Why Brazil: Business?
As a student at CET Brazil: Business in São Paulo at Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), you get a world-class business education with an emphasis on social sustainability. Take direct-enroll classes alongside Brazilian undergraduates at FGV, a core course that applies a lens of careful ethics and social issues towards business practices, and even go on a Traveling Seminar to witness responsible business models in action.
Academics
Semester
Snapshot
- Recommended Credits: 15-18
- Portuguese language class for all levels
- Direct-enroll courses in English and Portuguese
- Traveling Seminar to Salvador da Bahia
- Out-of-class learning & assignments
- Host University: Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV)
Curriculum & Syllabi
You take one core course, a Portuguese language class, and direct-enroll electives to meet the total 15 to 18 recommended credits.
You take this 3-credit core course, taught in English exclusively for CET students:
You are placed into one of these 3-credit courses:
- SP/LANG 100 Beginning Portuguese
- SP/LANG 150 Portuguese for Spanish Speakers
- SP/LANG 200 Intermediate Portuguese I
- SP/LANG 250 Intermediate Portuguese II
- SP/LANG 300 Advanced Portuguese I
These are elective courses taught at Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV). These direct-enroll classes offer the opportunity to learn alongside Brazilian undergraduates and learn as local students do.
Classes are 2 to 4 credits each, and are taught in either English or Portuguese. To take a Portuguese-taught direct-enroll course, you are required to take FGV’s language placement test to determine eligibility. You add electives to meet the total 15 to 18 recommended credits.
CET converts final grades from FGV to US letter grade equivalents.
Mindful Business Methods
Your core course, Socially Sustainable Business in Brazil, uses the country’s environmental and social diversity as a case study for exploring sustainability in three distinct realms: financial, environmental, and supply chain management. Visit local companies to understand how different industries approach corporate social responsibility. See how businesses can be profitable, sustainable, and ethical. Explore how entrepreneurship plays a role in community development. By the end of the term, you leave São Paulo with a sharpened business acumen attuned to responsible best practices.
Traveling Seminar to Salvador da Bahia
Day 2: Visit Dendê Valley, a local start-up accelerator that prioritizes marginalized entrepreneurs, and helps their business plans to be more competitive in the marketplace.
Day 3: Attend a lecture on Afro-Brazilian entrepreneurship in the region.
Day 4: See the Folkloric Ballet of Salvador at the Miguel Santana Theatre.
Day 5: Visit Steve Biko, an organization dedicated to providing resources and educating Afro-Brazilian teens that want to to pursue a college degree.
Day 6: Board a schooner to island hop while enjoying live music.
Day 8: Fly back to São Paulo.
Fundação Getúlio Vargas
The program is hosted by Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), an internationally renowned private university known for its excellence in business education. With triple international accreditation (including AACSB International, the same accreditation system that US business schools use) and its institutes and study centers, FGV plays a leading role in Brazilian economic dynamics, indexes, and publications. Campus is right by Paulista Avenue, a major business center and hub within Latin America—making it easily accessible via public transport and filled with plenty to do.
"The class content alongside the field-based experiences have made me think beyond what I read in articles. Discussing issues in class while seeing them first hand in the city make me think about what is going on in Brazil. I find myself questioning things often and thinking critically about my observations."
Housing & Meals
COVID Modifications
Because of precautions CET is taking related to COVID-19, your housing experience will look different from standard programming. Please see the COVID playbook page for more information.
- Apartment
- Off-campus housing
- Live with CET peers & local roommates
- 4-6 people/apartment
- 1-2 people/room
- Fully equipped kitchen, living room, shared bathroom per 2-3 students, in-unit washer
- Wifi, A/C, linens, towels, basic furnishing, kitchenware, TV
Share an apartment with CET peers and local Brazilian students. Apartments are a 30-minute bus ride from campus, and walking distance of the CET Center. Your housing is equipped with all the basics for daily life, and your neighborhood, Perdizes, has everything else you could need: a farmers’ market, several grocery stores, restaurants, gyms, running and biking trails.
Local Roommates
Sharing an apartment with a local university student can teach you everything you need to know about Brazilian college life. Where to get the best coxinha (chicken croquette). Which weekend festivals not to miss. The best spot to relax after a big exam. Some roommates even invite CET students back to their home for dinner or a weekend away, giving them a glimpse of Brazilian family life, too. It’s no wonder students often tell us that their roommate is “one of the best parts of the program.”
Eating in São Paulo
For meals, take advantage of the city’s huge and vibrant food scene… and try all the local specialties. Brigadeiro (condensed milk-based chocolate truffle), anyone? Feeling like a home-cooked meal? Grab ingredients at the farmers’ market down the street and have a night in with your roommates at home.
Life in São Paulo
- Known locally as: São Paulo
- Population: 12.18 million
- Local Currency: Brazilian Real
- Famous for: Diversity, international food scene, Liberdade, business opportunities, fewer tourists, good public transportation
São Paulo is a diverse and vibrant city, filled with things to do and people to do them with. Go to a weekend festival. Learn to make feijoada (black bean and meat stew). Find your favorite café in Perdizes, the neighborhood you’ll call home for the term. Hang out with friends at a boteco (corner bar). Shop at a craft fair in Liberdade, home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan.
Activities & Excursions
Around São Paulo
Each term, the program offers different extra-curricular activities that allow you to explore São Paulo and Brazilian culture. Head to Embu das Artes, a nearby town that comes alive on the weekends with artisan markets, food stands, and street music. Go on a guided walk through the city’s historical center. And there’s even more to see on your own—take a road trip to the beach, see a soccer game with friends, or get food in Vila Madalena with your roommates.
Away From the City
"Some of my fondest memories of the semester are simply hanging out with my roommates just exchanging words, cracking jokes, and laughing at each other. If you truly want cultural immersion, this is the right program for you - the Brazilian roommates will make sure you meet more locals, eat local foods, see unknown sights, and master the language."
Johns Hopkins University | Spring student
On-site Staff
Súlia Folli
Resident Director
Program Fees
Fall/Spring
|
$19,990
Fall/Spring: $19,990
Of the total program fee, $17,590 goes to tuition and fees, and $2,400 goes to housing and other student life costs.
All of your classes and program-related learning are included with your tuition.
We take you to Salvador da Bahia for a Traveling Seminar. Just bring a camera and your intellectual curiosity.
We arrange for you to live in an apartment with CET peers and a local roommate from FGV. Your program fees go toward rent, furnishing, and other management costs.
From pre-departure to orientation, from on site to re-entry, CET provides you with the support you need every step of the way.
You’re provided with a comprehensive insurance plan through GeoBlue that even includes medical evacuation coverage.
The activities and excursions that we arrange are included in your program fee. All you need to do is get on the bus.
Your textbooks and course supplies are covered and waiting for you on site.
At the end of the term, you can view your grade report in your online CET account. Your official transcripts are issued by the University of Minnesota and FGV, and are sent directly to your home institution.
Estimated
Out-of-Pocket
Costs
- Round-trip Airfare: $750 - $1,300
- Meals: $2,200 - $2,350
- Personal Expenses: $1,900 - $2,050
- Housing Deposit: $100
- Must be 18 or older at the time of program participation.
- Open to students from any US college or university
- GPA: 3.0 or higher preferred, but admissions decisions are made on a case-by-case basis; lower GPAs still encouraged to apply
- Open to all levels of Portuguese language speakers
Complete the application through your online CET account. This is a brief form that asks for basic information and has a few short answer questions about why you want to study abroad.
Use the link in your online account to send a recommendation request to one of your previous instructors.
This is an online form that your study abroad office completes to let us know you meet the requirements to study abroad. To send the electronic form request, simply enter the name and email address of your study abroad advisor in the designated fields of your online account.
Your online CET account has specific instructions for submitting an official transcript.
Fall deadline:
April 1st
Spring deadline:
October 1st
Price Subject to Change:
CET reserves the right to increase quoted charges at any time without prior notification, based on increased instruction costs, exchange rate fluctuation or other cost increases beyond CET’s control.
Have a question? Get in touch!
Melanie MacKenzie
Senior Student Services Coordinator
Advises on CET programs in Brazil, Colombia, Japan, and Jordan.
202.846.7662
[email protected]