PROGRAM: Six-Week Program, Beginning Early June

UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO CEARÁ   http://www.ufc.br/
The summer program will be held at the Universidade Federal do Ceará in the city of Fortaleza. Fortaleza is in the state of Ceará in Brazil's northeast coastal region. The coastline of Ceará has 350 miles of sandy beaches and fresh water lagoons. Fortaleza itself now attracts tourists looking for un-crowded beaches, beach front activities and great seafood. The area has traditionally focused upon cattle raising and the local population is basically European in origin.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The goal of the program is to enable students to function in the Portuguese language and to acquire a solid sense of the culture of Brazil, recognized within Latin America as the largest and most important economy in the southern hemisphere today. The program has a multi-pronged approach to meeting this goal: an academic program that includes language classes at different levels to accommodate different student backgrounds: major excursions; lectures on a wide variety of topics on Brazil and the northeast sector; living with a Brazilian family; and association with Brazilian professionals.

In six weeks students will earn six semester hours of credit based in approximately 90 hours of instruction. The classes will be held in the afternoon and engineering students will be encouraged to undertake informal internships in laboratories at the university or in nearby industry in the morning.

Classes will be held on the Universidade Federal do Ceará Benfica (UFC) campus in the humanities complex. This location is directly across the street from an 18^th-century landmark building which serves as the principle administrative office for UFC.  Students will also have the option of scheduling independent travel at the end of the program using a Brazilian air travel pass.

Internships Students will be placed into non-paying internships during the morning segments of their weekday program. They will be working with Brazilian professionals on a daily basis providing opportunities for them to practice the Portuguese language as well as to gain first hand knowledge of Brazilian society and culture. A number of the faculty offering internships will have completed Ph.D.s in the United States as well as Europe.  Due to language and time limitations these experiences should not be mistaken for American-style internships.

ACCOMMODATIONS
All students will be housed with families for the duration of the program. This provides an excellent first-hand opportunity to experience Brazilian culture and to improve language skills.

ESTIMATED EXPENSES (based on figures from the previous year)

Apply during Program of the Week and receive $100 off your program fee.
*Wert Scholarship Available. Amount dependent on number of participants.

No money is due prior to acceptance. Upon acceptance to this program, students will be required to pay the non-refundable processing fee of $225 and a program fee deposit of $250. The remainder of the program fee, tuition and general fee will be billed through student accounts for the term in which the student is enrolled. Depending on the student's circumstances, he/she may need to plan for the following expenses: passport, visa, vaccination shots, local transportation, additional travel, incidentals, etc.

* Students from other UIUC colleges will be charged the higher/actual program amount.

** Tuition and General Fee are dependent upon the term the student entered UIUC. Please visit http://www.oar.uiuc.edu/current/tuitassess.html for further details.

*** IPENG arranges group travel. All students are required to participate in these arrangements.

ELIGIBILITY
Students wishing to participate in the Brazil program must show a strong commitment to academic achievement. No previous language training is necessary to apply.  Students must be in good standing with the College of Engineering to apply. In order for seniors to participate, they must fulfill a campus/college general education requirement or the international minor while abroad.

CREDIT
Students will earn six hours of credit through their participation in the summer program:

• 3 hrs. Language

• 3 hrs. Culture/practicum

The credit can be used in the International Minor and in satisfying campus/college humanities and non-western requirements.

ORIENTATION
A mandatory orientation will be held on Saturday, February 18, 2006. You will also be required to attend at least one additional pre-departure meeting during the spring prior to study abroad. Date to be announced.

APPLICATION
Acceptance to an IPENG program is a two-step process. IPENG will first review your application. Upon approval, you will receive an acceptance letter and Confirmation of Participation to verify your interest. Final acceptance must than be determined by the exchange school to which you have applied.

Application Deadline: December 16, 2005 February 3, 2006

Apply during the Program of the Week and receive $100 off your program fee.

The following programs are offered to enhance and/or supplement students' international travels and educational studies:

• International Engineering Fellowship - assists engineering students with roundtrip airfare to study abroad destination
• International Minor in Engineering - focused study using social science and humanities requirements to obtain a specialized minor
• International Illini - student-run organization with fun activities combining returning students and international students

NON-ENGINEERING UIUC STUDENTS
Students in Agriculture, Fine and Applied Arts and Commerce and Business Administration are invited to participate in this program.

Please note:  If there are more applicants than space available, engineering students will receive first priority. Non-engineering students are not eligible for the International Engineering Fellowship or semester stipend.

NON-UIUC ENGINEERING STUDENTS
This program is open to non-UIUC students. Non-UIUC engineering students participating in this program will be required to do the following:

• Apply to UIUC as a non-degree student during term abroad
• Pay a non-refundable processing fee of $475
• Pay program fee as listed above
• Complete all required paperwork and attend meetings, if possible.

Please note: If there are more applicants than space available, UIUC students will receive first priority. Non-UIUC students are not eligible for the International Engineering Fellowship or semester stipend.