Future Student

🌍 Study in Brazil with a CAPES Scholarship – PEC-PG 2025

Applications are open for the PEC-PG 2025 program, offering scholarships for international students to pursue Master’s and PhD degrees at PPGEP/PUC-Rio. Benefits include monthly stipend, health insurance, and airfare.
Click on the images below to access the full call for applications!

📅 Apply from August 14 to September 29, 2025.

Applications Open – PEC-PG 2025
Information & Benefits – PEC-PG 2025

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Graduate Programs in Production Engineering

The master’s and doctoral courses of the Graduate programs start in March and August of each year and the application period is specified on the PUC-Rio website. The application process is completely electronic.

Only applications with complete documentation will be examined.

Masters Degree in Production Engineering – Click here to know how

Doctoral Degree in Production Engineering – Click here to know how

Production engineering course details

Accreditation: MEC Order No. 132 of 02/02/99, published in the Official Gazette of 03/02/99.

Since 2020, PUC-Rio’s PhD course in Production Engineering has received top marks from CAPES, making it one of the three best Production Engineering programs in the country and the 1st in the Southeast region.

Admission Process

The Graduate Program begins in March and August of each year and the application period is specified on the PUC-Rio website.

The application period may be changed by the Graduate Program Coordination.

Application procedure

Applications can be made at: http://www.ccpa.puc-rio.br/inscricao_pos/

All required documentation (including reference letters) must be submitted electronically to the application system. Letters of reference will not be accepted after the application deadline.

The candidate must create a registration form, filling in the following fields: Candidate’s full name; Valid e-mail address to receive a password; Desired course: Click on “Master’s or Doctorate” Program for which you wish to submit your application: Click on “Graduate Studies in Production Engineering”. Once you have received your password, you must re-enter the system to register.

Only applications with complete documentation will be examined.

For PhD candidates, only applications with the approval of a professor from the department’s main staff and with complete documentation will be examined.

Master Degree

WHEN CAN I REGISTER?

Registration deadline for 2026.1: November 9, 2025 (deadline subject to change)
Don’t miss the opportunity to join a top-tier graduate program, rated the highest score [7] by CAPES.

Click here to access the call.

How to apply?

  1. Choose the concentration area in which you will do your research: (Operations and Business Engineering) or (Operations Research)
  2. Check and gather all the required documents listed on this page
  3. Submit your application through this link: PUC-Rio’s Academic Request System
    (Note that the application process is totally electronic. All required documents should be uploaded to the application website)

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

  1. Two Reference Letters
    On the application website, the candidate shall indicate two contacts (with respective names and e-mails), who will be automatically asked by the system to follow a given link and fill in a reference form online. Reference letters in any other format will not be accepted.
  2. Curriculum Vitae (preferably Curriculum Lattes)
    Create a CV in the Lattes platform and generate a complete version in PDF format;
  3. Study Plan
    Fill in this form, and export it as a PDF file. In this form, the candidate shall choose a concentration area and specific research line (from the ones listed in the graduate program website) he/she is interested in, together with a motivation statement justifying these choices;
  4. Under-graduation school records
  5. Diploma (or under-graduation conclusion certificate)

Additional (optional) documents (to be also uploaded to the application website)

  1. Scholarship request form (if applicable)
    Fill in the scholarship request form, export it as a PDF file.
  2. Digital (PDF) copy of academically relevant works from the candidate
    These may include papers published in scientific journals or conferences, a report from a research project in which the candidate has participated, or the report from the candidate under-graduation conclusion project. All files should be uploaded to the application website, under “Other Documents”.
  3. Other conclusion certificates
    These may include certificates from MBA, specialization courses, among others.
  4. Other documents
    Other documents that the candidate considers relevant for the application. They should be uploaded in the application website, under “Other Documents”.

WHICH ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO GET A MASTERS DEGREE IN PRODUCTION ENGINEERING @ PUC-RIO?

  1. Conclude the individual study plan satisfactorily, which should be elaborated in conjunction with the student advisor and approved by the Post-Graduation Commission, in accordance with the rules in force
  2. Complete at least 26 credits in Graduate courses, subject to the following restrictions:
    • At the Graduate Commission criterion, the candidate might be exempted from attending the disciplines requested by the DEI Graduate Commission, without registering the corresponding credits after knowledge confirmation by means of a written test.
    • Achieve an average grade not lower than 7 considering all courses taken.
    • Be approved in the Dissertation Proposal Exam corresponding to the student concentration area. The student should present, defend and have its dissertation project duly approved.
  3. Be approved in a foreign language exam – English (LET 3101).
  4. Present, defend, and have your Masters Degree dissertation approved by the designated evaluation committee.

Doctorate

WHEN CAN I APPLY?

Registration deadline for 2026.1: November 9, 2025 (deadline subject to change)
Don’t miss the opportunity to join a top-tier graduate program, rated the highest score [7] by CAPES.

Click here to access the call.

How to apply?

  1. Choose the concentration area in which you will do your research: (Operations and Business Engineering) or (Operations Research)
  2. Check and gather all the required documents listed on this page
  3. Submit your application through this link: PUC-Rio’s Academic Request System
    (Note that the application process is totally electronic. All required documents should be uploaded to the application website)

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Mandatory

  1. Two reference letters. On the online form, indicate two names with corresponding e-mails, and the system will send a link to them asking the online fulfillment. Manually fulfilled letters will not be accepted.
  2. Curriculum vitae, preferably from the Lattes platform (please generate a complete version in PDF)
  3. Study Plan. Please fill the form Please fill the form in, save it as a PDF file and upload it. In this form, the candidate shall inform the concentration area and research line he is interested in, and his motivation for these choices. The disciplines to be attended should also be defined together with the student’s potential advisor.
  4. Research Plan: form available under Doctorate acceptance form. The preliminary research proposal should be signed by the candidate’s potential advisor. Fill the available form in, save it as a PDF file and upload it through the system.
  5. Undergraduate School Records;
  6. Masters Degree School Records.
  7. Undergraduate diploma (or conclusion certificate).
  8. Masters Degree diploma (or conclusion certificate).

Optional

  1. Scholarship request form (when pertinent). Fill in the Scholarship request form in, save it as a PDF file and upload it to the system.
  2. Digital copies (in PDF) of works with academic relevance, including undergraduate course Conclusion works or papers published in scientific journals or events.
  3. Other conclusion certificates (MBA, specialization, among others)
  4. Other documents.

PRELIMINARY RESEARCH PROPOSAL AND STUDY PROGRAM

To be accepted to the Doctorate course, the candidate should initially identify a research field and a potential advisor among the department’s faculty main board. Working inline with this potential advisor, he should formalize his Preliminary Research Proposal (document with around 10 standard pages), indicating the objectives and methodology to be utilized in the research, its feasibility, relevance and originality. Coherent to the issue, a study program should be defined with a set of disciplines, covering at least 18 credits required in the PhD course.

Besides the general regulatory requirements, the Department also demands from the candidates to have a Master Degree in: Production Engineering, Transports, Mathematic, Informatics, Systems, Computer Sciences or similar courses, recognized as such by DEI’s Graduate Commission. At the sole discretion of the Graduate Commission, as well as based on the other instances foreseen under the regulatory provisions, this requirement might be dispensed for candidates who have demonstrated an evident capacity for a deep research inline with DEI’s interest.

The candidate should be accepted by a professor of the Doctorate course (a potential advisor), based on a preliminary research proposal, within a course concentration area and a study program consistent with the research issue.

The candidate should be accepted by the Graduate Commission, based on the School records, on the curriculum vitae, on the presentation of two professors, on the Preliminary Research Proposal and on the study program mentioned above. The interviews with DEI’s professors can also be requested by the graduate Commission. The subscription yearly period is specified in the University academic calendar. For the Masters and Doctorate courses, the admission might be in March or in August.

REQUIREMENTS

Obtain at least 42 credits in Graduate disciplines. In this number might be included up to 25 credits corresponding to the Master Degree title through the acceptance of the Post-Graduation Commission. The 42 credits should be distributed as follows:

  1. In Graduate disciplines of the DEI, CTC, PUC or of other credentialed graduate programs, chosen at the orienting professor’s criterion, as per the study program approved by DEI’s Graduate Commission, including a maximum of 3 credits of the Individual Study disciplines, and which might not be accounted for the Lecturing Stage credit subscription.

At the Graduate Commission criterion, the candidate might be exempted to attend disciplines, obtaining corresponding credits, after substantiating its knowledge via a written test.

Be approved in the Qualifying Exam (IND 3004). This exam envisages to evaluate the candidate’s capacity to perform an original and relevant research in the Doctorate concentration area, and shall be based on an article elaborated by the student on a topic related to his thesis research, and to its presentation before an examining board. The presentation shall have a public character.

Be approved in the Thesis Proposal Exam (IND 3007).  This exam envisages to verify the research validity as a thesis topic, in terms of relevance, and not triviality, originality and contribution for the knowledge frontier expansion, the candidate’s capacity to conduct the proposed research, and the research performance feasibility.

Be approved in a foreign language exam, (LET 3106), English for the Doctorate.

Present, defend and have a Doctorate Thesis (IND 3001) duly approved. The Defense shall be conditioned to the submission of an article to an internationally qualified journal, and to have another article published in or accepted by a qualified journal (national or international), both on the Doctorate research topic.

Affirmative action policies

In compliance with MEC Normative Ordinance No. 13/2016, State Law No. 6,914/2014, and Federal Law No. 14,723/2023, which address the adoption and promotion of affirmative action policies in Graduate Studies, the admissions process for the Master’s and Doctoral programs in Production Engineering at PUC-Rio reserves 30% of its openings for Black, Indigenous, Quilombola, socially vulnerable, and refugee candidates, as well as persons with disabilities and those with priority for regional integration (Level 1 or Level 2), who pass the selection process. One of these openings is mandatorily allocated to persons with disabilities.

Applicants must opt for a single quota group on the application form. In the final results of the admissions process, they will be ranked in both the general competition and the affirmative action classification.

Applicants interested in competing for affirmative action openings must, at the time of application, select the corresponding group and submit the required documentation, as indicated below and in the appendices of the official notice. Participation in the affirmative action program is voluntary and is formalized through the submission of a self-declaration form, according to the templates provided in the appendices of the notice.

Eligible Groups:

  • Black individuals: Candidates who self-declare as Black (preto) or Brown (pardo), in accordance with the IBGE classification, by means of a self-declaration form (Appendix I). The self-declaration will be subject to a hetero-identification procedure conducted by a PUC-Rio commission.
  • Indigenous individuals: Candidates who self-declare and are recognized as Indigenous by their community of origin, upon presentation of a declaration signed by an Indigenous leader, as per the template in Appendix II.
  • Quilombola individuals: Must present a Declaration of Belonging, issued and signed by a recognized Quilombola authority, as per Appendix IV.
  • Individuals in a situation of social vulnerability: Those who attended public high school or a private high school on a full scholarship, with a per capita family income equal to or less than 1.5 times the national minimum wage. Proof of income for the last three months and, if applicable, proof of the scholarship must be attached.
  • Persons with disabilities (PWD): Candidates who meet the criteria established by Federal Law No. 7,853/1989 and Federal Decrees No. 3,298/1999 and No. 5,296/2004, confirmed by a medical report issued within the last six months that includes the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code.
  • Refugees, asylum seekers, or holders of a humanitarian visa: Must present a copy of their CPF, CNE, or CIE, in addition to the CONARE recognition statement or the asylum application protocol, as per Appendix III.
  • Priority for Regional Integration: Candidates from regions classified as Priority for Regional Integration Level 1 or 2 may apply for this category by providing documentary evidence, in accordance with the criteria defined in the official notice (Appendix V).

The information provided at the time of registration and enrolment is the sole responsibility of the candidate, who must answer for any falsehood. If a false statement is found, the successful candidate’s enrollment will be cancelled at any time during the course.

In the event of a candidate withdrawing from the black, indigenous, refugee, socially vulnerable or handicapped affirmative action vacancy, the vacancy will be filled by the candidate subsequently classified and approved, from among those who applied through the affirmative action system.

Candidates who have applied for the affirmative action vacancies, and who are also approved in the broad competition, may be enrolled in the broad competition vacancy, thus allowing other candidates enrolled in the affirmative action vacancies, if approved in the selection process, to occupy the affirmative action vacancies.

In the event that there are not enough successful candidates who opt for the affirmative action vacancies to occupy the reserved vacancies, the remaining vacancies will be reverted to open competition and will be allocated to the other successful candidates, observing the order of classification in the selection process and distribution among the lines.

Financial Support

There are scholarships available for full-time students, granted by CAPES, CNPq, FAPERJ and other governmental and private entities. These scholarships are awarded to students by the Graduate Committee within the quotas granted to the Program by the aforementioned agencies. CAPES and CNPq scholarships are awarded for up to two years for master’s students and up to four years for doctoral students, which correspond to the regular deadlines for graduation at PUC-Rio.

Part-time students can apply for tuition waiver scholarships, which are also awarded by the Graduate Committee according to quotas established by the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs.

In addition to these, for students who are lecturers at other universities there are CAPES scholarships awarded by the university to which the lecturer is attached. Applicants in this case should seek information from the Graduate Dean’s Office at their university.

Applicants from other American countries can apply for PEC/PG scholarships granted by CAPES and CNPQ through the relevant consular bodies. Applicants should seek information from the Brazilian consulate in their country, more than a year before their first enrolment date.

The grant and exemption from paying school fees is valid for one academic term and can be renewed or not depending on the student’s academic performance.

Non-scholarship students will have to pay semester fees. Some companies and government institutions have agreements with PUC-Rio covering the payment of their employees’ semester fees.

Funding Agency Ordinances and Grant Regulations

CAPES

CNPQ

FAPERJ