ESCOLA POLITÉCNICA

FORMANDO ENGENHEIROS E LÍDERES

Academic Information

Semesters or Quarterly Period

Students from Higher Education Institutions all over the world, have available a large number of agreements, as well as departments/ faculties and academic programs ready to receive them. Thus a period of study at Escola Politécnica is a unique opportunity for international students to develop a global network of peers and alumni. The Escola Politécnica seeks to attract the best international students, selecting them into the programs based on their excellence.

Semesters or Four-Month Period

The First semester: begins in February/March; and ends in June (holidays in July).
The Second semester: begins in August; and ends in December (holidays in January).
The Four-Month Based Courses: starts in January to April / May to August / September to December.

Grading System and Course Attendance

Grading System: grades are given on a scale of 0 (zero) to 10 (ten), the passing grade is 5 (five). The mark of 7 (seven) is considered a good score and one of the highest. Grades are absolute and not comparative. A transcript of records will be sent free of charge to the partner university’s exchange coordinator at the end of the study period. It is mandatory to attend at least 70% of the classes to be approved in each course.

Credit Conversion 

According to Article 65 of USP’s General Regiment and Resolution CoG 3895/91, we have:

1 class credit = 15 hours in class with a Professor
1 work credit = 30 hours of academic activities outside the classroom.
The foreign Higher Education Institution (HEI) shall make the appropriate conversion.

 

 

 

Language Requirements

Language Requirements: the language of instruction at EPUSP is Portuguese. The Portuguese Language Proficiency Certificate is not mandatory. It is a requirement that all exchange students must have a basic level of Portuguese.

Portuguese Language Course: it is open for all foreign students at the Language Center of the Faculty of Philosophy Letters and Humanities of USP. A placement test, upon arrival, is a requirement for defining your level and the courses that you will be taking. For further information please visit http://fflch.usp.br/ or send a message to portcl@usp.br. There are opportunities for Online Portuguese Courses which will be announced to the students nominated to the exchange programs.

Before coming to Brazil, we encourage you to access “Viva USP!” to learn more about Brazilian Culture and the Portuguese Language for free: https://conteudo.pecege.com/viva-usp-en 

Student Visa

Student Visa (Temporary Type IV) is compulsory to be registered at Poli.

This Visa has to be requested by the student, while still in their home country, from the Brazilian Diplomatic Representation (http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/)

Health Insurance

Proof of health insurance valid for the entire period of the exchange program is compulsory and must be acquired at the student’s own expense before leaving their home country.

Accommodation

POLI does not guarantee foreign students any sort of accommodation. Before arriving in São Paulo, please contact students from iPoli Team – www.ipoli.com.br through the e-mail: contato@ipoli.com.br they will advise you about accommodations, the Orientation Week, and academic life.

Enrollment Registration at Poli

Registration at Poli

Enrollment/Registration: to officially enroll at POLI, you need to show your Student Visa Type IV and proof of health insurance valid for the whole exchange period. Then we will give (if available) your USP and BUSP Cards. The enrollment procedure needs to be done after your arrival.

Registration in Courses and Certificate of Registration

The Undergraduate Office secao.alunos.poli@usp.br is responsible to register the students in the courses and issue the Certificate of Registration and the Transcript of Records.

Studying at Poli

Course Schedule

 The program schedule for upcoming semesters will be published only a few months before the semester starts. If you want to know which courses are held, you can also check the program schedules of past semesters. The offer of the courses is different in Summer Semesters (February/March to June) and Winter Semesters (August to December), but normally from year to year the general offer of the courses will not change much.

Poli Registration and approval rules

Grades may range from a scale of zero to ten, and these numbers may be rounded to the nearest tenth (Rules and Regulations, article 83):

The student whose final grade is five or higher, and whose attendance is seventy percent or higher, shall earn the applicable credits (Rules and Regulations, Article 84).

One ‘In class’ credit corresponds to 15 hours in a given semester, while one ‘Workload’ credit corresponds to 30 hours.

The transcript of academic records is in full, showing failures and/or interruptions of study

If the student is registered in a course that he decides not to attend, the student must require the cancellation of this registration at the beginning of the semester. If the student doesn’t do it as so, the course will appear on the transcript as a failure.

Exams

Exams at POLI are normally held between lecture periods. Your professor will communicate the exact time and date of each exam. The professor also decides whether the exam is held orally or written. Normally, every exam is held both in the Winter Semesters and in the Summer Semesters.

Computers

There are free-to-use computer rooms in the Biênio building (“salas pró-aluno”) with free (but quota-limited) printing services. They also offer free WLAN (via eduroam) in most university areas. 

Cafeteria (Bandeijão)

You can find a large number of “bandejões” (Bandejão: very affordable restaurants – only R$ 2,00) as well as other cafeterias and restaurants around Campus, which offer a large variety of affordable meals for students. In the “Bandejão” you can pay for your meal with money charged to your USP Card. For the other restaurants, you’ll have to pay in cash or with an international credit card.

Conversion – Poli credits 

Please check the links below:

https://www.poli.usp.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Conversion-Poli-Credits.pdf

https://www.poli.usp.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/POLI-USP-English_2018-1.pdf

USP Pocket Guide

https://internationaloffice.usp.br/wp-content/uploads/butanta-mini_guia.pdf

USP Campus Guide

Please check the link below:

https://internationaloffice.usp.br/en/wp-content/uploads/ebutanta.pdf