughout campus, some of which may not be wheelchair accessible.
Students receive a transportation stipend to cover commute costs between their housing and USP.
Out-of-Class Activities
CET occasionally plans mandatory academic activities and optional trips to nearby sites and other cities after class and on weekends. Excursions may involve urban walking, rural hiking, use of public transportation, and/or going up and down stairs.
Itinerary modifications and accommodations can be made for students with documented need. Transportation can be arranged as necessary, and excused absences are provided for mandatory excursions that are inaccessible due to a disability.
CET Brazil: Summer Portuguese Immersion
Day-to-Day
Summer students typically attend classes for 3 to 6 hours a day. On average, language classes have 4 to 8 students. The content course, Contemporary Social Issues in Brazil, may have up to 15 students.
Services available for students with documented need: Low-distraction test environment; extra time on exams; modified deadlines and seating; audio recordings of lectures; a computer to take exams; a mobility orientation to campus; permission for on-campus service animals; term syllabi/readings/assignments in advance.
Classrooms & Campus
The CET Center is a four-story building that houses on-site staff offices, classrooms, the student lounge, a library, a meeting room, and other common areas. It is unfortunately not currently wheelchair accessible. Courses and orientation are held here. The CET Center is located in a hilly area which may present challenges for students with mobility issues. CET provides a transportation stipend to cover the commute from student housing to the CET Center, optional volunteering, and program activities.
Out-of-Class Activities
CET occasionally plans mandatory academic activities and optional trips to nearby sites and other cities after class and on weekends. Excursions may involve urban walking, rural hiking, use of public transportation, and/or going up and down stairs.
Itinerary modifications and accommodations can be made for students with documented need. Transportation can be arranged as necessary, and excused absences are provided for mandatory excursions that are inaccessible due to a disability.
ACCESS IN HOUSING
Your Home Abroad
Apartments can differ in layout and location. That said, everything students might need is within walking distance of the apartments—grocery stores, banks and ATMs, bakeries, restaurants, retail stores, etc. Occasionally, instances of more severe weather conditions can cause the apartment internet to cut out or be unstable. The apartments have elevators, however, building entrances and the surrounding sidewalks are not fully accessible for students with mobility needs. Students with mobility issues should notify their Student Services Coordinator in advance to evaluate suitable housing accommodations.
In general, students should expect public transportation to be part of their daily routine, particularly for commuting to classes, optional volunteering, and program activities. CET provides a transportation stipend that covers almost all the transportation costs. The following are the approximate commute times from student housing to class locations, though times may be shorter or longer depending on the building, traffic, and time of day.
All terms: The CET Center is 25–30 minutes away by bus.
Fall/spring only: For Social Justice students, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP) is 25–30 minutes away by bus. From the CET Center, PUC-SP is a 3–7 minute walk. For Business students, Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) is 25–30 minutes away by bus. For Direct-Enroll at USP students, Universidade de São Paulo is 45 minutes away by bus.
Housing Assignments
Students are typically assigned to apartments according to their housing preference form. Apartment configurations vary but can include mixed-gender and same-gender setups. Rooms within the apartment are same-gender. The form also includes questions to help accommodate the needs of gender diverse students.
Brazilian roommate arrangements can vary. Depending on the building and apartment configuration, a Brazilian roommate may be assigned a single bedroom in the same apartment unit, share a bedroom with a CET student, live elsewhere on the same floor, or live on a different floor.
Around São Paulo
São Paulo has one of the largest public transportatiaon networks in Latin America, which provides easy access to cultural attractions and other parts of the city. That said, hilly streets, missing curb cuts, and sometimes unleveled sidewalks can make the city challenging to navigate for those with mobility issues. Buses and metro stations are accessible for those who use mobility aids, and those with disabilities and/or reduced mobility are offered preferential service. Guide dogs are allowed on public transport, and metro staff are available to offer assistance. Public transport stations have tactile paving and elevators, but most intersections are not equipped with audible beaconing. The city’s transportation authority also offers free accessible bus services for those with physical disabilities and high-dependency needs. On-site staff can advise students and make recommendations for navigating the city.
"I received consistent support throughout the entire semester, including progress checks for our volunteering visits and housing accommodations. CET really did everything possible to make our transition into the country as stress-free and feasible as possible. I appreciated that aspect so much."
University of Pennsylvania | Spring student
Health & Diet
As a part of your program fee, you are enrolled in health insurance for the entire duration of your program. Learn more about insurance provider and how we operate programs with health and safety in mind.
Health & Medicine
It is highly recommended that students bring an entire term’s worth of any prescription medications they use regularly (in the original containers with a copy of the prescription). If a student needs to see a doctor or get a prescription while abroad, they can use the mobile app of the program’s health insurance provider to locate a medical provider and confirm coverage for payment. For emergencies and specialist services, students may need to pay out of pocket up front, and submit claims for reimbursement later. Basic medications like painkillers, allergy medicine, etc. can easily be found in local pharmacies.
Routine vaccines, including measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), Tdap, influenza, and COVID-19, should be up-to-date before travel. The risk of yellow fever is low in São Paulo, and CET program activities do not include travel to areas where transmission occurs. However, the vaccine is recommended for travelers who may visit other regions of Brazil or Latin America. Some mosquito-borne illnesses such as dengue and chikungunya are present in Brazil, but there is currently no active outbreak in São Paulo. Students should still take standard precautions, such as using insect repellent.
Keeping Fit in São Paulo
Life in São Paulo offers many opportunities to keep fit and healthy while abroad. Students can access the in-building gym, 24/7 and free of charge, at their residence. There are also a couple of gyms nearby with monthly plans for 23 to 26 USD. Students who wish to run or exercise outdoors may go to a nearby park, or to Minhocão—an elevated roadway that is closed to car traffic on weekends.
Depending on host university availability, students can also participate in some university sports clubs. These sports clubs are known as atléticas and are usually divided by field of study, e.g. International Relations, Law, Business. The clubs typically practice to compete in a championship with other institutions once a year. A fee to cover expenses, such as sports courts rental for the practices, may be charged and must be discussed directly with the atléticas members.
Managing Mental Health
On-site staff maintain a list of recommended English-speaking psychologists and psychiatrists. Contact information can be provided to students upon request. At the start of the term, CET commonly offers a session on “Coping with Mental Health While Abroad,” led by the one of the psychologists recommended for students.
Dietary Restrictions
Not all dietary options are traditional in the Brazilian diet, but restaurants that accommodate special dietary needs are becoming increasingly common in São Paulo. Vegetarian and vegan diets are generally not difficult to accommodate, with many restaurants, cafés, and snack bars offering suitable options. Specific diets, such as Hare Krishna or Kosher, can be more difficult to manage. Gluten-free, vegan, and other specialty products can be found throughout markets in the area. Students with stricter dietary requirements may consider cooking their own meals.
When traveling, such as on the Bahia or Paraty trips for semester students, all dietary restrictions may be more challenging to accommodate. Vegetarian options are relatively easy to find outside of São Paulo, while more specialized diets may require advance planning.
Resources from Alumni
Perspective pieces
These are alumni-written essays that reflect upon how their own identity affected their time abroad (both good and bad) and what it was like to navigate another culture in their position. We encourage you to read these to better understand what studying abroad in Brazil could be like for you or your future peers.
Are you a CET Brazil alumnus? Consider telling us about your time abroad.
- Being a Latinx Woman in Brazil: Navigating the Complexities of Race by Anonymous Contributor, CET Brazil: Social Justice | Spring 2023
For “Latinx Women/Black and Brown women who want to study in Brazil” - Studying Abroad in São Paulo, Brazil by Anonymous Contributor
CET Brazil: Social Justice | Spring 2018
BLOG Posts
This is a curated list of blog posts chosen specifically to provide context for life abroad. Posts here may cover culture shock, diversity, daily life and workload, etc. To see all posts from students in São Paulo, head to the Student Voices blog.
- Looking Deeper: Language, Paraty, and My Final Semester Abroad in Brazil
By Diego Alberto Felix-Trejo, University of Michigan | Spring 2026 - Reais & Realities: Budgeting while Studying Abroad in Brazil
By Reign Williams, Syracuse University | Fall 2025 - Money Talks, Keeping it Real, and Why CET and FGV are the Places to Be
By Ashton Brown, Howard University | Spring 2025 - Excerpts from a Living Dictionary: 10 Words and Expressions in Portuguese
By Martha Denton, University of Minnesota | Fall 2024 - In Defense of the Bus: 7 Reasons to Ride Public Transit While Studying Abroad in São Paulo
By Martha Denton, University of Minnesota | Fall 2024 - A Week Exploring Salvador da Bahia
By Anna Hobbins, Tulane University | Spring 2024 - Photo Essay: CET Brazil Social Justice
By Dominique Ziehl, Smith College | Fall 2023 - The Bells of Resistance – Occupation Mauá
By Angel Akinleye, Howard University | Spring 2023 - Mental Health & Study Abroad
By Maddie Ryan, Arizona State University | Fall 2022
Alumni Insight
In final evaluations, we ask students how their identities affected their experience abroad. The following are a few select quotes from recent program evaluations to help you understand what life in Brazil may be like for you or your future peers.
TALK TO ALUMNI
Chat with alumni about their experiences abroad. Once you start an application, your CET Compass account will give you access to the following resources:
- Alumni Support List: A directory of students who have volunteered to chat about their experiences abroad in Brazil.
- Identity Abroad Support Network: A group of students who have volunteered to discuss their identity-related experiences in Brazil. This is a volunteer-based program that started in 2019. Volunteers can also opt to have their contact information kept privately by CET staff and only shared when certain lived experiences are asked about.
Don’t see anyone listed for the Identity Abroad Support Network? Call CET for more information and resources. Consider joining after your program to support other minority students abroad.