Ministério das Relações Exteriores, SAF SUL Q.5 Lotes 2/3
70170-600 Brasilia - DF
The Diplomatic Training Program covers 3 semesters of theoretical and practical activities. The program includes a core curriculum of required disciplines (Law, Economics, Diplomacy and Politics, Diplomatic Language, English, Spanish, French, and others). Several elective classes, composed of 20 to 30 students, are offered as well. In addition to the mandatory disciplines, language proficiency classes in Russian, Arabic and Chinese are offered as electives. In the 3rd semester, diplomats complete their training program by performing half-day internships in various divisions and departments of the Ministry of External Relations. The internships provide new diplomats with the opportunity to become familiar with day-to-day functions and activities of the diplomatic career.
In addition to the training program, the Rio Branco Institute offers diplomats two capacity building courses at other levels of the career:
Passing the Diplomacy Refresher Course is a requirement for promotion from the Office of Second Secretary to First Secretary. The Advanced Studies Course is a requirement for promotion from the position of Counselor to Minister Second Class.
The Rio Branco Institute was created on April 18, 1945, by then President of the Republic Getúlio Vargas through Decree 7473, for the purpose of training and selecting diplomatic officers to serve in the Brazilian Foreign Service. Beginning in 1946, candidates for a career in the diplomatic corps are required to pass a public examination administered annually by the Rio Branco Institute. Candidates selected through the public examination are appointed to the position of Third Secretary, corresponding to the entry level of the diplomatic career. They are then automatically registered in the Rio Branco Institute’s Diplomacy Training Course.