Brazil offers 402 thousand university grants for low‑income students
Starting Friday (Jan. 19), Brazil’s Ministry of Education is offering 402,092 scholarships for the first 2024 edition of the University for All program, known as Prouni, for low-income students. Of these, 304,638 are full scholarships and 97,454 are partial scholarships (50%).
The current edition is said to be the one with the largest number of scholarships since the program began in 2005. A total of 15,482 courses from 1,028 institutions are covered by the initiative.
The Brazilian state with the highest number of openings is São Paulo, the country’s most populous state. Of the 103,282 places on offer in the state, 81,069 are full scholarships and 22,213 are partial scholarships, with a 50 percent discount.
The program
Prouni scores can be used to apply for scholarships at private institutions. The selection takes place twice a year and are directed at students without a university degree.
To apply for full scholarships under Prouni, students must prove a gross monthly family income of up to 1.5 minimum wages per person. For partial scholarships, the gross monthly family income must be up to three minimum wages per person.
The current national minimum wage is BRL 1,412.00—$285.81 at today’s exchange rate.
