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Brazil: Semester Exchange Programs

Juiz de Fora & Brasília, Brazil

Schedule

Students participating in the Brazil Exchange program may choose to participate during either the ACM fall semester or the ACM spring semester.

  • ACM Fall semester: August through mid-December
  • ACM Spring semester: Mid-February through mid-July

For the first two weeks after arrival, students will take a non-credit, intensive Portuguese language course.  For those students participating in the ACM spring semester, a structured "Portuguese for Foreigners" course will be offered at the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF).  For those students participating in the ACM fall semester, alternate language options will be arranged, which may involve a structured course or tutoring.

Following the intensive Portuguese instruction, students will then enroll in classes at either the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF) or the Universidade de Brasília (UnB).  Unlike in the United States, the academic year in Brazil follows the calendar year, with the first semester of the academic year typically running from March-July and the second semester running from August-December.

Brazil: Semester Exchange Programs

Eve Aguilar I had always wanted to learn Portuguese, but my college wasn't offering any Portuguese classes at the time. I discovered the Brazil Exchange program and found it attractive because everything would be taught in Portuguese, and I would be with all Brazilian students. When I arrived in Brazil, I knew less than ten words in Portuguese. Luckily, I caught on quickly and after about two months, I was completely conversational; after six months, I was fluent. Juiz de Fora had few tourists, so I was a total celebrity! I was known as Ivi (pronounced Evie), the American, all over town. I can't imagine a better place to spend a semester or a better way to learn Portuguese.

—Eve Aguilar, Brazil Exchange, Spring 2008

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