Introduction

The Graduate Program in Public Health at the Federal University of Ceará (PPGSP/UFC) adheres to the principles that govern the educational institution to which it is linked. Throughout its existence, the UFC has maintained a commitment to social responsibility and engagement, inclusion and sustainability, contributing to the social and economic development of the state of Ceará, the Northeast and Brazil.

The PPGSP is composed of the Master’s in Public Health, created in 1994, and the PhD in Public Health, initiated in 2015, after a pioneering and successful experience of inter-institutional cooperation within the state of Ceará. The PPGSP is linked to the Medical School of the UFC and its implementation began with the approval of the Master’s course (process number 23067.932/93-87) through the Teaching, Research and Extension Council (CEPE) Resolution number 24, September 8, 1993 and the CONSUNI-UFC Resolution number 7, September 10, 1993, starting its activities the following year.

The PPGSP is recognized by the National Council of Education (CNE) through the Ministry of Education (MEC) ordinance number 609, dated March 14, 2019 (DOU March 18, 2019, section 1, page 63).

The PPGSP is epistemologically located in the scientific field of Collective Health, incorporating its three disciplines: ‘Epidemiology’, ‘Social Sciences and Humanities’ and ‘Politics, Planning and Management’. Since its creation almost three decades ago, the faculty manifests historical and institutional commitment to the education of people and generation of evidence in the field of Collective Health. It also strives to foster citizenship actions for the promotion and production of public health policies. 

This aim is achieved especially through the performance of studies and research on public health issues of greatest relevance within the national and international contexts, being a reference for Ceará State and the Northeast region. 

The Program’s mission is to train committed and qualified students at the Master’s and the PhD level in the performance of scientific research and academic teaching, and to become active leaders for the consolidation of the Unified Health System (SUS), seeking excellence in an interdisciplinary perspective. 

The central objective is to contribute, in a critical way, to improve Graduation in Collective Health and to strengthen SUS, particularly in the State of Ceará and in the Northeast region of Brazil, without leaving behind the increasing national and international role.

The specific objectives are defined as follows:

 I. To train broadly qualified professionals in research, teaching and extension, within their training different backgrounds and epistemological traditions in the field of Collective Health;

II. To foster research and innovation in the area of Collective Health, in an interdisciplinary and integrated pedagogical perspective, in line with the conceptual challenges and the reality of the health system;

III. To produce, disseminate and apply knowledge in the area of Collective Health, aimed at improving living conditions and health status, considering the social determination of health, in addition to the needs of SUS in Ceará and the Northeast region, connecting such realities to other Brazilian regions and the international context;

IV. To contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge in the field of Collective Health and to the improvement of training at different levels;

V. To increase scientific and technological cooperation in strategic areas for Collective Health, and establish a renowned center of excellence in this field in the Northeast region.