The Postgraduate Program in Political Science of the Federal University of Pelotas is first founded on the significant presence of the Political Science area in the courses that build the Institute of Philosophy, Sociology and Politics. In 1985, the Specialization Course in Political Science was founded, which, during its 25 years of existence, has trained about 200 students. This was the embryo of the Undergraduate Course in Social Sciences (Bachelor), created in 1991, to which was added a new Course, the Degree in Social Sciences in 1994. In 2006, this joint effort resulted in the implementation of the Master Course in Social Sciences, linked to the Sociology Committee / CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel), including among its 04 lines of research, a specific one for the Political Science Area, called “City, State and Public Sphere”.

The Postgraduate Program in Political Science (PPGCPol) of the Federal University of Pelotas had its operation recommended by CAPES in 2010. The activities began in March 2011, with the first group of M.Sci degree composed by thirteen students. In 2015 PPGCPol obtained a recommendation from CAPES for the operation of the D.Sc.course, whose first group started activities with five students in 2016. PPGCPol results in the effort to strengthen the Political Science and International Relations Area within the University and the south side of Rio Grande do Sul.

The PPGCPol created rigorous parameters to select students and awarding research grants, always taking into account meritocracy and the students real dedication to the course activities. This policy has, in this sense, privileged the solid formation of human resources with an academic vocation. PPGCPol has a Concentration Area, “Democracy and Contemporary Politics” and three lines of research: “Institutions and Political Processes”, “Political Dynamics and Social Conflicts” and “Political Theory and Contemporary Social Theory”.