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The Graduate Program in Geography (PPGeo) has a single Area of Concentration, entitled Analysis of Geographic Space, which reflects the Program's integrative perspective on the production of geographical knowledge. The area encompasses research aimed at understanding the processes and dynamics that constitute, organize, and transform geographic space, considering its different dimensions and analytical scales.

The Area of Concentration brings together the different approaches developed within the Program, encompassing studies related to environmental dynamics, territorial processes, geographic education, Geography teaching, and teacher training. This organization enables the development of research based on different theoretical and methodological foundations, preserving the thematic diversity characteristic of Geography while maintaining the academic unity of the Program.

The definition of the Area of Concentration is associated with the academic restructuring process undertaken by PPGeo in the context of the implementation of the Doctoral Program, when the Program's organization was reviewed to align with the characteristics of its faculty, the research being conducted, and contemporary demands for education and training in Geography. The designation Analysis of Geographic Space thus became the common framework for the academic training offered at both the Master's and Doctoral levels.

Within this area, student training seeks to integrate theoretical, methodological, technical, and epistemological foundations, fostering the construction of geographical knowledge and the development of research capable of critically interpreting different spatial processes. The Area of Concentration therefore constitutes the articulating element connecting academic training, research lines, and projects developed within PPGeo.

The Master's degree is organized into three research lines:

1. Territorial Analysis

This research line focuses on studies aimed at understanding the processes of organization, production, and transformation of territory, considering its social, economic, political, cultural, and spatial dimensions. Research developed within this perspective seeks to analyze territorial relations and dynamics at different geographical scales and in different contexts.

2. Environmental Analysis

This research line brings together studies focused on understanding the relationships between society and nature and the environmental dynamics present in geographic space. It encompasses research on environmental processes, issues, and transformations, considering different analytical approaches and procedures.

3. Geographic Education, Geography Teaching, and Teacher Training

This research line encompasses research related to geographic education, Geography teaching, and teacher training, including teaching and learning processes, educational practices in formal and non-formal settings, teacher education, and different dimensions of the construction and mobilization of geographical knowledge.

Researchers affiliated with PPGeo can be found under the “Professors” section of the institutional portal and under the “Teachers” tab on the official website.

The PPGeo Master's degree requires the completion of a minimum of 24 (twenty-four) credits in courses and 8 (eight) credits in Advisory Seminars, with each credit corresponding to 15 hours of instruction. In addition to these credits, the requirements for completion of the degree include passing the Qualifying Examination, demonstrating proficiency in a foreign language, and defending the Master's Dissertation.

The 24 credits in courses must be completed within a maximum period of 12 months, counted from the date of the student's first enrollment in the Program. Failure to meet this requirement within the established period prevents enrollment in Advisory Seminar III.

The courses Research Methods and Techniques in Geography and Advisory Seminar I–IV are compulsory and common to all research lines. All other courses are classified as elective, in accordance with the curriculum structure presented in Annex I of the Program's Pedagogical Project (PPP).

The Qualifying Examination is a compulsory requirement and must be completed within 15 months of the student's first enrollment. In the event of failure, the student will have one opportunity to take a new examination, within 90 days from the date of failure in the Qualifying Examination.

Proficiency in a foreign language is a requirement for the defense of the Master's Dissertation. At the Master's level, proficiency must be demonstrated in one of the following languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, or German. The proficiency certificate submitted by the student is valid for two years and must be submitted within 12 months of admission to the Program. Students will be considered to have passed if they obtain a score of 7.0 or higher, or an equivalent result. The Program's Graduate Committee is responsible for determining the equivalence of examinations taken at other institutions.

For international students admitted through the selection process in Brazil, proof of proficiency in Portuguese is mandatory, subject to the same submission deadlines and validity period established in the Program's Regulations.

The Undergraduate Teaching Internship is compulsory for scholarship recipients and elective for non-scholarship students. Its total workload corresponds to 2 (two) credits and, in the case of Master's scholarship recipients, must be completed by the end of the second semester after admission to the Program.

The minimum period of enrollment in the Master's degree is 12 months, while the regular maximum period for completion of the degree is 24 months, both counted from the date of first enrollment. In duly justified special cases and upon approval by the student's advisor, the Graduate Committee may grant an extension of up to 6 months for completion of the Qualifying Examination and/or the Dissertation Defense. If a three-month extension is granted for the Qualifying Examination, the Dissertation Defense may be extended by a maximum of three additional months. Periods of maternity leave, adoption leave, and medical leave, when duly documented in accordance with the Program's regulations, will be added to the maximum period of enrollment.

To be eligible to defend the Master's Dissertation, the student must have completed the required credits in courses and Advisory Seminars, passed the Qualifying Examination, and demonstrated proficiency in a foreign language.