01 / YOUR HOME BASE
Praia do Forte
Live near the coast in shared double rooms at a hostel. Explore the village, the shore, and the region's conservation work while the program unfolds over eight weeks.
A FACULTY-LED SUMMER IN BAHIA, BRAZIL
Live by the coast.
Explore a city of stories.
Make something matter.
Live in Praia do Forte, discover Salvador, and design immersive experiences with Brazilian collaborators. Students from every major are welcome; no VR experience is needed.
SUMMER C 2027JUNE 6 — AUGUST 16 UF CREDITS
TWO PLACES. ONE IMMERSIVE SUMMER.
Make Bahia your
classroom.
UF in Brazil is an eight-week faculty-led program combining immersive technologies, human-centered design, and cross-cultural learning. Make your home base in Praia do Forte and work with Brazilian faculty and students at SENAI CIMATEC in Salvador.
Whether you study art, architecture, computer science, engineering, or another field, your perspective belongs here. Industry and research visits, historic sites, cultural experiences, and coastal conservation bring social and sustainability questions into your hands-on projects.
02 / THE CITY
Salvador
Encounter historic streets, music, food, and a city whose culture gives the design work its context.
EXPLORE SALVADOR
Listen. Taste. Move.
Pay attention.
Salvador was Brazil’s first capital. Its historic center, including Pelourinho, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. African, Indigenous, and European histories continue to shape the city’s streets, art, food, and music.
01
History & place
Walk through Pelourinho’s streets and ask what a historic building can tell us about the people and place around it.
02
Food & everyday life
Encounter Bahian food traditions through dishes such as moqueca, vatapá, and acarajé—and learn about the people behind them.
03
Music & movement
Listen for the rhythms of Bahia and learn about capoeira, drumming, and dance through local cultural experiences.
04
Coast & conservation
From Salvador’s shoreline to your home base in Praia do Forte, consider how coastal life connects community and environment.
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Places to learn from
Excursions may include Pelourinho, Balé Folclórico da Bahia, capoeira and drumming workshops, Projeto TAMAR sea turtle conservation in Praia do Forte, Ilha dos Frades, and SENAI CIMATEC’s research and technology facilities.
Activities are subject to the official program schedule.
A place can hold more than one story.IMMERSIVE EXHIBITS FOR SOCIAL GOOD
Bring the past
into the conversation.
At a historic building in central Salvador, students will collaborate with Brazilian partners to create immersive exhibits that reveal layers of the place’s past and invite people to engage with the area today.
The work may explore the legacies of slavery alongside Black cultural life and traditions, including religious practices, music, and capoeira. Students will investigate whose stories have been told, whose have been overlooked, and how those histories connect to the present.
Using VR as a kind of time machine is one possibility: visitors could encounter another period or perspective, then return to the present with new questions. The stories and interpretations will be developed through research and dialogue with local collaborators and communities.
- Encounter the place
- Learn from local perspectives
- Design and prototype
- Reflect on the experience
AN IMMERSIVE INVITATION
Enter Salvador.
Explore our first Marble concept world and imagine how an immersive environment could invite questions about a place and its history.
Explore the first worldThis generated scene is an interpretive concept, not a historical reconstruction. It opens on World Labs and may take time to load. Students’ projects will be grounded in research and collaboration with people in Brazil.
THE ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
Build skills.
Earn six UF credits.
Courses are taught by UF faculty. No prior VR experience is required. Students bring different skills and perspectives to collaborative projects connecting technical practice, cultural understanding, and social impact.
Culturally Aware Design
Study how context, identity, and collaboration shape the design of meaningful technologies.
CEN 4930 / CIS 6930Virtual Reality for the Social Good
Explore immersive technologies as tools for communicating stories, engaging with complex issues, and creating exhibits.
CIS 4930 / CIS 6930The EPMR immersive photo album is an example of the kind of exhibit thinking students can explore; a hands-on demonstration is planned for the study abroad fair.
PLAN YOUR SUMMER
An experience
with depth.
The fee supports a structured eight-week study abroad program, including UF courses and scheduled program experiences. Review the official brochure for current terms and the full list of inclusions and exclusions.
WHENJune 6 – August 1, 2027Summer C · eight weeks
WHEREPraia do Forte & SalvadorHostel in Praia do Forte, shared double rooms
CREDITSSix UF creditsTwo three-credit courses
APPLICATION DEADLINEFebruary 1, 2027Apply through UF Abroad
UNDERGRADUATE FEE$9,4872027 published program fee
GRADUATE FEE$9,5972027 published program fee
What is included? Tuition for six credits, welcome and farewell dinners, all breakfasts, accommodations as part of scheduled program excursions, program-related transportation, international health insurance, and emergency medical assistance.
Budget separately for: Round-trip airfare, applicable visa documents, personal travel and expenses, and optional trip cancellation or interruption insurance. A $395 nonrefundable deposit toward the fee is due when applying; see the official program for payment terms.
Who can apply?
Open to all majors. Applicants need a 2.5 GPA and good standing. The official listing says the program is not open to non-UF students.
Read application instructions ↗Financial support
Eligible financial aid may apply to this program. UF’s Student Financial Aid and Scholarships office determines individual eligibility; UF International Center also offers study abroad scholarships.
Explore scholarships ↗YOUR SUMMER COULD START HERE
Go somewhere.
Make something meaningful.
UF in Brazil - Cross-Cultural Engineering and Immersive Technologies for Industry 5.0
View official program & apply ↗