Study Abroad in Brazil: A Pilot Project in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech

In 2007, a study abroad project funded under the Funds for Improvement of PostSecondary Education (FIPSE) program (US-Brazil Program) of the Department of Education began at Virginia Tech. This is the first such project for engineering students at this university. Faculty members from four departments (Engineering Education (EngE); Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE); Civil and Environmental (CEE); and Materials Science and Engineering (MSE)) participated in this project. Project investigators collaborated with investigators from two U.S. universities and three Brazilian universities and developed a student exchange program. Seven students have studied in Brazil for at least one semester and the project expires in 2012. This paper discusses: (i) key strategies for recruiting students to the study abroad program, (ii) issues involved in developing Memorandums of Understanding and Student Exchange Agreements between Virginia Tech and Brazilian universities, (iii) Portuguese language training and course transfer issues from Brazilian universities, (iv) experiences of students, and (v) an “International Engineering Certificate” which is under development for undergraduate students in the College of Engineering.