diplomas, while colleges and Extension courses provide certificates of completion. The law formalizes a B.A., B.S., Licentiate or Technologist degrees, according to the student's education, and is prerequisite to begin a Postgraduate degree course. In the Postgrad, only students graduating from Stricto Sensu courses, that is, academic or professional master's and doctoral degrees and are given the titles of Master or Doctor, respectively. For students of the Lato Sensu – specializations, MBA programs and Post-MBA programs – is given certificates of completion and the title Specialist. Graduate degrees in Brazil are called "postgraduate" degrees. Lato sensu graduate degrees: degrees that represent a specialization in a certain area, and take from 1 to 2 years to complete. Sometimes it can be used to describe a specialization level between a master's degree and an MBA. In that sense, the main difference is that the Lato Sensu courses tend to go deeper into the scientific aspects of the study field, while MBA programs tend to be more focused on the practical and professional aspects, being used more frequently to business, management and administration areas. However, since there are no norms to regulate this, both names are used indiscriminately most of the time. Stricto sensu graduate degrees: degrees for those who wish to pursue an academic career. Masters: 2 years for completion. Usually serves as additional qualification for those seeking a differential on the job market (and maybe later a PhD), or for those who want to pursue a PhD. Most doctoral programs in Brazil require a master's degree (stricto sensu), meaning that a Lato Sensu Degree is usually insufficient to start a doctoral program. Doctors / PhD: 3–4 years for completion. Usually used as a stepping stone for academic life. Ecuador The National Polytechnic School (Spanish: Escuela Politécnica Nacional), also known as EPN, is a public university located in Quito, Ecuador. EPN is known for research and education in the applied science, astronomy, atmospheric physics, engineering and physical sciences. The Geophysics Institute monitors over the countries volcanoes in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador and in the Galápagos Islands. EPN adopted the polytechnic university model that stresses laboratory instruction in applied science and engineering. The Oldest Observatory in South America is the Quito Astronomical Observatory and is located in Quito, Ecuador. The Quito Astronomical Observatory, which gives the global community a Virtual Telescope System that is connected via the Internet and allows the world