Highlights

• Tour Brazilian institutions, creative studios, and universities known for their technology and innovation in sustainability, Biodesign, metaverse, accessibility, and transportation.
• Explore the modern architecture in Brasilia, a UNESCO World Heritage city.
• Join a hands-on workshop at PUC-RIO University to learn how design projects address local social and sustainable issues and tour the university's Biodesign Lab.
• Participate in excursions to iconic cultural landmarks, including the Christ the Redeemer statue, one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.
• Experience local culture by living in a homestay with a family in Brasilia for one week.

While in Brazil, you'll spend the first week in Rio de Janeiro, enjoying its summer-like weather, visiting iconic cultural landmarks, and touring remarkable Brazilian institutions, creative studios, and universities known for their technology and innovation. You'll spend your second week in the city of Brasilia, a UNESCO World Heritage city renowned for its landmark contribution to the history of town planning. You'll immerse yourself in modern architecture and explore Athos Bulcao's graphic modular work applied to buildings and facades. While in Brasilia, you'll have the opportunity to work directly with a former co-worker of the renowned Oscar Niemeyer. Throughout your time in Brazil, you'll document your experiences through daily journaling, which will culminate in creating a physical or digital artifact inspired by a Brazilian artist, landmark, or cultural aspect.

You will stay in a shared hotel room for the first week in Rio de Janeiro and then with a homestay family in Brasilia for the second week.

Program Details

• Term: Spring course/summer travel
• Location: Brazil (Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia)
• Faculty-director: Lara Cardoso Goulart (lcfaa@rit.edu)
• Application Deadline: Sunday, October 20^th, 2024 by 11:59PM

• Program/Travel Dates:
  • Date of U.S. Departure: 5/10/25
  • Date of In-Country Arrival: 5/11/25
  • Date of Host Country Departure: 5/26/25

(Travel dates are subject to change. Do not make travel plans until you are accepted to the program and receive instructions to make travel arrangements from the faculty director).

Note: You will travel independently to/from your program location and be responsible for booking your flights. Once all students are confirmed for the program, the faculty director(s) will let you know more details about the flights and when to book them.

 Course Details

Course:

• IDEA 590 Travel Seminar: Topics (undergrad)
• IDEA 690 Travel Seminar: Topics (grad)

• Total Credits: 3 (Must complete Rochester campus AND travel portion)
• Term credits earned: Spring: Students will receive an incomplete grade until the travel portion is successfully completed
• Pre-requisites: None
• Course meeting days/times: Tailored based on student availability
• Credits may count towards major elective or free elective. Applicants should discuss with their academic advisor how credits will count towards their degree program.
• Program open to graduate students: Yes

 Class Registration & Grading

• You will receive letter grades for the course(s), which will count toward your GPA.
• You will not register yourself for the study abroad course(s) in SIS. You will be registered by an advisor in CAD before the start of the program.
• You will receive an incomplete grade in SIS until the travel portion is successfully completed.
• Please note that you cannot audit study abroad courses.
• Please note that the overseas portion of the course takes place in the first few weeks of the summer term. Students will receive an Incomplete at the end of spring term until the successful completion of the overseas portion and required reflection activities are completed. This means that if you are planning to graduate in May 2025, your certification for graduation could be delayed until the end of summer.

Special Considerations

 Please note that this program includes:

• A significant amount of traveling in the city. The landmarks and transportation are accessible for wheelchair users or people with mobility disability. If there is any location on our itinerary that is inaccessible to a student, we will provide an alternative plan that offers a similar experience without compromising the learning outcomes.
• For transportation, there will be public buses or private vans that are accessible.
• Due to the climate in Brazil, there will be exposure to mosquito bites, a potential allergen.
• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the Yellow Fever vaccination to all travelers in the cities we are visiting in Brazil. Please consult your health care provider about vaccines.

If you are concerned about these program components, please contact the faculty director and/or the RIT Education Abroad office. We will make efforts to accommodate or identify alternative plans.

Program Eligibility

• 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, Grad Year Levels
• Must meet all study abroad eligibility requirements outlined below:

Study Abroad Eligibility

All RIT students who study abroad must:

• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher (students with lower than a 2.5 GPA would be considered on a case-by-case basis)
• Have a clear conduct record with RIT
• Have no financial holds on your RIT eServices account at the time of your program acceptance/confirmation
• Be an RIT matriculated student at the time of the program
• Have a valid passport at the time of travel that is valid at least 6 months beyond the dates of your travel
• Be able to obtain any necessary visa documents on your own

To Apply

1. Watch the short video below to understand all the application steps and important information.
2. Use the Faculty-Led Study Abroad Program Checklist to make sure you are completing all the application steps
3. Start an application by clicking the "Apply" button for the appropriate term below.

You should have a pending application in the Compass at the time of the deadline to be considered for acceptance into the program. A couple of weeks after the application deadline, you will receive an email regarding your acceptance. You will typically have one week from the time of your acceptance to confirm (or withdraw) your participation in the program. By confirming your participation, you are signing a legal document agreeing to be billed and pay a non-refundable deposit and program fees.

Before confirming your participation, read RIT’s cancellation/refund policy for studying abroad to understand your financial obligations and responsibilities fully.

Program Cost & Financial Aid
Most study abroad programs typically charge tuition, a program fee to cover housing and program excursions, and out-of-pocket expenses such as your flight, food, and spending money.

Student budget worksheet (outlines all program costs) – Technology, Design & Architecture in Brazil, Spring/Summer 2025

As you review the budget worksheet, please remember that it does not include your RIT financial aid or scholarships, which may cover some of the program costs. The purpose of the budget worksheet is to show all the costs associated with your study abroad program, which will help your RIT Financial Aid Assistant Director determine how your aid and scholarships may be applied.

To understand how your financial aid and scholarships may apply to your program costs:

• Make an appointment with your financial aid assistant director (call Financial Aid at 585-475-2186) and mention that you are calling for a study abroad appointment.
• Upload a copy of your budget worksheet(s) via the Financial Aid upload portal at https://join.rit.edu/register/FA_upload (at least 48 hours before your scheduled meeting, so they have time to prepare).
• Please rename the file name of your budget worksheet before uploading it to the Financial Aid portal based on the instructions provided in the portal (adding your name and student ID)

To find out the name of your financial aid assistant director for your degree program visit:
https://www.rit.edu/admissions/aid/contact#counseling-team

You should meet with Financial Aid before the application deadline to understand how your aid will apply. If you plan to receive financial aid for this program, it will pay out in the term you are receiving the credits, not necessarily the term of travel if those terms differ.

If you are on tuition waiver or exchange (parents are RIT employees, etc.) let the Education Abroad office know because it may affect your tuition costs (email global@rit.edu).

Scholarship funding for study abroad is available!
• RIT Study Abroad Scholarships
• National Study Abroad Scholarships

Keep in mind that scholarship deadlines are often early, so it's best to investigate these at the start of your application process.

Additional considerations when applying for study abroad:

• If you require Access Services support for this program, contact Angela Hauser (abhdis@ntid.rit.edu) to discuss your needs. Support is most often available for RIT Global Campus, RIT faculty-led, and short-term affiliate programs.
• If you receive disability services support at RIT and would need support on your program abroad:
  1) Contact your Access Coordinator in the RIT DSO office;
  2) Share your Eligibility Letter in your RIT MyDSO portal that outlines the services you receive with the faculty-director for your program to find out what support would be available to you abroad (do this before you commit to the program).
  
  It is important to remember that disability accommodations in other countries vary, and you may not be able to receive the same exact support you receive at RIT.
• As with all international travel, we strongly encourage you to visit the U.S. Department of State website to learn more about the risks associated with this location and recommended safety precautions before deciding to participate.

• Consider how you will manage your health and wellness while you are abroad: Health & Safety
• Before you make any program commitments, understand how your host culture values your diverse characteristics such as race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc. Identity & Diversity Abroad