Scholarships: Find out more about the types available for master’s and doctorates

When you enter academic life, a universe of new possibilities arises, involving research groups, conferences and scholarships. The latter are available in various areas of knowledge, and they may be offered by government bodies, educational institutions or private organizations. 

Horrara Moreira, who is doing the Master’s in Regulatory Law Program at Fundação Getulio Vargas’ Rio de Janeiro Law School, and Pedro Maia, who obtained a doctorate in economics from the Brazilian School of Economics and Finance (FGV EPGE), were interviewed as part of FGV New’s “Beyond Academia” series. They talked about how scholarships work and the opportunities offered by them.

See the full interview below:

What types of scholarships does FGV offer?

Horrara: In addition to a tuition fee waiver, I have a CAPES scholarship, and I’m also allowed to work. This scholarship was essential for me to consider applying for the graduate program in regulatory law.

Pedro: For academic master’s and doctorates, we have government-funded scholarships, such as those offered by CNPq and CAPES. In Rio de Janeiro, you also have FAPERJ scholarships. You can receive the first two when you join the program. All academic master’s and doctoral students at FGV EPGE are scholarship holders and receive one of the two scholarships. An academic merit scholarship has a restriction on the areas in which you can work. So, for example, you can teach or carry out some kind of academic activity, but you can’t work in an office or something like that.

How do these tuition fee scholarships work?

Horrara: In the selection process, the public notice sets out the rules under which you have to submit your documentation and make your application. A committee then evaluates your application and, if you are accepted, you are informed of the conditions for maintaining your scholarship. I think it’s worth looking at these public notices for the program you’re applying for.

Pedro: The selection process for master’s and doctoral scholarships is immediate. All students embarking on academic graduate studies, or at least all those at FGV EPGE, receive some kind of financial aid. In this case, it’s possible through the agencies I mentioned: CNPq, CAPES or possibly FAPERJ. The latter case is a little more complicated, because it takes time to rank the students, as it’s a merit scholarship.

How do the scholarships change between different FGV schools?

Horrara: At the FGV Rio de Janeiro Law School, we have CAPES scholarships, as well as tuition fee waivers.

Pedro: At FGV EPGE, we have all the scholarships on offer when you join the course, except for FAPERJ, which is a merit scholarship and is determined afterward. Apart from that, the other two types that come to mind are grants for research assistants and scholarships to work on some other type of academic project offered by the institution.

This article is part of a special series called Beyond Academia.

Find out more about the Master’s in Regulatory Law Program at the FGV Rio de Janeiro Law School here. 

Find out more about the Doctorate in Economics Program at the Brazilian School of Economics and Finance (FGV EPGE) here. 

To learn more about FGV’s master’s and doctoral programs, click here.