The Graduate Program in Physical Education (PPGEF), located at the UFSC School of Sports, started its activities in 1996 with the academic master’s degree and admitted its first doctoral students in 2006. In recent years, PPGEF has been consolidated as a national and international reference in its academic field, integrating the Academic Excellence Programs in the last evaluation of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel – CAPES (Grade: 6).

The PPGEF was founded from the joint effort of prominent professors of the time, among which we highlight Dr. Markus Vinícius Nahas, who was the first coordinator of the program in 1996. The following professors also acted as coordinators of the PPGEF: Dr. Juarez Vieira do Nascimento; Dr. Adair da Silva Lopes; Dr. Luiz Guilherme Antonacci Guglielmo; Dr. Fernando Diefenthaeler and Dr. Kelly Samara da Silva.

The evolution of research and graduate studies in Physical Education at UFSC has not only contributed to the strengthening of the theoretical-methodological conception but has also provided the academic maturation of different thematic genres that converge to meet the interests and needs of the population. With more than 20 years of activity, the three areas of concentration of the Program have consolidated and its projects and lines of research have been better aligned. Laboratories and research centers have expanded and improved, in terms of infrastructure and equipment, thanks to institutional investments and annual resources granted by funding agencies, enabling research and important publications of international impact.

The consolidation of the PPGEF and its recognition in the international scientific community has led to an increase in international exchanges, both of faculty (postdoctoral research) and students (sandwich doctoral program, internships and visits). Internationalization is also favored by the curricular structure of the master’s and doctoral programs, which allows for the annual provision of courses taught by international guests. Such actions have impacted the quantity and quality of the program’s intellectual production.

Since its inception, the PPGEF has graduated approximately 420 master’s students and 93 doctoral students, and many of these researchers now work in various higher education institutions throughout the country. Furthermore, among the social inclusion and solidarity actions of the PPGEF, we highlight the offer of special interinstitutional master’s and doctoral (DINTER) classes. These programs have provided the qualification of higher education teachers throughout the different regions of Brazil.