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Graduate Program in Biodiversity and Nature Conservation

Student and Faculty Manual

Welcome to the student and faculty manual! Here you will find information and forms about:

  1. Guidelines for new students
  2. Scheduling the defense
  3. Project alteration for master’s/PhD or project title change
  4. Credit recognition
  5. Financial assistance for defense committee members
  6. Financial assistance for students (fieldwork and events)
  7. Co-supervisor accreditation
  8. Teaching internship
  9. Dissertation/Thesis approval
  10. Course enrollment
  11. Defense/Qualification extension
  12. Qualification
  13. Post-doctoral internship enrollment request
  14. Vehicle requisition
  15. Daily allowance and/or air ticket request for faculty members of the program
  16. Request for reimbursement of scientific article publication fee
  17. Deadlines for qualification and defense
  18. Post-doctoral internship
  19. Other documents

1. GUIDELINES FOR NEW STUDENTS

New students must register in two systems:

  • Electronic Information System (SEI): Register as an external user by accessing the link https://www2.ufjf.br/sei/usuario-externo/ and following the procedures. This registration grants students access to processes like scholarship implementation, financial aid, defenses, etc.
  • SIGA (Integrated Academic Management System): Visit https://siga.ufjf.br/, click on “My first access” and follow the instructions. This registration allows students to enroll in courses, check grades, view their academic history, and more. Students who have previously studied at UFJF can log in normally using their old registration and just switch their profile to Master’s/Doctorate in the top right corner of the SIGA home page.
  • Institutional Email: An institutional email with the domain @ufjf.br is automatically created for each student after enrollment. This email grants access to a Google Drive. To access it, simply log into SIGA and click “institutional email.” Through this icon, you can access your email address and change your password. Some professors also use this email address to send course-related information, so it is important to check it regularly.

2. DEFENSE SCHEDULING:

Send via email (ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br), at least 40 days before the defense:

  • Proposal Form for the Committee (PhD version/master’s version) for approval by the Dissertation and Thesis Validation Committee. The examining committee must be composed of the Supervisor, Co-supervisor (if applicable), and professors with equivalent or higher qualifications (2 for Master’s and 4 for Doctorate, at least half of them from outside UFJF and the Program). Substitute members must meet the same qualifications as the main members. Attention: correctly fill out each member’s role as either internal or external main or substitute. The committee proposal must be signed by the supervisor.
  • Final version of the dissertation/thesis (according to UFJF bibliographic standards).
  • Email addresses of all committee members.
  • For the Master’s, proof of submission of a scientific article based on the dissertation to a Qualis A4 or higher journal in the field of Biodiversity, with the student as the first author.
  • For the Doctorate, proof of acceptance of a scientific article based on the thesis to a Qualis A4 or higher journal in the field of Biodiversity, with the student as the first author.
  • If the defense is remote, provide the link for the defense.

Wait for confirmation from the secretary regarding the approval of the committee and the scheduling of the defense.

On the day of the defense, the presentation time is up to 30 minutes for the Master’s and up to 50 minutes for the Doctorate. Each examiner will have up to 1 hour to ask questions and discuss with the student.

Required conditions for scheduling the Master’s or Doctorate defense:

a) Submit a request to the Collegiate, asking for measures to be taken to schedule the Defense of the Dissertation or Thesis, to be delivered to the Administrative Secretary at least 40 days in advance.
b) Complete the minimum number of required credits for the course (20 for Master’s and 40 for Doctorate). The Dissertation credits (2) and Thesis credits (2) will count toward the total minimum credits.
c) Be approved in the Qualification Exam (Art. 21 of the PPG General Regulations).
d) Present proof of compliance with the rules for the return of study materials (herbariums, libraries, etc.) set by UFJF.
e) For the Master’s, submission of a scientific article based on the dissertation to a Qualis A4 or higher journal in the field of Biodiversity, with the student as the first author.
f) For the Doctorate, acceptance of a scientific article based on the thesis to a Qualis A4 or higher journal in the field of Biodiversity, with the student as the first author.
g) For the Doctorate, submission of a manuscript for a Program scientific dissemination journal within 36 months of enrollment.

Dissertations and Theses must be written in Portuguese. They should also have an abstract and title in English and a summary in accessible language for the general public for scientific outreach. With Collegiate approval, Dissertations and Theses written in English or Spanish may be accepted.

3. PROJECT MODIFICATION (MASTER’S/DOCTORATE) OR TITLE CHANGE:

3.1 To modify the project, send an email to (ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br):

3.2 To change the project title after Seminar courses, without altering the project, send an email to (ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br):

  • Letter of justification for the title change signed by the student and supervisor (free format).

3.3 To change the project title after it has been approved in a Seminar course, simply send an email to (ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br) requesting the title change, stating that the new title has already been approved in the Seminar course.

4. CREDIT TRANSFER:

For the Doctorate, of the 40 credits, up to 50% can be transferred from a Master’s in a program related to the CAPES Biodiversity area, and 1/3 of the remaining credits may be taken from other Programs and transferred for the total count.

Graduate courses completed during the Bachelor’s degree may be transferred, provided they have not been counted toward the Bachelor’s degree requirements.

Send an email to (ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br) with the Credit Transfer Form and:

  • Completion statement for the course (must include the course name, credit hours, and grade).
  • For credit transfer from the Master’s to the Doctorate, attach a copy of the Master’s transcript.
  • Course syllabus.

5. FINANCIAL AID FOR EXTERNAL GUESTS:

Send via email (ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br) at least 30 days before the defense:

On the day of the defense, the external guest must submit the SCDP Travel report and copies of airline or bus tickets, if not traveling by private vehicle.

6. FINANCIAL AID FOR STUDENTS (FIELDWORK AND EVENTS):

Fill out and send the forms available through the links below, with a minimum of 15 days before the event or field activity. Once approved, the student will be notified via email and must sign the responsibility term sent via SEI.

Financial aid depends on the correct documentation, approval from the PPG coordination, and the availability of funds.

For events (presentation of work):

For fieldwork:

7. CO-SUPERVISOR CREDENTIALING:

Co-supervisor registration is subject to the Program Coordinator’s approval. The student’s supervisor must email (ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br):

8. TEACHING INTERNSHIP:

Teaching practice is mandatory for Master’s and Doctoral students and must be done through participation in an undergraduate course under the supervision of a Program faculty member (Teaching Internship I). Doctoral students must also complete a summer or winter course (Teaching Internship II).

After completing the teaching practice, the student must email (ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br) the forms below, filled out and signed, for credit allocation.

9. DISSERTATION/THESIS APPROVAL:

Send via email (ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br) within 60 days after the defense:

  • Consent form for publication of academic papers: Fill out the term, print, sign, and digitize it in PDF.
  • Final work in PDF with the Approval Term handed to the student after the defense, included in the Dissertation/Thesis following the correct ABNT (UFJF bibliographic standards).
  • Copy of the Bachelor’s degree diploma (only for Master’s) or Master’s degree diploma (only for Doctorate).
  • INPI declaration, if choosing to embargo the dissertation for patent reasons. If embargoing for article submission to a journal, no INPI declaration is required.

Students must also register in SEI as external users by following the steps here. After completing the SEI process, students must contact the Support Center via email: faleconosco@ufjf.br to request the diploma.

For conditional approval (with substantial modifications to the defended document), both Master’s and Doctorate diplomas will only be issued after an official letter from the supervisor to the PPG Biodiversity Coordination, confirming that the corrections and critiques suggested by the committee were addressed, followed by the submission of the final version of the Dissertation or Thesis. Contact the secretariat for more guidance on re-evaluation by the committee.

10. COURSE ENROLLMENT:

The Master’s program requires a minimum of 20 credits, and the Doctorate requires 40 credits. The credits for the Dissertation or Thesis (2 credits) will be counted in the total required credits.

Master’s students must complete 20 credits by the end of the program, distributed as follows:

  • Dissertation (2 credits): All Master’s students must enroll in “Dissertation” every semester, even if they have already completed all the required credits and are about to defend. This course carries 2 credits, but these will only be counted in the final semester of the program. In all other semesters, it will be recorded as “no grade.” Enrolling in this course maintains the student’s connection to the Program.
  • Master’s Seminars (4 credits): This course should be taken in the student’s first year in the Program.
  • Teaching Internship I (1 credit): Mandatory for all students and can be taken at any point during the student’s time in the Program. It is recommended to enroll in the first year.
  • 13 credits of elective courses.

Doctoral students must complete 40 credits by the end of the program, distributed as follows:

  • Thesis (2 credits): All Doctoral students must enroll in “Thesis” every semester, even if they have already completed all the required credits and are about to defend. This course carries 2 credits, but these will only be counted in the final semester of the program. In all other semesters, it will be recorded as “no grade.” Enrolling in this course maintains the student’s connection to the Program.
  • Seminars I (2 credits): This course should be taken in the first year in the Program.
  • Seminars II (2 credits): This course should be taken in the second year in the Program.
  • Teaching Internship I (1 credit): Mandatory for all students and can be taken at any point during the student’s time in the Program. It is recommended to enroll in the first year.
  • Teaching Internship II (1 credit): Mandatory for all doctoral students and can be taken at any point during the student’s time in the Program. It is developed in groups, through the offering of summer or winter courses.
  • 32 credits in elective courses.

The schedule describing the courses and the respective responsible professors will be presented annually, through a calendar approved by the Collegiate, which will be available on this website, on the course calendar page. The credits and syllabus for each course can be found on the course list page.

Students enrolled in the PPG Biodiversity will receive emails informing them about the course schedule, enrollment method, and deadlines for enrolling in courses.

Requests for course enrollment cancellation should be made within the deadline corresponding to 25% of the total classes in the respective course, and are subject to approval by the Advisor.

11. EXTENSION OF DEFENSE/QUALIFICATION:

It is possible to extend the defense by up to 6 months for the Master’s and up to 12 months for the Doctorate, in exceptional cases, provided a formal request is made to the PPG Biodiversity Coordination as outlined below. The request will be evaluated by the Collegiate, which may approve or deny the extension.

To request an extension for the defense, send by email (ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br) at least 45 days before the final defense deadline:

  • Defense Extension Form
  • Advisor’s statement agreeing to the extension, signed
  • Justification and schedule of activities, indicating missing stages and the new proposed defense date
  • Academic transcript issued in SIGA
  • Any other documents deemed necessary by the student

For the qualification extension, send by email (ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br), at least 45 days before the final qualification deadline:

  • Advisor’s statement agreeing to the extension, signed
  • Justification and schedule of activities, indicating missing stages and the new proposed qualification date
  • Academic transcript issued in SIGA
  • Any other documents deemed necessary by the student

12. QUALIFICATION

The evaluation of the requirements for the Master’s and Doctorate qualification will be carried out by an Examining Committee composed of one member external to the PPG Biodiversity and one internal member. The presence of the advisor and/or co-advisor, if any, is optional during the defense. The internal member of the examining committee will serve as the chair.

For the Master’s:

The Qualification Exam for the Master’s should take place between 12 and 20 months after enrollment and consists of the presentation of a manuscript to a committee composed of 2 doctoral members. The manuscript must be written in English or Portuguese, formatted for submission to an A4+ journal according to the Qualis CAPES Biodiversity (or equivalent as per the latest guidelines), with a date after enrollment in the Master’s program, and necessarily linked to the Dissertation, with the student as the first author and the advisor as a co-author.

To schedule the qualification, send an email to ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br at least 30 days in advance with the following information:

  • Copy of the manuscript in submission format for the chosen journal
  • Name and ISSN of the journal to which it will be submitted
  • Full names and emails of committee members (1 external to PPG and 1 internal to PPG) and substitutes, nominated by the advisor
  • Date and time of the presentation

After scheduling, the student will receive an email with documentation and information about the qualification. They should then send the following documents/information to the committee and copy the secretary (ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br):

  • Presentation link
  • Manuscript and information on the chosen journal
  • Minutes and evaluation form (provided by the secretary)

It is not necessary to record the qualification.

For the Doctorate:

The Qualification Exam for the Doctorate should take place between 12 and 36 months after enrollment and consists of meeting two cumulative requirements:

  1. Acceptance or publication of an article, written in English, in an A4+ journal according to the Qualis CAPES Biodiversity (or equivalent as per the latest guidelines), which is after enrollment in the Doctorate program, and necessarily linked to the Thesis, with the student as the first author and the advisor as a co-author.
  2. Presentation and defense of a Thesis Progress Report, detailing the completed stages and future plans.

To schedule the presentation, send an email to ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br at least 30 days in advance with the following:

  • Relatório de condução de tese (items 1 to 8, with item 8 completed by the advisor and the others by the student)
  • Date and time of the presentation
  • Full names and emails of the committee members (1 internal and 1 external) and substitutes, nominated by the advisor
  • Title of the thesis
  • Copy of the accepted or published article
  • Presentation link

The invitation, documents, and presentation link will be sent to the committee by the secretary.

It is not necessary to record the qualification.

The student’s presentation time for the qualification is 20 to 40 minutes.

14. VEHICLE REQUEST:

Send by email (ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br) at least 12 days in advance the following documents:

  • Justification for the trip
  • Departure and return dates and times
  • Complete address of departure and destination, with postal codes
  • Passengers list with their names and details

15. REQUEST FOR DAILY ALLOWANCE AND/OR AIRLINE TICKETS FOR PROGRAM FACULTY

The documents for accounting should be attached to the absence process within 5 days after returning from the trip. They include:

  • Completed and signed travel report (SEI model)
  • Copies of airline or bus tickets, if applicable
  • Certificates of participation and presentation, for events
  • Proof of the technical visit, if applicable
  • Field report, if applicable
16. REQUEST FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE PUBLICATION FEE

The requester and beneficiary of the reimbursement must be a faculty member accredited in the PPG Biodiversity and Conservation program and a permanent staff member of UFJF.

Complete and submit the form available at the link below. Once the reimbursement is approved, the faculty member will be notified by email and must sign the document to be sent via SEI.

Reimbursement release depends on sending the correct documentation, approval by the PPG Coordination, PROPP, COESF, and financial availability.

More information can be found in the following Decrees:

Qualis CAPES Calculation

Document checklist (COESF)

17. DEADLINES FOR QUALIFICATION AND DEFENSE

Master’s students deadlines

Enrollment Date Qualification Deadline Defense Deadline
2020.1 (March 2020) 31/10/2021 28/02/2022
2020.2 (September 2020) 31/05/2022 30/09/2022
2021 (March 2021) 31/10/2022 28/02/2023
2022.1 (March 2022) 31/10/2023 28/02/2024
2022.2 (October 2022) 31/05/2024 30/09/2024
2023.02 (February 2023) 30/09/2024 31/01/2025
2023.01 (March 2023) 31/10/2024 28/02/2025
2023.03 (August 2023) 30/03/2025 31/07/2025
2024.01 (March 2024) 31/10/2026 28/02/2026
2024.02 (December 2024) 31/07/2026 30/11/2026

Doctoral students deadlines

Enrollment Date Qualification Deadline Defense Deadline
2019 (March 2019) 28/02/2022 28/02/2023
2020.1 (March 2020) 28/02/2023 28/02/2024
2020.2 (September 2020) 31/08/2023 31/08/2024
2021 (March 2021) 28/02/2024 28/02/2025
2022 (March 2022) 28/02/2025 28/02/2026
2023.01 (March 2023) 28/02/2026 28/02/2027
2023.02 (February 2023) 31/01/2026 31/01/2027
2023.03 (August 2023) 31/07/2026 31/07/2027
2023.04 (October 2023) 30/09/2026 30/09/2027
2024.01 (March 2024) 28/02/2027 28/02/2028
2024.02 (December 2024) 30/11/2027 30/11/2028 

18. POSTDOCTORAL STAGE (ENROLLMENT AND APPROVAL)

For enrollment, the following documents are required:

  • Application form (Template)
  • Letter of acceptance from a permanent professor of the PPG Biodiversity, who will supervise the research (Template)
  • If employed, a document releasing the candidate from their activities or an explanation regarding how their professional commitments will align with the proposed post-doctoral internship. If not employed, a declaration stating this situation
  • If the candidate receives a grant from a funding agency or similar for the post-doctoral internship, a confirmation document from the respective institution
  • Detailed research project to be conducted
  • Curriculum Vitae registered in the Lattes Platform
  • Copy of the doctoral diploma (front and back) or a copy of the doctoral defense minutes. If submitting the defense minutes, the diploma must be sent before the end of the post-doctoral internship
  • Personal documents:
    • Birth or marriage certificate (updated and in good condition)
    • Identity card (front and back)
    • CPF (Brazilian Taxpayer ID)
    • Voter registration
    • Certificate of electoral clearance, available at: http://www.tse.jus.br/eleitor/certidoes/certidao-de-quitacao-eleitoral
    • Certificate of military service exemption, reservist status, or active military service (if male, front and back)

The documents must be sent to the email ppg.biodiversidade@ufjf.br, and enrollment is subject to the approval by the Program Collegiate of the detailed project submitted by the candidate.

If the candidate is receiving a scholarship from any institution or funding agency, they must verify the specific conditions and rules.

For the approval of the post-doctoral internship, a minimum duration of 3 months is required, along with the submission of the following documents:

  • Post-doctoral report, which must be approved by the Program Collegiate
  • Document signed by the supervising professor of the research

More information:
Resolução-48_2015-CSPP-Post-doctorate

19. OTHER DOCUMENTS

Formulário de participação

 

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