The Postgraduate Program in Geography (PPGEO) at the Federal University of Uberlândia was created in 1997. Resolution No. 02/97, of 04/25/1997, authorized the master's degree in geography and recommended it by the CAPES technical advisory group on 11/12/1997. The Doctorate course was approved on 07/26/2002 (Resolution N⁰06/2002) and recommended by the CAPES Scientific Technical Council in March 2003.

During this period, PPGEO has contributed intensely to the progress of Brazilian Geography, with recognition from the national and international scientific community and funding bodies for its production and relevance.

PPGEO has already received several awards for dissertations defended at the National Association for Research and Postgraduate Studies in Geography - ANPEGE annual events.

Currently, the Program is classified as CAPES concept 5 (maximum is 7).

History:
The Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU) was created on August 14, 1969 and federalized on May 24, 1978. Its university structure is organized into academic units comprising faculties and institutes, including the Institute of Geography. In the 1980s, UFU's emphasis was on undergraduate teaching activities. During this decade and the beginning of the 1990s, faculty qualification policies aimed at master's and doctorate degrees provided the necessary bases for implementing stricto sensu postgraduate studies, which occurred at the end of the 1990s.

The UFU Postgraduate Program in Geography (PPGEO) was implemented in 1997, with the Master's degree in Geography, authorized by Resolution nº 02/97 of 04/25/1997 of the UFU University Council and recommended by the technical advisory group from CAPES, on 11/12/1997. The first group started in March 1998 and, until the end of 2002, worked with the Concentration Area called “Socio-Spatial Planning” with three Lines of Research, namely: 1) Environmental Analysis, Planning, and Management; 2) City and Countryside - Political and Socio-spatial Relations and 3) Geoprocessing and Remote Sensing.

The Doctoral Course was approved by the University Council of the Federal University of Uberlândia on July 26, 2002 (Resolution No. 06/2002 - CONSUN), and recommended by the Scientific Technical Council of CAPES in March 2003 (Of. CTC/No. 75/2003 of March 24, 2003) and the first group joined in August 2003. From then on, the Program began to have the Concentration Area “Geography and Territorial Management”, having 3 three Lines of Research: I – Analysis, Planning and Environmental Management; II – Analysis, Planning and Management of Urban and Rural Spaces and III – Teaching, Methods and Techniques in Geography.

In 2007, the curricular reform proposal was prepared and approved by the Program Board, the Council of the Institute of Geography and the University's Teaching and Research Council (approved in January 2008). In this reform, only small adjustments were made to the subject framework, with the reformulation of some and the creation of others.

In 2015, the Board began conducting a broad review to reformulate the Regulations, involving discussions with the teaching staff accredited in the Program between 2016 and 2017. SEI-UFU Resolution nº. 05/2018 of the UFU Research and Postgraduate Council approved the new Regulations for the Postgraduate Program of the Institute of Geography, which structured the PPGEO into an area of ​​concentration entitled “Territorial Dynamics and Environmental Studies” and into three Lines of Research, which include teachers, disciplines and specific activities, namely: I – Territorial Dynamics; II – Environmental Studies and Geotechnologies and III – Geographic Education and Social Representations.

It is noteworthy that since 2018, in compliance with resolution No. 06/2017, of the UFU Research and Postgraduate Council, the Postgraduate Program in Geography has been implementing affirmative policies, reserving 20% ​​of places for black, brown and indigenous people in the processes selective for entry.

Between 1998 and 2020, 504 master's theses and 205 doctoral theses were defended, and we can say that, in 2020, PPGEO-UFU had completed 23 years and received national recognition and is highlighted among the postgraduate courses at the Federal University from Uberlândia.

In general, the program proposes:

I - Develop research in the area of ​​Geography to promote theoretical and practical innovations in these areas of knowledge and, thus, scientific and technological improvement and the improvement of teaching

II - To provide training professionals capable of researching, diagnosing, and solving problems of regional and national interest.