CNPEM’s degree program offers students cutting-edge laboratories and housing; 97.5 applicants vied for each spot in 2024
The Ilum School of Science, the innovative undergraduate degree program offered by CNPEM (the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials, CNPEM), will open its 2025 admissions process on September 2. The school is located in Campinas, São Paulo, and offers a free undergraduate degree program in science and technology with a full-time interdisciplinary curriculum over three years of study. The program’s differentials include the chance to collaborate on research taking place in the labs at CNPEM, which is home to the Sirius particle accelerator.
There are 40 spots available, half reserved for students from public schools. Besides their free education, participants also receive housing, meals, transportation, and a computer to use throughout their undergraduate studies. Ilum is one of the most hotly disputed programs in Brazil: in 2024 nearly 4,000 candidates applied, with 97.5 applicants per available spot.
The undergraduate degree in science and technology offers a variety of job possibilities in areas including physics, biology, chemistry, and technology. Graduates may continue their academic careers (on master’s or doctoral tracks) at universities, work as researchers in public or private institutions, or attain advanced professional qualifications to work in various tech-related sectors.
“Our program focuses on allowing students to experience interdisciplinarity starting from their time as undergraduates. They learn to deal with all the issues of interaction between language and knowledge in different areas of materials and life sciences, the humanities, and data science. The goal is to shape a whole professional, a scientist, which is a rare opportunity,” states Ivia Minelli, a professor and Interim Academic Coordinator at Ilum.
Selection process
Applications will be accepted up to December 16 at the Ilum website. The formal announcement of the admissions process is also available for candidates to consult. Selection consists of three phases: the admissions form submitted through the Ilum webpage, ENEM high school exam score, and individual interviews for 250 pre-selected finalists with the Ilum team.
During the interview phase, teachers at the school evaluate different aspects of the candidate during a 30-minute conversation.
“We ask about the student’s interests and assess issues related to their profile. For example, whether they are ready for a full-time dedicated course that requires many hours studying and in the classroom, and for group work activities that are very frequent. We also analyze their level of knowledge we consider important in the scientific environment,” explains Ilum professor and Selection Committee President James Moraes de Almeida.
About the Ilum School of Science
Ilum offers a free undergraduate degree program that utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to train scientists and professionals in science and technology. With an innovative educational model, the three-year full-time bachelor program offers courses that connect life sciences, materials science, data science, artificial intelligence, and the humanities in order to prepare researchers to work in an ethical and collaborative manner in the search for solutions to the global challenges of the twenty-first century. The Ilum School of Science is funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) and is part of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas, São Paulo, a social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI). Ilum’s educational mission offers early contact with experimental activities, in teaching labs at the school as well as at CNPEM, in projects carried out together with researchers.
