US-Brazil Exchange Program - Program Description

The US-Brazil Cognitive Systems Engineering Exchange Program enables Systems Engineering undergraduates to work on a team project with students from Brazil. The program spans three semesters, one of which is spent abroad in Brazil. Students will either go to Rio de Janeiro or Porto Alegre where they will work with Brazilian students to solve cognitive engineering problems identified by the industrial partners, Petrobras-Petroleo Brasileiro, the Nuclear Engineering Institute, and Pride International.

Cognitive Engineering combines interdisciplinary perspectives from industrial engineering (IE), industrial design, computer science, and psychology to advance our understanding of how to design highly technological work environments while maintaining the safety and capacity for human workers to manage the complexities of these environments. From the control room to the operating room, cognitive engineering provides the integrative perspective linking technology and cognitive science with people embedded in fields of practice.

Students participating in the program pay their regular tuition to the University of Virginia for the semester that will be spent abroad. In addition, students will receive a grant of up to $3,000 to cover expenses such as travel, language training, accommodations and visas. Students are responsible for their own travel and are assisted by instructors for their housing arrangements.

• Undergraduate enrolled in Systems and Information Engineering
• Minimum GPA of 3.0
• Enrolled in SYS 323 Human Machine Interface
• Permission of Systems Engineering instructor (Stephanie Guerlain or Ellen Bass)

The US-Brazil Cognitive Systems Engineering Exchange Program is an 18 month program that spans three semesters, beginning in the spring of third year. Students are able to rework their schedules in order to complete all necessary course work for graduation.

The students will begin learning Portuguese, working on their capstone, and writing their thesis proposal all in the spring of their third year. Beginning in late June or early July, the students will take an intensive one month language course in Brazil. Students spend the first term of their fourth year taking courses at the host institution and beginning work on a capstone project with Brazilian students. In the second term, the entire team completes the project back in the U.S. For the fall semester, students will take necessary courses in Brazil as well as continue working on their capstone project with their Brazilian counterparts. Finally, for the spring of their fourth year, the students will finish their capstone and write their thesis paper at UVA.

Prior to departure, students must assess the impact of the program on their course of study and graduation date. Transfer credit is given for courses approved prior to travel. At least one course focuses on cognitive systems engineering and one course counts towards the capstone project. Portuguese language training may be transferable as well. Accepted students can consult with program alumni for information on transfer credit.

A sample modified SIE curriculum is given here.

Students are responsible for their own travel and living arrangements although the host institution will assist students in this process.

As an exchange program, students pay tuition at the home institution for the semester spent abroad. Each U.S. student will receive up to $3000 for qualifying expenses (travel, accommodations, language training, visa expenses).

• UVA Tuition
• Application fee $90
• Travel: $2000
• Housing: $2000
• Meals: $1400
• Books: $200
• Visa Expenses: $200
• Passport expenses: $150
• Language courses: $400

Total estimated program costs: $6,250 - $3,000 = $3,250 not including UVA tuition.

All costs are in US dollars. The US-Brazil currency rate is about US$ 1 (US dollar) = R$ 1.74 (Reais, the Brazilian money) as of October 2009. For updated information please visit Brazilian Central Bank.

For more detailed information please visit the US-Brazil Exchange Program Handbook. The students involved in the program have put annotated the handbook with personal advice based on their experiences. US-Brazil Exchange Program Handbook.

• Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)
• National Science Foundation (NSF)
• CAPES - Brazil
• Nuclear Engineering Institute (IEN)
• Pride International

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation, the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education or Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior

• University of Virginia (UVA)
• The Ohio State University (OSU)
• Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)
• Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)
• Petrobrás
• Transpetro Dutos & Terminais
• Pride International

• The Center for Global Education
• UVA Systems and Information Engineering Department
• Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ
• Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - UFRGS