Brazil has many world-ranked universities and is home to some of the best educational institutes in South America. Despite being a developing country, Brazil is a global player in education, making it an exciting choice for study abroad in South America.

Choosing to study abroad in Brazil is an opportunity for international students to deepen their understanding of Latin American studies, and of course Portuguese. As a developing nation, there are also ample opportunities for students to delve into subjects such as development studies, international business, law, and humanities. With severe social inequality, Brazil is known for its sprawling favelas, where extreme poverty and crime are rife. In this context, economics and political studies are especially relevant. As well as good course options, health and medicine students can often find volunteering opportunities to complement their studies in local communities in need of aid.

Brazilian universities typically have day and night schedules for students to choose from. Morning classes usually run from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. and evening classes from 6 to 10 p.m. If you choose the morning schedule, your day might go like this: wake up at 6 a.m., eat a quick breakfast, hop on the bus to school (usually two reais), go to your three classes that morning, come home for a big lunch (as lunch is the biggest meal of the day in a Brazilian household), and then the rest of the day is yours. The evening course schedule is obviously better for late sleepers who are studying in Brazil!

The best universities are the public universities in Brazil, and private universities have a bit of a lower reputation; this is because admission to public universities rests solely on an intensely difficult admission test, so those who can’t pass the test pay tuition at a private university.