In 2006, the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), through the Department of Physical Therapy, presented to CAPES [Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel] the proposal for the creation of the Academic Master’s Degree Program in the area of Physical Therapy, which was approved and homologated by the National Education Council (CNE) (Ordinance No. 73, published in the Official Journal of the Union (DOU) on January 19th, 2007 – Decision 267/2006, page 22 and 23, published on January 17th, 2007), thus being the first Academic Master’s Degree Program in Physical Therapy of the Brazilian Northern and Northeastern regions, and the only master’s degree program in Physical Therapy outside the Southern-Southeastern regions. In 2012, a proposal for the creation of a Doctorate in Physical Therapy was submitted and approved, with the subsequent creation of the Graduate Program in Physical Therapy (PPGFIS). Since its creation, the academic structure of the PPGFIS is based on half-yearly academic periods, with students being admitted on a yearly basis. Currently, PPGFIS offers a range of courses which can be attended either by masters or PhD students. In order to successfully complete a Master’s degree, students must attend a minimum of 25 credits, and to complete a Doctoral degree, they must attend a minimum of 40 credits. The Area of concentration is entitled: “Evaluation and Intervention in Physical Therapy and the lines of research are: Evaluation and Intervention in the Aging Process, Evaluation and Intervention in the Musculoskeletal System, Evaluation and Intervention in the Nervous System and Evaluation and Intervention in the Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems. In this perspective, the principles of PPGFIS are based on the current processes of evaluation and intervention of physical therapy practice in the different healthcare levels, and PPGFIS has an important role in tackling the Brazilian regional imbalance with respect to the education of qualified human resources for the Physical Therapy area. Its pioneering spirit and constant productive evolution expresses its importance as a program of the area 21 of CAPES.

PPGFIS’s potential expresses itself in the recognized quality education of masters and PhDs in Physical Therapy and in their hiring by educational and research institutions from all over the country, and even by foreign institutions. It’s also worth mentioning the education, multiplicity and cooperation of research groups coordinated by Physical Therapy graduates, and the increasingly stronger impact of the number and quality of publications in internationally acclaimed scientific journals. In line with UFRN’s Institutional Development Plan, PPGFIS has carried out, over the years, relevant actions that resulted in impact on the educational, scientific, sociocultural and technological-economic dimensions. Such impact is the outcome of actions and products derive from strategic planning of each research lab, of the program’s professors and of the students engaged in the actions proposed in their theses and dissertations. Thus, PPGFIS has become an important reference as a graduate program with local, regional, national and international scientific presence, with a significant evolutionary capability, as attested by the relevant volume of financial resources raised by professors in national and international funding agencies; the scientific production of professors and students in high impact journals; the establishment of cooperation and exchange with national and international universities; the participation of professors holders of productivity fellowship in funding agencies’ evaluation committees and in the editorial board of relevant journals of the field of Physical Therapy and related subjects; among other activities.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of the Graduate Program in Physical Therapy (PPGFIS) of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) is the education of Masters and PhDs in the field of Physical Therapy, who must be prepared to act as lecturers and researchers in Research Centers and in Higher Education Institutions. The purposes also include:

I – encouragement to increase the scientific output of UFRN’s Department of Physical Therapy and of UFRN’s Health Sciences Center;

II – promotion of interchange with other academic units from UFRN or with other Brazilian and foreign higher education institutions, interested in the production of scientific knowledge in the field of Physical Therapy.

GRADUATE PROFILE:

The educational profile of the awardees of Master’s and PhD degrees in Physical Therapy graduated from UFRN shall be based on the following aspects: I – education in the concentration area of Evaluation and Intervention in Physical Therapy, with application of specific knowledge in physical therapy’s different fields of practice; II – solid basic and specific knowledge of research in Physical Therapy; III – command of methodological tools applicable to human motion research; IV – multi and interdisciplinarity of knowledge; V – academic education geared toward the practice of lecturing/teaching and research.

E-mail: ppgfis@ccs.ufrn.br / coord.ppgfis@gmail.com 

Phone: (84) 3342-2002