Undergraduate

Fundação Getulio Vargas believes that the education of new graduates requires a special course design capable of breaking away with the current models of legal education. Only an innovative model generates dynamic professionals with an entrepreneurial profile, knowledge and expertise in various areas of Law, Economics, Finance, Accounting, Administration and Public Policy, among other fields of study in which FGV stands out in the Brazilian academic and professional settings. In addition to being prepared to practice law, going beyond its traditional design, and to face a highly competitive labor market, these new practitioners must, ultimately, become the policy makers that Brazil so desperately needs in this new economic reality, vis-à-vis the new setting and modus operandi of institutions. To educate new law professionals, the design of DIREITO SP should be innovative by definition. Rather than reforming the existing teaching model, DIREITO SP seeks to consolidate itself as an alternative content and form to the traditional curriculum.

Curriculum

The undergraduate program of DIREITO SP is structured into four cycles.

Each year, the course is designed together as an integrated and organic cycle of education. The thematic concerns of each subject are designed every year like pieces that fit into one another within one cycle.
The common concern about a sequence over which a mass of encyclopedic topics will be covered in the course of five years is no longer a priority. Instead, a set of subjects that deserve continuous attention with progressive degrees of detail and discussion is worked on.
However, the institution makes sure that the students are provided with an overview of all legal fields and related laws, even though these may not be worthy of being indefinitely scrutinized due to relevance and convenience issues.
The first three cycles (year 1 to 3) are attended on a full-time basis. The fourth cycle (year 4 and 5), at the students’ option, may be attended on a part-time basis. The full-time attendance requirement in the first three years represents a chance for students’ maximization of performance in their early educational process. Since all students are aware of this peculiarity of the course from the very beginning, students do not feel any pressure, from himself or from other people, to define their professional careers prematurely.

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Course Evaluations

Commitment to excellence is present in all activities of DIREITO SP. The School draws on different sources of information to guide its management and improve activities.

External Assessment
DIREITO SP is visited by committees of professors from the Brazilian Institute of Educational Studies and Research, Ministry of Education— Inep — and guests from partner institutions who carefully assess the School and prepare evaluation reports that are used for institutional improvement. In the assessments completed by INEP, managed by the Ministry of Education, for the purposes of giving recognition to the course, DIREITO SP got the top score (5) in all categories assessed.

Institutional Self-Assessment
The Standing Assessment Committee — CPA —, whose members represent the academic community and the society, DIREITO SP promotes careful internal assessments to support the Institutional Strategic Planning.

Brazilian Examination of Student Performance — Enade
Every three years, the Brazilian Examination of Student Performance — Enade — is organized by the Brazilian Institute of Educational Studies and Research under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. The exam should be taken by students entering and graduating from undergraduate courses in law. In the last Enade for undergraduate law students, in 2009, DIREITO SP got the top grade (5) both in the exam itself and in further examinations, namely the Preliminary Course Rating and the General Index of Courses.

Follow-up meetings with the Coordinator of Undergraduate Programs
The Coordinator of Undergraduate Programs organizes and is invited to meet with the students of each class. These meetings are held to discuss the students’ concerns about each subject, the School and the course as a whole. In these meetings, the Coordinator of Undergraduate Programs discusses with students the parameters that guide the design of the course, their views on their educational experienced and addresses the questions raised by the students. After the meeting, the main concerns are worked out by the Coordinator and those responsible in order to improve any weaknesses in the shortest possible time.

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Scholarships

Are there any scholarships available?
Yes, there are two types of scholarships for undergraduate students:

I — Refundable scholarships
Scholarships are funded and can be later repaid without interest. This is done through donations from companies and individuals, and by the alumnus. Today, 30% of law undergraduates are enrolled in the program.
Methods: study (semi-annual funding from 20 to 100% of tuition fees); school supplies; housing and transport; food.

II – Non-refundable scholarships
1 – Dr. Luiz Simões Lopes Scholarship for Academic Excellence: This non-refundable scholarship covers full tuition fees of those students with academic excellence: students ranking 1st in the entrance exam, attending year 1; students with the highest overall average of each class, attending year 2 to 4; and students ranking 1st in the monograph contest, attending year 5.
2 – Scholarships: In 2013, DIREITO SP will introduce the non-refundable scholarship, which considers student performance and socio-economic conditions. Ten scholarships will be granted. These may vary from 30 to 100% of tuition fees.
3 – Education allowance: These allowances are intended to allow underprivileged students to have funds to complete their full-time cycle of studies in DIREITO SP.

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Internship Fair

The Department of Legal Practice and Complementary Activities of the São Paulo Law School (DIREITO SP) organizes an annual Internship Fair. This selection process was designed from the job fair model of Law Schools in the U.S., according to which the educational institutions are closely involved in the employability of their students, taking responsibility for bringing together employers and students.
The Internship Fair of DIREITO SP is geared to students who have completed the full-time stage of the undergraduate program. This process is not only intended to boost the employability of law students, but also to enable them to get into the labor market, providing closer ties with many law firms, businesses and financial institutions to put students in contact with different careers to be followed by means of mock interviews and guidance on résumés and etiquette at work.

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International Agreements

The opportunities offered to the students along the course include academic exchange programs with other law schools.

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Double Degree

Time running side-by-side with you: Double Degree in Law and Business Administration or Law and Economics.

The Double Degree Program allows DIREITO SP students to get a degree in Economics from the School of Economics of São Paulo (EESP) or in Business Administration from the School of Business Administration of São Paulo (EAESP), both of FGV, without having to take another admission exam, while getting two diplomas in a short time. If a law student chooses to attend the dual-degree program in the seventh semester, for example, the two courses can be completed in up to seven years. The double degree allows for complementary studies in two professions that make up a larger field of study, providing professionals with dual degrees with a prominent qualification, thus boosting their competitive edge.

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Legal Practice

The department of Clinical Programs and Career Services develops and offers activities related to the practice of law. At DIREITO SP, these activities are divided into the supervised curricular internship, required extracurricular activities and university extension programs.

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