Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Ambiental

History of the PPGEA

Origins

The Graduate Program in Environmental Engineering (PPGEA) is part of the Technological Center (CTC) at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) in Florianópolis. Its history begins with the undergraduate program in Sanitary Engineering, established at UFSC in 1978.

The program emerged from the public sanitation policies of that era—most notably the National Sanitation Plan (PLANASA), which became effectively operational in 1971 and provided funding for the creation of state-level sanitation companies. An analysis of the plan identified a need to train approximately 6,000 sanitary engineers to meet the country’s requirements. To decentralize this training, the Federal Government mandated the creation of five Sanitary Engineering programs, one for each region of the country. UFSC was tasked with the program for the Southern region. Other institutions tasked with this mission included the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) in Belém and the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT) in Cuiabá.

In 1978, UFSC established the Sanitary Engineering Coordination Office, initially affiliated with the Department of Civil Engineering. The program admitted 40 students per year—a figure that was increased to 80 spots in 1995. The first cohort of sanitary engineers from UFSC graduated in 1982.

On April 23, 1986, the Department of Sanitary Engineering was officially created. In the 1990s—against the backdrop of the Rio Conference (Rio-92) and the growing integration of concepts from UNESCO’s “Man and the Biosphere” (MAB) program, which addresses the relationship between society and the environment, environmental degradation, nature conservation, and sustainable development—several Sanitary Engineering programs across Brazil began curricular reforms to incorporate an environmental dimension. Notable examples include those at UFBA (1994), UFSC (1997), and UFMT (1997). At UFSC, the department was renamed the Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering (ENS) in 1996. The undergraduate program became “Sanitary-Environmental Engineering” in 1997, and has been known as “Sanitary and Environmental Engineering” since 2004.

The undergraduate program is recognized in specialized academic assessment publications as a benchmark in its field, and this educational foundation served as the basis for the creation of the Graduate Program.

Creation of the Program

In 1986, the department launched an intensive training plan for its faculty to address regional environmental issues. This process led to a proposal to establish a graduate program, rooted in the conviction that “all knowledge production regarding the environment should be linked to the development of human resources and efforts to disseminate information to society.”

Three core functions guided the project: the production of knowledge, the development of human resources, and the dissemination of information to society. Based on these principles, the PPGEA (Graduate Program in Sanitary and Environmental Engineering) was established in 1994, initially offering a Master’s degree. The first thesis defense took place in 1996.

Doctoral Program and Consolidation
The Doctoral program was launched in 2000, featuring nine research tracks, including: Environmental Management in Organizations; and Water Resources Management. Hydrodynamics and Ecology of Coastal Marine Systems; Hydrology and Applied Hydraulics; Atmospheric Pollution; Soil and Groundwater Remediation; Urban, Industrial, and Agricultural Solid Waste; Environmental Toxicology; and the Treatment of Water and Domestic, Industrial, and Agricultural Effluents. With this, the Program completed its cycle for the training of researchers. The first thesis defense took place in 2005.

As the faculty consolidated and scientific demands evolved, the research structure was reorganized into five lines, centered around broader thematic axes:

Governance, Management, and Environmental Impact Assessment	Hydrology, Hydrodynamics, and Water Resources	Water Treatment, Applied Hydraulics, and Water and Sewage Systems
Effluent Treatment and Resource Recovery	Environment, Pollution Management, and Environmental Toxicology

The ongoing training of doctoral-level researchers continues at a steady pace. In 2015, the Program recorded its 100th doctoral thesis, and in 2026, its 200th—milestones that reflect the maturity and consistency of its academic output.

Recognized Excellence

The PPGEA generates knowledge regarding local and regional environmental issues—linked to the global context—and trains professionals capable of addressing these challenges in an integrated manner. This work is supported by established research groups, national and international projects, collaborations with research groups in other countries, and high-impact publications. This body of work was awarded a score of 7 by CAPES—the highest possible rating in the 2021–2024 quadrennial evaluation, the results of which were released in 2025. This score designates the Program as one of national and international excellence and is the outcome of the collective efforts of faculty, students, and technical staff, all focused on innovation and the generation of scientific, technological, environmental, economic, and social impact.

A score of 7 also reflects an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement and to the contribution of science toward a more sustainable society.

Our Journey