Starting in 1975, twelve years after the implementation of the Education unit at UFRRJ, the Department of Pedagogical Sciences was split into the Department of Psychology and Guidance (DPO) and the Department of Teaching Theory and Planning (DTPE). Between 1975 and 1977, the Department of Psychology grew in the number of professors and expanded the courses offered, working in the field of education foundations. The year 1977 marked the beginning of the department’s identity, based on the tripod that guides academia (teaching/research/outreach), with some research activities that placed a strong emphasis on local issues but had little visibility in academic forums. At the same time, the faculty of the Department of Psychology expanded the reach of courses, offering Group Dynamics and Human Relations classes to various other fields beyond teacher education programs. During this period, two professors were hired, significantly advancing research, mainly taking advantage of opportunities created by the Projeto Rondon.
Establishing an undergraduate degree in Psychology had always been an aspiration of the faculty at UFRRJ’s Department of Psychology, which was continuously reflected in planning and related actions, including the ongoing request for an increase in the number of doctoral-level faculty positions. Prior to the creation of the undergraduate psychology program, due to the numerous bureaucratic steps required for implementing a course of this nature, the faculty of the Department of Psychology established a Lato-Sensu Postgraduate Program in Educational Psychology, representing a significant effort to develop resources for an area with serious national-level needs. The Lato Sensu Program was an important exercise in consolidating research in DEPSI.
In 2008 and 2009, DEPSI, already with a significantly expanded staff of PhD-holding professors, took on the challenge of creating an undergraduate psychology program. This project was finally realized in 2010, with the first class beginning that year, and it was officially consolidated on November 29, 2010, through Ordinance No. 2018 of the Ministry of Education (MEC), which formally regulated the program.
Currently, DEPSI has 17 permanent professors. The department also maintains a journal classified as B5 by CAPES, called Boletim Interfaces de Psicologia, which has received its initial classification and is improving to achieve a higher ranking in the next Qualis evaluation. At present, eight DEPSI professors serve as full faculty members of the Graduate Program in Psychology (PPGPSI), with one additional faculty member acting as a collaborator. Additionally, there are two external collaborators from UERJ and UFRJ.
The Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), guided by its mission as expressed in its Institutional Development Plan (PDI)—”To generate, share, and apply knowledge across various fields through teaching, research, and outreach, inseparably articulated, in order to contribute to the country’s development, with special emphasis on the interior of the State of Rio de Janeiro and the Baixada Fluminense, aiming at the education of professionals and citizens with autonomy for continuous learning, socially aware of the labor market, and capable of contributing to the construction of social justice and democracy”—has also committed, as one of its fundamental principles, to “training highly qualified, critical, and socially engaged professionals and citizens.”
As part of this mission, the university planned to strengthen the operational foundation necessary for expanding psychology education at the institution, leading to the creation of the undergraduate psychology program. With this program established and receiving a score of 4 in the MEC evaluation, new challenges emerged, including addressing the deficiencies in postgraduate psychology training for students in UFRRJ’s surrounding region.
For decades, the importance of psychology professionals and the need for a continuous training flow for these professionals has been recognized. This training should be aimed at the scientific analysis of behavior and psychosocial processes, ensuring that the growing societal demand for psychological services is met. These services are essential in understanding, preventing, minimizing, and eliminating human psychological issues, as well as promoting higher quality of life standards.
The analysis that justified the creation of the Stricto Sensu Graduate Program in Psychology at UFRRJ considered the real need for this type of training among psychologists in the region surrounding UFRRJ. In the State of Rio de Janeiro, 34 institutions offer undergraduate psychology programs across 18 municipalities. According to data from the Regional Psychology Council of the State of Rio de Janeiro, over 1,200 psychologists are registered in the Baixada Fluminense regional office in Nova Iguaçu alone. Thousands of psychology students are in training, with 600 to 800 graduates completing their undergraduate degrees annually in the state. However, many of these graduates do not pursue Stricto Sensu postgraduate studies due to the distance of existing programs, which makes attendance and retention difficult.
The implementation of PPGPSI at UFRRJ represents the realization of an institutional project that aligns with broader perspectives on the social role of the university, emphasizing public, free, and high-quality education, committed to the tripod of teaching, research, and outreach.
PPGPSI received a recommendation from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) in November 2011. In December of the same year, the first selection notice was published, with the selection process taking place in February 2012, resulting in 16 newly admitted students.
The inaugural lecture featured Professor Dr. Paulo Menandro from UFES and Professor Sueli Schustoff from UFRRJ, officially marking the start of the program’s regular activities on March 14, 2012.
