Brazil's National Institute of the Atlantic Forest (INMA) is accepting applications for 20 scholarships under the Institutional Capacity Building Program (PCI). The deadline is 11:59 p.m. on September 18, 2026, and applications must be submitted exclusively through an online form. The openings support four research projects and range from secondary-school or vocational profiles to highly experienced professionals, master's graduates and PhDs.
For applicants, the main point is not to look only at the monthly stipend. Each opening in Annex III has its own requirements for education, experience, work arrangement and activities. INMA's official page brings together the call, the corrected version and the application form, and the institute also published an official summary of the selection.
What is open and when applications close
PCI/INMA Call No. 01/2026 offers 20 openings to work on four projects under INMA's Institutional Capacity Building Program. The call states that applications opened on September 12 and close on September 18, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.
- Openings: 20.
- Deadline: September 18, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.
- How to apply: only through the online form linked on INMA's calls page.
- Monthly amounts: R$1,170 to R$6,760, depending on the category and requirements.
- Interviews: scheduled for September 25 and 28 by videoconference.
- Final result: October 2.
- Scholarship implementation: by October 5.
The corrected call published on September 14 contains an important change: Opening 9 was corrected to the PCI-DD category, with a monthly amount of R$3,718. Anyone who saved the first version should check the corrected document before applying.
Scholarship categories and monthly amounts
Annex I lists six scholarship categories. The table below is useful for an initial screening, but it does not replace the specific profile for each opening in Annex III.
| Category | Monthly amount | General prerequisite in the call |
|---|---|---|
| PCI-DA | R$6,760 | 10 years of experience after a higher-education degree; or a PhD held for at least 2 years; or a master's degree held for at least 6 years. |
| PCI-DB | R$5,408 | 7 years of experience after a higher-education degree; or a PhD; or a master's degree held for at least 4 years. |
| PCI-DC | R$4,394 | 5 years of experience after a higher-education degree; or a master's degree. |
| PCI-DD | R$3,718 | Higher-education degree and experience in scientific, technological or innovation projects. |
| PCI-DE | R$2,535 | Secondary-level technical qualification recognized by Brazil's Ministry of Education and experience in scientific, technological or innovation projects. |
| PCI-DF | R$1,170 | Secondary-school diploma and/or vocational training. |
Beyond these general criteria, each of the 20 openings may require a specific field of study, technical skills, fieldwork availability, software proficiency, scientific output or data-management experience. Work arrangements also vary among on-site, hybrid and remote. Applicants should therefore use the category as an initial filter and then read Annex III opening by opening.
The four research projects
The openings are distributed among four research fronts on Atlantic Forest biodiversity and conservation:
- Integrated monitoring of the central Atlantic Forest: new tools for long-term biodiversity studies, including inventories, environmental data, bioacoustics and other monitoring methods.
- From canopy to diversity: multisensor mapping of tree floristic diversity in the Doce River basin, using remote sensing, LiDAR, satellite data and data analysis.
- From information to prioritization: diagnosis for conservation of threatened fauna in the Legal Atlantic Forest, with biodiversity databases, modeling and support for priority-setting.
- Open ecosystems of the Atlantic Forest: biodiversity, scientific collections and conservation support for environments such as rupestrian grasslands, inselbergs, high-altitude grasslands and mussunungas.
The practical takeaway is straightforward: before preparing documents, applicants should find the Annex III opening whose project, required education and activities match their background. Applying based only on the stipend can lead to elimination during document validation or CV assessment.
Who can receive a PCI scholarship
In addition to the specific requirements for each opening, the call sets general conditions. Applicants must be Brazilian or foreign nationals in regular status in Brazil, have a registered and updated Lattes CV, meet the education and experience requirements, and have no employment or functional relationship. The PCI scholarship also cannot be combined with another scholarship funded by CNPq or another national funding agency.
The call allows scholarship holders to pursue a stricto sensu graduate program without another funding-agency scholarship, provided that this does not interfere with the work-plan obligations. Because these conditions directly affect eligibility, applicants should review their employment and academic status before submitting.
Application document checklist
Documents must be uploaded as PDF files through the online form. The call lists:
- Lattes CV registered on the Lattes Platform and updated in 2026;
- photo identification showing the CPF number;
- CPF document if the number is not on the ID;
- undergraduate diploma or completion statement when required by the opening;
- master's diploma or signed defense record when required;
- doctoral diploma or signed defense record when required;
- secondary-school diploma or vocational-training certificate when required;
- Presentation Letter;
- specific documentation for applicants opting for reserved openings.
INMA states that it is not responsible for defective PDF files or applications not received because of technical problems. In practical terms, applicants should open every PDF before submission and avoid waiting until the final minutes.
How to prepare the Presentation Letter
The letter is an eliminatory part of the selection. It must be written in Portuguese, contain no more than 3,000 characters excluding spaces, and be formatted on A4 paper. Applicants are asked to relate their skills to the mandatory and desirable requirements of the opening and explain their expectations and motivation to work on the project.
A practical structure is to use three moves: first, identify the opening and show how your education fits; second, highlight verifiable experience connected to the requirements; third, explain why the project fits your professional path. The letter should be consistent with the Lattes CV and the supporting documents.
Can I apply for more than one opening?
Yes. The call allows applicants to compete for more than one scholarship as long as they meet the requirements for each opening. However, a separate application form is required for each opening. If approved for more than one, the applicant may take only one scholarship.
This means the same application should not simply be duplicated. Since Annex III profiles differ, the letter and supporting documents should demonstrate the fit for each selected opening.
How the reserved openings work
Of the 20 openings, the call provides 13 for open competition and 7 for reserved places. The reservation may cover mothers; transgender, transsexual and travesti people; Black, Brown, Indigenous or Quilombola applicants who previously entered education or public service through quota policies; and members of low-income families registered in CadÚnico.
Proof varies by category and may include a child's birth certificate or guardianship document, a trans identity self-declaration, proof of previous admission through racial quotas, prior approval by a racial-identification panel, or proof that the responsible family member is registered in CadÚnico. If reservation documentation is not accepted, the applicant automatically competes in the open category.
The call also says that all openings are eligible for reservation and that, after the approved lists are consolidated, a public draw will determine which openings are actually allocated to reserved places.
Selection stages and timeline after applying
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Application deadline | September 18, 2026, 11:59 p.m. |
| Preliminary result of validated applications and interview invitations | September 22, 2026 |
| Appeal on validation/interview invitation | September 23, 2026, by 11:59 p.m. |
| Final validation result and interview invitations | September 24, 2026 |
| Videoconference interviews | September 25 and 28, 2026 |
| Preliminary interview result | September 29, 2026 |
| Appeal on preliminary interview result | September 30, 2026, by 11:59 p.m. |
| Final result and public draw for reserved openings | October 2, 2026 |
| Scholarship implementation | By October 5, 2026 |
The interview is eliminatory and classificatory and will take place by videoconference. Project supervisors will schedule it using the email address provided in the application. Applicants are responsible for monitoring that inbox; the call does not provide an appeal for a missed interview caused by unread email or incorrectly entered contact information.
How to reduce the risk of an incomplete application
- Open INMA's official calls page and use the corrected version of PCI/INMA Call No. 01/2026.
- Find the exact opening in Annex III and confirm category, education, experience, work arrangement and activities.
- Make sure your Lattes CV was updated in 2026 and that it supports the requirements you claim to meet.
- Gather applicable diplomas, defense records and certificates, and confirm that every PDF is legible.
- Write the Presentation Letter within the 3,000-character limit excluding spaces and connect your experience to the opening's requirements.
- If applying under the reservation policy, attach the document required for your category.
- If applying for more than one opening, submit a separate form for each one.
- After submitting, keep checking the official page and the email address used in the form until the process ends.
Because the call was corrected on September 14 and the deadline is September 18, the most reliable reference is always INMA's latest official documentation. For questions about the call, the document lists pci@inma.gov.br.
