Regular international student

Guidelines for Regular Student Admission

A Regular Student is one enrolled in the Master’s, Doctorate, or Direct Doctorate (PhD without a Master’s degree) program at IFUSP. If that’s your case, please read all the information below as well as the Admission Notice.

• Doctorate applicants who completed their Master’s degree abroad must read Item 6 carefully.
• Candidates interested in the Ethnic-Racial Affirmative Action Policy should pay special attention to Item 7.

1. Number of Openings

There is no fixed number of openings. All candidates who meet the admission requirements will be accepted into the program.

2. Eligibility

Individuals who hold an undergraduate degree or are enrolled in the final semester of an undergraduate program are eligible to apply.

3. Admission Exams

To apply for the graduate programs in Physics at IFUSP, candidates must take one of the following exams:

• Unified Exam for Graduate Programs in Physics (EUF): detailed information is available on the EUF platform;
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Subject Test – Physics: registration information is available on the ETS platform.

All details regarding the use of these exams — including which scores may be used and the cutoff scores for each program (Master’s, Ph.D., or Direct Ph.D.) — are specified in the Admission Notice.

4. Application Procedure

In addition to taking the EUF or GRE, candidates must complete the online Application Form, within the period published in the Graduate Studies Calendar. All candidates must complete this application even if the exam results have not yet been officially released.

5. Scholarships

Each semester, new and current students may apply for scholarships granted by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). Scholarship ranking is based on:

• The admission exam score (EUF or GRE);
• An evaluation by the Graduate Committee based on the academic transcript, CV, and other information provided in the application form.

6. Recognition of Master’s Degrees Earned Abroad

Ph.D. applicants who obtained their Master’s degree outside Brazil must request degree recognition (equivalence), preferably before the application period. They must complete the Master’s Degree Equivalence Request Form and send it as a PDF to alunospgif@usp.br for evaluation.

7. Affirmative Action Policy for Scholarship Classification

Black, Brown, and Indigenous (PPI) candidates who are approved may have the adjustment factor (multiplier) F = 1.10 applied to their final score.

PPI candidates interested in applying the adjustment factor must explicitly indicate their agreement in the Application Form and attach the Ethnic-Racial Self-Declaration according to the provided model.

All candidates are invited to complete a social information questionnaire. This questionnaire serves exclusively to collect demographic data on IFUSP’s graduate student body. Responses will be kept confidential and will not affect evaluation results. Completing the questionnaire does not imply participation in the affirmative action policy, nor does it replace the self-declaration or indicate interest in applying the adjustment factor.

8. Required Documents

Applicants must upload the following documents in the online application form:

• Undergraduate Transcript (updated).

• Graduate Transcript (updated, if applicable).

• Curriculum vitae (preferably the Lattes CV).

• Undergraduate Diploma; or Certificate of Completion (if diploma is being issued); or Declaration of expected completion (for those who have not yet graduated).

• Graduate Diploma; or Certificate of Completion (if diploma is being issued); or Declaration of expected completion (for those who have not yet completed the program).

• Identification Document: RG (driver’s license not accepted) for Brazilians, and Passport/RNE for foreign applicants.

• Indication of EUF edition: the IFUSP graduate program will accept scores from up to 4 previous EUF editions. Exceptionally, this period may be extended to 8 editions in total. In this case, a justification letter for using an older edition must be submitted, and the Graduate Committee will evaluate the request.

• Indication of GRE edition: candidates who wish to use the GRE must select the exam edition whose validity is defined by ETS. In this case, candidates must select the most recent EUF edition and indicate in the “Other relevant information” field that they took the GRE. The score must then be emailed to alunospgif@usp.br.

• Letter of Motivation: written by the applicant, describing how their personal background led them to pursue graduate studies in Physics; how their experience and education have provided the foundation to conduct research in this field; and other relevant information for evaluating their research potential. The applicant may also highlight their main skills, academic achievements, goals regarding graduate studies, and interest in the program. The statement must be written in Portuguese, Spanish, or English (maximum of 4000 characters).

• Advisor Acceptance Letter: mandatory only for Direct Ph.D. applicants. Master’s and Ph.D. applicants do not need an advisor at the time of application but may be required to indicate one at enrollment.

• Research Proposal signed by the advisor and the applicant: optional for Master’s and Ph.D. applicants, but mandatory for Direct Ph.D. applicants. If no proposal is submitted, Direct Ph.D. applicants must attach a previously developed and approved research project equivalent to a Master’s dissertation.

• Letter of Recommendation: candidates must provide the name and institutional email address of at least two referees (professors or researchers) who will receive instructions to complete an online recommendation form.

Aditional Information

For details on Enrollment (Matrícula), please consult the Admission Calendar and the Graduate Student Survival Guide.

If you have any questions, please contact us at alunospgif@usp.br.