The Graduate Program in Animal Science at the School of Agronomy, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) is one of the oldest and most respected programs in Brazil, being pioneer in Master’s degrees in Animal Science in the country. It was created in 1965 from a partnership between the Brazilian Department of Education (MEC), USAID, and UFRGS with the University of Wisconsin, USA, based on the philosophy of North American schools. When created, it represented a significant advancement in graduate studies in Brazil, forming one of the first groups of Brazilian-graduated professionals occupying jobs at our main national research and teaching institutions. The Program was also important in the formation of EMBRAPA, the Brazilian national agricultural research organization, in the 1970s, where some of our best graduates started working. The Ph.D. curriculum started being offered in 1987, building on the 20-year foundation laid by the M.S. program. By then, the Program had already developed strong human resources, allowing for the preparation of qualified professional for teaching, research, and extension and successfully placing them in various national and international institutions in both the public and private sectors.
Across our 5 decades of existence we have graduated 823 students, 603 of whom were M.S and 220 Ph.D. In recent years, we have been expanding the diversity of our faculty by searching for new international partnerships to offer broad scientific and teaching experiences on all continents. Incentive towards collaboration and the establishment of regulatory goals has motivated faculty to publish in international journals of high impact. The Program has demonstrated steady improvement in all performance indicators and is currently ranked as a Level 6 (on a scale of 4-7) on the Brazilian national educational system’s scale, indicating an above-average level of excellence. Nevertheless, we are not done yet: new metrics and goals are being implemented regarding faculty and student activities, renewal of lab equipment, establishment of strong international partnerships and networks, stricter selection processes for new students, and continuous evaluation of all personnel. We aim to achieve a ranking of Level 7 in the near future, a ranking reserved for the top programs in Brazil!
The Program’s mission is to produce original and transformative knowledge, taking a systemic and holistic approach to the processes and interactions in global animal production systems. This vision intends to meet the standards of knowledge production required by today’s globalized scientific world by emphasizing the need for commitment and strategic planning from our community.
The objective of the Graduate Program on Animal Science is to serve society by producing inspired science and innovative technology and by forming well-trained and transformative human resources. The program pursues this objective by excelling in the academic formation of M.S. and PhD students prepared for working at all levels of teaching, research, and extension, including non-academic positions. Our goal is to contribute to strengthening the scientific, technological, and innovative foundations of our country.
Our mission is to form intelligent and critical professionals who are not merely executors of methodologies. Is our duty to promote citizenship and community involvement for our graduates, awareness of their social responsibility, and at the same time connectivity to global science. We aim to achieve the highest qualification level on the CAPES evaluation system, service as an example of competence and achievement both nationally and internationally. To this end, the Program aims to produce individuals who are leading figures in science and technology development in the most diverse domains of Animal Science.
Copyright 2017 – Animal Science UFRGS. All rights reserved. Developed by BigHouseWeb.
