USP’s PPGS started its activities in the current format in 1971. However, heir to a long tradition, its origins dates back to ancient Chairs System of Sociology of the Faculty of Philosophy at University of São Paulo. 

From 1945 until December 2013, PPGS graduated 536 masters and  552 Doctors in Sociology. Since the beginning of the evaluation of Brazilian post-graduate system in 1976, USP’s PPGS has received top marks by CAPES - before, note A; currently note 7. For the training of Masters and Doctors, our program offers regular semester courses and thematic seminars. Furthermore, we encourage student engagement at our research lines as well as at our groups of debates and research centers associated with it. Thus the writing of the dissertation or thesis may constitute a process guided by rigorous intellectual debate. Student activities are conducted under the guidance of certified professors which are distinguished by the quality of its intellectual production, by the plurality of theoretical approaches and thematic styles, and by the impact of its research in the Brazilian sociological agenda. The emphasis on the internationalization of the program is an ongoing concern and is realized through international agreements, by professors participation in international scientific events, and by the presence of foreign professors especially invited to take part in the scheduled semester activities.