University of São Paulo (USP) for international applicants: the 2027 FUVEST round

USP fills its undergraduate places mainly through the vestibular run by FUVEST: for the 2027 round, registration ran from 17/08/2026 to 09/10/2026 and has closed, the fee was R$ 228,00, and all the exams are held in Portuguese, and in Brazil.

The round offers 8.147 seats in USP undergraduate courses, according to the notice (Fuvest 2027 notice (Resolução CoG)) published in the state gazette. A reader applying from abroad meets one extra layer: studies completed abroad count only if they are officially recognised as equivalent to Brazilian secondary school.

USP Cidade Universitária

This page is a map of those rules. It follows the 2027 round because it is the latest one Fuvest has published. Sources: Fuvest Vestibular da USP, Fuvest 2027 notice (Resolução CoG) and the USP International Office.

For a full degree, the main way for degree-seeking applicants from all over the world is an entrance test, the vestibular, administered by FUVEST; PEC-G, exchange and transfer are separate routes.

The USP International Office describes the vestibular as the route open to applicants from any country. PEC-G is a cooperation programme between Brazil and countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, so it does not apply to most readers of this page. Exchange students need to be nominated by a professor or the international office of their home university and do not take a degree.

The vestibular is also the channel for the ICMC computing courses, where admission occurs through competitive examination (FUVEST and SISU). Sources: USP International Office, undergraduate and ICMC, how to apply.

The Vestibular FUVEST 2027 has two phases; candidates choose only one career and then list courses in order of preference.

The Fuvest page says candidates list at most 4 courses (music careers allow one). A foreign higher-education diploma has its own condition (see the certificates chapter).

Applicants who have not finished secondary school may sit the exam as treineiros: they can take the exam to test their knowledge, without competing for seats. Candidates who do compete can enrol only if they prove completion of secondary school, or equivalent, at pre-enrolment. Source: Fuvest 2027 notice (Resolução CoG).

Studies completed abroad count only if they are officially recognised as equivalent to Brazilian secondary school, and at pre-enrolment you present a certificate of equivalence issued by the Secretaria de Educação; a request protocol is not accepted.

The same notice lists what extra papers a candidate with studies abroad or foreign nationality must bring: a foreigner identity document proving temporary or permanent status and school documents. School documents in a foreign language need a sworn translation and the visa of the Brazilian consular authority in the country of origin, with two exceptions: documents apostilled under the Hague Apostille Convention of 5 October 1961 and documents from countries with international agreements with Brazil that say so.

A foreign higher-education diploma is treated separately: it counts only if revalidated by a Brazilian public university, and the same condition is repeated at pre-enrolment: accepted only with revalidation by a Brazilian public university. Source: Fuvest 2027 notice (Resolução CoG).

The notice does not set a separate rule for the IB Diploma, A-levels or AP: every certificate earned abroad falls under the same test, that the studies are officially recognised as equivalent to Brazilian secondary school.

In practice the document that matters is the equivalence certificate, because a request protocol is not accepted at pre-enrolment. This applies equally to candidates from the countries in the Atlas scope (Italy, France, Poland, Romania, Indonesia, Spain, Greece, Algeria, Japan, Egypt, Germany, the Netherlands, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Brazil itself).

Documents from a country that signed the Hague Apostille Convention follow the apostille exception; documents from other countries need the sworn translation and consular visa unless a treaty with Brazil covers them.

The exam itself is in Portuguese: day 1 of the second phase is a Portuguese and Essay test, and all the exams are held in Portuguese, and in Brazil.

A zero is dangerous: a candidate scoring zero in the essay (D1) is eliminated. The vestibular does not ask for a Portuguese certificate for degree applicants; the Celpe-Bras certificate appears only in the PEC-G route, where it is required for students from non-CPLP countries.

English is a school subject in the 1st phase: English (Inglês) is one of the secondary-school components covered by the general-knowledge test. No English-language certificate is listed for undergraduate degree applicants. For exchange students, USP does not ask for any result from official language tests, but at least B1 (CEFR) Portuguese is strongly recommended. Sources: Fuvest 2027 notice (Resolução CoG) and USP International Office.

The 1st phase is 80 questions, and candidates with less than 30% of the 1st-phase value are eliminated.

The 2nd phase has two discursive tests: day 1 is Portuguese and Essay and day 2 is specific components, 2 to 4 subjects, listed per career. Each of the 2 tests is worth 100 points and the essay is worth 50 points of day 1.

The notice describes no interview. Music, performing arts and visual arts add a specific-competence test (see the calendar). Source: Fuvest 2027 notice (Resolução CoG).

USP also runs an ENEM-based process: candidates also registered in ENEM-USP 2027 compete for the same courses in the same priority order as in the vestibular.

The ENEM is a Brazilian national exam, so it matters mainly to candidates who sit it in Brazil. The ICMC page lists FUVEST and SISU as the channels for its undergraduate courses. Sources: Fuvest 2027 notice (Resolução CoG) and ICMC, how to apply.

Every candidate is in the open pool: all registered candidates compete for Ampla Concorrência (AC) seats; the reserved EP and PPI seats are for Brazilian public-school graduates.

EP seats are for candidates who attended secondary school entirely in Brazilian public schools, and candidates who attended public secondary schools abroad, partly or fully, are excluded from the affirmative-action seats. A candidate with a foreign certificate therefore competes for the AC seats. Candidates must state the intention to compete for EP seats at registration. Source: Fuvest 2027 notice (Resolução CoG).

The 2027 notice lists these courses with their seats, for example 128 seats: 77 AC, 32 EP, 19 PPI in Medicina and 58 seats: 35 AC, 16 EP, 7 PPI in Ciência da Computação at IME.

Each course sits in a career; the list of subjects for day 2 depends on the career (Anexo III of the notice). AC means open competition, EP public-school seats and PPI seats for self-declared Black, brown and Indigenous candidates from Brazilian public schools. Law and economics also run evening classes. Source: Fuvest 2027 notice (Resolução CoG).

The notice gives seat counts, not cut-off scores: 8.147 seats overall for 2027, with the only published threshold being a 30% minimum on the 1st phase.

The pages Fuvest publishes for the 2027 round do not give candidates per seat. The largest course in the table is 171 seats: 103 AC, 43 EP, 25 PPI (Direito, evening), the smallest is 53 seats: 32 AC, 13 EP, 8 PPI (Engenharia de Computação, Poli). The 30% minimum is a gate; admitted candidates score above it, because places go by ranking (the classification score, NFC, weights the 1st phase and both 2nd-phase tests). Source: Fuvest 2027 notice (Resolução CoG).

Registration for the 2027 round ran 12h on 17/08/2026 to 12h on 09/10/2026 and has closed; the 1st phase is on 1 November and the first call is on 26 January 2027.

Fuvest adjusted the calendar to avoid overlap with ENEM 2026. The calendar page covers the 2027 round only, so a reader planning for a later intake has to wait for the next notice and its own calendar.

Sources: Fuvest calendar and Guia de Jornada.

Registration is online only: only on the FUVEST site, www.fuvest.br, and the fee must be paid by the deadline given in the Guide.

• Create the registration at fuvest.br during the window (17/08/2026 to 09/10/2026 for the 2027 round).
• Choose one career and then list your courses (at most 4) in order of preference.
• Tick the affirmative-action options only if you qualify; the intention must be stated at registration.
• Pay R$ 228,00 by the date in the Guide, unless you obtained an exemption or reduction.

Exams are held at venues in the State of São Paulo and in Fortaleza (CE), so an applicant abroad travels to Brazil for the exam. Source: Guia de Jornada.

The standard document is a certificate or diploma of secondary school, or equivalent, plus the school transcript, and foreign candidates add the papers below.

Candidates with studies abroad or foreign nationality must present extra documents: the foreigner identity document (CRNM, CIE or a valid passport), the equivalence certificate and the school documents with sworn translation and consular visa (unless apostilled or covered by a treaty).

The notice lets the university ask for proof of eligibility at any time of the process. Source: Fuvest 2027 notice (Resolução CoG).

The only cost the vestibular notice states is the registration fee: R$ 228,00.

A fee exemption or reduction can be requested (11 May to 10 July 2026 for the 2027 round). The official pages read for this page state no tuition amount for degree students. For exchange students, USP is a state public institution that receives exchange students at no cost, but USP does not provide accommodation for exchange students. Sources: Fuvest and ICMC, how to apply.

PEC-G is for citizens of partner developing countries: aged between 18 and 25 with a High School diploma or equivalent.

Selection starts abroad: a pre-selection is carried out by the Brazilian Embassy in the home country. Students from non-CPLP countries need Celpe-Bras. After selection the documents go to the USP International Office two weeks before the beginning of the semester, duly sealed and recognized by the Brazilian Embassy, with a Temporary Student Visa (Type IV). Source: USP International Office, PEC-G.

Exchange students must be nominated by a professor or the international office of their home university.

Online registration runs 1 August to 15 October for the February-June semester and 1 March to 5 May for the August-December semester. Exchange is separate from the degree route and gives credits, not a USP degree. Sources: USP International Office and ICMC, how to apply.

The 2027 round has closed, so the useful steps now are to prepare the equivalence certificate and watch the next Fuvest notice.

• Start the equivalence certificate from the Secretaria de Educação early, because a request protocol is not accepted.
• Prepare sworn translation and consular visa for foreign-language documents, or the apostille where it applies.
• Plan Portuguese: day 1 is a Portuguese and Essay test.

Official starting point: Fuvest Vestibular da USP.

Official pages of University of São Paulo, UCAS, gov.uk and the ranking publishers. Applicant reports, where shown, are self-reported and labelled.

https://www.fuvest.br/vestibular-da-usp/ · https://www.fuvest.br/fuvest-2027-guia-de-jornada-do-vestibular-2027-da-fuvest-orienta-candidatos-em-todas-as-etapas-do-processo-seletivo/ · https://www.fuvest.br/fuvest-2027-fuvest-divulga-cronograma-completo-do-vestibular-2027/ · https://www.fuvest.br/wp-content/uploads/fuvest2027-resolucao-DOE.pdf · https://internationaloffice.usp.br/new/en/incoming/undergraduate-student/ · https://internationaloffice.usp.br/en/index.php/admissions/degree-seeking-students/regular-undergraduat/pec-g/ · https://www.icmc.usp.br/en/admission/undergraduate/how-to-apply

Photos: USP Cidade Universitária campus in São Paulo: photo Hector.carvalho, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons · USP Cidade Universitária: photo rvcroffi, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons