Presentation

The objective of the Graduate Program in Computer Science (PPGCC) at UFSCar is to train highly qualified professionals who are able to work both in academia and industry. Our graduate program proposal regarding its performance in training and research aspects is to comprehensively cover the major areas of computer science, following the evolution of the state-of-the-art and investing in research and teaching of current and innovative topics.

There are four lines of research that structure our program, namely: Software Engineering, Databases and Human-Centered Computing ; Artificial Intelligence (AI); Computation Vision; Distributed Systems, Architectures and Computer Networks (DSACN). 

The program started its activities in 1988 with a master's degree, and, since then, more than 430 students have graduated. Throughout its existence, our program has passed through periods that have marked its history, which can be divided into three main phases.

In the implementation phase, which included the first years after its creation, the program started its activities with six professors and eleven incoming students in a single concentration area called Advanced Processing Systems.

In the second phase, which we consider the growth phase, which started in 1995, the number of accredited professors had a significant increase since professors began to be PhDs themselves at the time. Due to this growth and the characteristic dynamism of the computing area, the program underwent a profound restructuring, when it was organized around the four lines of research that remain to this day. In this phase, the faculty has gained experience and consolidated itself as a group of qualified researchers.

The third and last phase, in which we find ourselves today, and we call it the revitalization phase, started around 2004 when the situation of the program and its objectives were again deeply discussed and reassessed. This phase is characterized by changes in the awareness and positioning of the program's professors to consolidate itself as a prominent program in the regional, national, and international scenarios.

The city of São Carlos is a high-tech hub, which puts us in a privileged position regarding the demand for our masters and doctoral courses and the possibility of interacting with many companies. Besides, the city is located in the central region of the state of São Paulo, where there is a large number of higher education institutions, public and private, and technology companies, aspects that also generate demand for scientifically and technologically specialized human resources. A similar situation is reflected in the national scene since the program has always received students from different states in the country since its creation.