Brazilian Universities are calling international students to apply for their fully funded Master's and PhD scholarships. This scholarship programme is organized by the International Cooperation Group of Brazilian Universities (GCUB).
The cooperation is providing more than 850 fully funded scholarship for international students pursuing Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Brazil.
This 2025 scholarship programme is the fourth edition of the GCUB International Mobility Program (GCUB-Mob), and are being offered in collaboration with 58 Brazilian universities. This means, 58 Universities in Brazil has opened the call for applications for the fourth edition of the GCUB-Mob.
Students from five continents are eligible for this scholarship programme. The continents includes: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. Australia continent is excluded from the programme. The academic programs are scheduled to begin in 2026, and interest students are to submit applications from June 5 to July 13, 2025.
Eligibility and Documents
The GCUB-Mob scholarship is opened to all nationalities in eligible continents except from Brazilians. In other words, Brazilian citizens are not eligible for the programme. Furthermore, applicants are required to submit their applications in English, French, Portuguese, or Spanish.
In addition to that, identification document such as the one issued by your country of citizenship will be required. In Nigeria, National ID card, NIN, Voter's Card or International Passport is permitted.
Other documents that will be required include two essays (one detailing academic/professional expectations and another presenting a research proposal), a Curriculum Vitae (CV), proof of a binding contract with a higher education institution (for university professors), an undergraduate diploma (or a completion certificate/declaration), and a Master’s diploma (for Doctorate candidates, if required by the program).
Here's the recap of the eligibility requirements and documents needed for Nigerian applicants to apply for the scholarship:
- Application submitted in English.
- Provision of NIN, Driver's License, Voter's Card or Passport.
- Curriculum Vitae (CV).
- Your Undergraduate Certificate or Master Certificate.
- Two Essays as stated above.
- Proof of a binding contract with a higher education institution (for university professors): The acceptable proofs of a Binding Contract for Nigerians includes:
- Official appointment/employment Letter issued by the university's registrar or HR department, must be signed and dated, and must clearly state your role (e.g., Lecturer II, Senior Lecturer, Professor), terms of employment (full-time or part-time), salary, start date, and sometimes duration (if not permanent).
- Contract of Employment: A signed formal employment agreement between you and the institution that clearly detailed terms and conditions, duties, and institutional obligations.
- Recent Payslips + Staff ID as supporting evidence: You can add your payslips for the last 3–6 months showing salary from the institution, or University-issued staff ID card as part of your supporting proof of a binding contract.
- Promotion or Reappointment Letters: You can also show ongoing relationship between you and the institution, with their updated terms as another proof of binding contract.
Once you have all your documents ready, you can proceed to submit your application. However, be sure to submit all required educational documents as well. Let's discuss the application processes.
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How to Apply
The scholarship application deadline is July 13, 2025 and the application has begun on June 5, 2025. To apply for the GCUB International Mobility Program scholarship for Master’s or Doctoral programs in Brazil, follow these step-by-step instructions.
1. Confirm Eligibility and Programme Details
To begin the application process, first of all ensure that you are an international student from any eligible continent and that your desired Master’s or Doctoral program is offered by any of the 58 participating Brazilian university.
So, after you've made your decision about the university, course, and degree you're going for, next thing to do is verify the programme requirements, such as whether a Master’s diploma is needed for Doctoral candidates.
2. Prepare Required Documents
Gather all necessary documents as issued by your country of citizenship and university of work. The documents that'll be required from country including identity documents and the ones from universities of work include CV, 2 Essays, proof of a binding contract, and more as explained above. Once all these documents are in place, you can proceed to start applying.
3. Submit Application Online
To submit online application for the scholarship programme, you'll need to visit the GCUB application portal at https://gcub.org.br/bsp/application-form.php on your device's browser. You can use a smartphone or a computer for the online application.
Complete the application form by filing out all required information about you. Once you're done with that, upload all required documents. The fun fact about this application is that, you can pend the process if certain document is not available. However, ensure that you submit all documents before the official deadline.
The Application's Phases and Approval Status
There are six (6) additional steps/phases you need to follow-up with after you've successfully submitted your application online. These phases further give room to double-checking your submitted documents for accuracy before final approval.
- Document Consistency Analysis (Phase 1): This is the selection timeline for the GCUB International Mobility Program to choose who will be considered into the scholarship programme. After you successfully submit your application, the application will undergo a document consistency check from July 21 to August 1, 2025. Therefore, ensure all the documents and information you submitted are accurate and properly formatted to avoid disqualification during this phase.
- Merit and Admissibility Evaluation (Phase 2): This phase involves the University you're enrolling into evaluating your application whether it meets their demands. This phase will runs from August 11 to September 6, 2025. The host universities will evaluate the merit and admissibility of your application during this timeframe. Therefore, it's important to make sure that your essays and academic credentials align with the program’s expectations to give you higher chances of approval.
- Final Candidate Classification: Between October 13 and 17, 2025, the selection committee will finalize candidate rankings. No action is required from you during this phase, but you may want to monitor communications from GCUB for any updates.
- Homologation by Universities: From October 20 to 24, 2025, the Universities you submitted your application to will confirm the selection of candidates. During this timeframe, they may require additional information or documents. Therefore, you need to be active during this period so that you can respond promptly to any additional requests from GCUB or the host university.
- Check for Final Results: After the Homologation phase, your application results will be released. The results will be released on October 31, 2025, so you can visit the GCUB website via https://gcub.org.br/ to view the final list of selected candidates. If you're among the lucky applicants, then follow any further instructions provided by GCUB or the host university regarding enrollment and program commencement in 2026.
- Start Preparing: This is the final stage. It's important to get ready for the programme in 2026 once you've confirmed your successful application. You'll need to arrange for visas, accommodation, and other logistics for studying in Brazil. Start looking for money and saving up, because without money, these things will not be possible.
In a nutshell, the entire process, from the application deadline to the announcement of results, takes approximately 3½ months (or about 16 weeks) from the application deadline.
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Benefits of the GCUB Scholarship Programme
The International Cooperation Group of Brazilian Universities (GCUB)'s International Mobility Program (GCUB-Mob) scholarship requires no enrollment fees from applicants. The scholarship covers also tuition and academic fees, free application submission, and monthly stipend for living expenses.
You'll also get access to university restaurants, libraries, laboratories, and other university services. The fun fact about this scholarship is that applicants can apply for up to five Master’s or Doctoral programmes across different universities.
However, it's important to note that the GCUB's scholarship does not cover airfare, visa processing, or health insurance. You'll need to sort out these expenses yourself. Lastly, it's important to let you know that the scholarship's degree programme duration is 24 months for applicants pursuing a Master Degree and 48 months for applicants pursuing a Doctorate Degree (Ph.D).