• To complete the Master’s degree at PPGEP, students must have: completed a minimum of six courses (4 credits each); passed the foreign language proficiency exam; published a paper in a conference or a journal (or have a journal article accepted); and qualified and defended their dissertation within the stipulated two-year deadline.

• The Pro-Rectory requires all qualifying exams and defenses to be scheduled and registered in the system at least TEN DAYS IN ADVANCE. The system will not accept registrations after this deadline. It is best to request scheduling as early as possible; however, all activity details must be
finalized. Presentations cannot be scheduled with pending information.

• The bureaucratic procedure for the qualifying exam is identical to the defense. The difference is that the qualifying exam does not require a committee member from outside UFRN, whereas for the dissertation defense, an external member is mandatory.

• It is recommended that the advisor registers the committee through SIGAA. Afterward, an email must be sent to the Graduate Office requesting approval. If the advisor is unable to register it, they may email the Graduate Office to perform the registration.

• For the Graduate Office to register the committee, the student or advisor must email ppgep@ccet.ufrn.br with the following information: title (in Portuguese and English); abstract (in Portuguese and English); keywords (in Portuguese and English); number of pages; date, time, and location of the presentation; and committee details (for external members, provide CPF, SIAPE, home institution, and email). Since August 2024, the "Social Impact of the Work; must also be included: a brief description in accessible language for scientific communication regarding the main contribution(s)/impact(s) of the work. Please send the email only when all data is finalized.

• Before the presentation, the professor will receive the defense minutes (ata) and the committee certificates. The ata proves whether the student passed and must be returned to the office after the presentation. Certificates are issued to committee members. For dissertation defenses, the advisor will also receive an evaluation form, which must be signed and returned to the office.

• Regarding the ata, the advisor may return it with manual signatures (for in-person defenses) or signed via the gov.br platform. Alternatively, the office can create the document in SIPAC for electronic signatures. Note that all participants must be registered on the platform (UFRN students and faculty are registered automatically). For those who are not (external members), a manual is available on the program website under Documents > Others.

• For dissertations, the student is also responsible for preparing the signature page. This will be page of the final work, located after the cataloging record and before the abstract.