ECA’s Graduate Program in Visual Arts is offered on both a master of arts and doctorate levels in all of its academic majors.

ECA’s Graduate Program in Arts is the oldest of its kind in Brazil. Its master of arts (MA) degree was instituted in 1972 and officially implemented in 1974, while the second master of arts degree in Arts in Brazil appeared only 11 years later, in 1985. The doctorate program in Arts, also the first of its kind when created in 1980, remained the only one in Brazil for 15 years.

From the start, ECA’s Fine Arts Department stood out for its commitment with excellence in teaching allied to research in Art. This outstanding quality, it is worth mentioning, was established both by its teaching staff as well as by its student body, due to the high quality of their production, which has a notable participation in the contemporary art scene. The reaffirmation of these goals can be seen in the composition of its teaching staff, renovated in such a way as to maintain the same historical standards of quality, and in the  up-dated preservation of its research lines and of its Undergraduate and Graduate curriculum structures. In July  2006, ECA’s Arts Program, which was comprised of the Fine Arts, Performing Arts and Musicology fields, was divided into three autonomous Graduate Programs. Our Program was consequently named ECA-USP’S GRADUATE PROGRAM IN VISUAL ARTS.