Like most other Brazilian higher education institutions, the admission for undergraduate courses in UFSM is mainly based on an annual open test called "vestibular". The only request to be filled in order to apply for it is to have completed a high school course. UFSM's vestibular comprises a multiple-choice exam and a written essay and lasts for 3 mornings and 1 afternoon. The multiple-choice exam contains 15 questions on each of the following subjects: Portuguese Language, Brazilian Literature, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Geography, History, Biology, Philosophy and Foreign Language (the applicant may choose one among English, Spanish, French, German and Italian). The written essay is usually an argumentative text on a theme.