Our history
The Graduate Program in Geology (PPGG) at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) was founded in 1995 with the master’s program. The doctoral program was established 13 years later, in November 2008, and began academic activities in March 2009.
The Graduate Program in Geology at the Federal University of Ceará (PPGG) has the primary objective of training highly qualified professionals in the field of Geosciences through the production of high-quality scientific knowledge. Its specific objectives include:
- Scientifically enhancing professionals with undergraduate degrees in Geology and Geological Engineering, Geography, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Oceanography, Ecology, Engineering in general, and related fields;
- Developing research focused on various areas of geological knowledge and its applications within the program’s research lines;
- Emphasizing topics of regional and national socio-economic relevance, such as groundwater prospecting and water resource management in the semi-arid Northeast, metallic and non-metallic mineral resources of the State of Ceará and the Brazilian semi-arid region, environmental preservation and conservation, taxonomy, taphonomy, and the paleoenvironmental context of fossils in sedimentary basins of Northeast Brazil, tectonics and sedimentation in Northeast Brazil basins, geophysical models for petroleum system characterization, evaluation and monitoring of coastal erosion, among others.
The research lines reflect the cultural and historical organization of the Department of Geology at UFC, which, since its origins as the Institute of Geosciences in the late 1960s, has focused on Precambrian Geology, Mineral Resources, and Hydrogeology. In the 1980s, another specialization emerged: Environmental Geology and studies related to the environment and human interactions. Since 2010, studies in Paleontology and Sedimentary Geology have gained prominence, fostering the Sedimentary Geology and Paleontology research line. More recently, the fields of Geoarchaeology, Petroleum Geology, Geoconservation, and Geological Heritage have expanded, further broadening PPGG’s areas of expertise.
