The PPGD/UFRN originated in 1996, with the creation and implementation of an Interinstitutional Master's Degree in Law (Minter), in partnership with the Graduate Program in Law of the Federal University of Pernambuco (PPGD/UFPE). This course has resulted in 10 (ten) master's degrees, all of which are members of the faculty of the Law Course at UFRN.
This first stricto sensu graduate experience, provided by UFPE, created the conditions for the development of research in the Law Course at UFRN. In this context, in 1997, the Law, State and Society Research Group was created, aiming to build the core of a Graduate Program in Law at UFRN. Moving forward a little further, on December 28, 1999, the Master's Degree in Law was institutionally approved by Resolution No. 129/99 of CONSEPE-UFRN. Finally, in 2003, UFRN had its Master's Degree Program accredited by CAPES, with a score of 03.

Even after just over two decades of accreditation, the PPGD is nationally recognized for the quality of its work. As a result, it achieved a score of 04 in the CAPES/MEC evaluation for the three-year period (2004-2007). Unfortunately, in the last three four-year evaluations, the Program obtained a score of 3. In fact, it is worth noting that the Program is awaiting the results of the 2025 four-year evaluation, with the consequent increase in score to 4.

Currently, the Postgraduate Program in Law at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (PPGD/UFRN) offers an Academic Master's Degree Program in Law, whose area of concentration is Constitution and Guarantee of Rights, with the following lines of research: (i) Constitution, Regulation and Development (Research Line 1); (ii) Process and Guarantee of Rights (Research Line 2); and (iii) International Law and Realization of Rights (Research Line 3).

Research Line 1 examines the foundations of the economic and social orders established by the Federal Constitution of 1988 and the relationship of these constitutional norms with the protection of fundamental rights in the administrative activity of the State, with a special focus on the regulation (standardization, monitoring, incentives, planning) of public services, state monopolies and private enterprises. There is also concern here with the administrative process in all spheres (tax, environmental, etc.) and the proposal of strategies for the construction and control of public policies aimed at national and regional development, without omitting international influence.

Research Line 2 seeks to analyze the structure of fundamental rights protected by the constitutional order in force and develop proposals for their realization within the scope of the legislative, administrative and judicial processes. Issues such as access to justice, jurisdiction and constitutional justice, constitutional actions, constitutional guarantees of due process, constitutional procedural law, constitutional limits on procedural activity, protection of constitutional freedoms, justice system, administration of justice and process as an instrument for the realization of fundamental rights are addressed and addressed in this line.

Research Line 3 addresses the main aspects of the constitutional discipline of the relationship between the domestic legal system and International Law, with special emphasis on the implementation of international standards in Brazilian Law. In this context, topics such as constitutional principles governing international relations, normative force of international standards, openness of the Constitution to International Law, international legal cooperation, the intersection between the national and international legal system for the protection of people and groups in vulnerable or vulnerable situations, international human rights law and its implementation in the domestic sphere, and, finally, the application of International Law by national courts.

The Master's degree in Law lasts 24 months and admission, which is restricted to law graduates, is through an annual selection process that, as a rule, consists of a written test, a language proficiency exam, an assessment, defense and argumentation of the preliminary research project and a proof of qualifications. Still regarding the selection process for admission to the Master's degree in Law, it is worth highlighting the adoption of affirmative action.

Regarding the curricular structure, the master's degree in law at PPGD/UFRN requires, as a rule, the completion of a total workload of 510 hours. In this scenario, students must complete: a) 180 hours in general mandatory subjects, each of 60 hours (Constitutional Theory, Legal Hermeneutics and Scientific Research Methodology); b) 180 hours in specific subjects in the line of research to which they are linked, each of 60 hours; c) 90 hours in advanced legal seminars in the line of research to which they are linked, each of 30 hours; d) 60 hours of the subject Teaching in Higher Education; e) Teaching Internship; In addition to the master's degree in law, PPGD/UFRN occasionally offers lato sensu postgraduate courses (specialization) in several areas, with a greater focus on continuing education and to meet specific demands.

There is no doubt that the Postgraduate Program in Law at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte has contributed significantly to the formation of a Potiguar Law School, after all, to date, there are more than 500 masters graduated from the Program. In addition, all Potiguar HEIs and all public bodies in the legal field in Rio Grande do Norte have graduates from the Program on their staff.