Texas Tech University

BSMP@TTU Program Background

The Brazil Scientific Mobility Program (formerly Science without Borders program) is a shared effort sponsored by both the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). These two ministries coordinate the program through their respective funding agencies, i.e. the Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education of Brazil (CAPES) and the National Council for Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq). The program is managed in the U.S. by the Institute of International Education (IIE) and Latin American Scholarship Program of American Universities (LASPAU) and its main goals are to:


  1. Stimulate the consolidation and growth of science, technology and innovation in Brazil through international exchange and mobility of undergraduate and graduate students, post-docs, and scientists from overseas institutions of excellence;
  2. Increase the presence of Brazilian scientists and technical personnel from the technological industries;
  3. Encourage young talents and highly qualified researchers from overseas to come to Brazil to work on strategic problems of science, technology and innovation as well as in training staff of importance to the country;
  4. Contribute to the internationalization of universities and research centers in Brazil by promoting the setting up of international partnership.

The program was launched by the Brazilian government in July 2011 making available 101,000 scholarships for undergraduate study, PhD sandwich, full-time PhDs, post-doc, senior and visiting researchers/scholars abroad by 2015. Opportunities for individuals from abroad to carry on research in Brazil are also available in the framework of the program.