The Post-graduate Programme in Military Sciences of the Meira Mattos Institute (PPGCM-IMM) is a programme of excellence in scientific research in the area of ​​National Defence and is within the scope of the Brazilian Army Command and General Staff College (ECEME). The PPGCM-IMM is the only programme in a military institution that offers Academic Masters and PhD courses recognized by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), it also offers a Post-Doc course. The PPGCM-IMM specializes in two lines of research: Defence Management and Peace and War Studies. The Institute has an extremely qualified faculty with a wide range of research in the fields of National Defence, International Relations, Defence Economics, Political Science, Geopolitics, among others. The Meira Mattos Institute is responsible for editing the Meira Mattos Magazine publication, which is a reference publication in strategic and military studies in Brazil.

The objective of the Postgraduate Programme in Military Sciences is to produce scientific knowledge and train highly qualified human resources capable of critical thinking, and with capacity to act in the area of Defence, formulating strategies focused on National Defence.

The PPGCM offers a Post-Doc internship (PPGCM-PD) - with specific regulations - and two stricto sensu courses:

- Academic PhD course (PPGCM-Dout); and

- Academic Master Degree (PPGCM-MA).

Vision of the future

The PPGCM aims to continue being a Center of Excellence in the national and international academic environment, forming highly qualified professionals in the area of Defence.

Principles, beliefs and values

● Respect for the freedom to learn, teach and research

● Freedom of thought

● Incentive to critical thinking

● Dedication to the profession

● Belief in democratic precepts

● Pluralism of ideas and pedagogical concepts

● Didactic-scientific autonomy

● Discipline

● Dissemination of military traditions

● Practice of ethical virtues and moral precepts

● Respect for dignity

● Respect for morals

● Sense of justice

● Respect for the environment

● Hierarchy and discipline

The programmes are organized into concentration areas and their respective lines of research, which comprise ECEME/Brazilian Army subjects of interest, as well as topics of interest to the national defence area, as specified below:

a. Area of Concentration: NATIONAL DEFENCE

A set of measures and State actions, with a multidisciplinary character, with emphasis on military expression, for the defence of territory, sovereignty and national interests against preponderantly external, potential or manifest threats.

1) Defense Management: Public Policy, Economy and Industry

It investigates the set of administrative activities related to military power aiming at the planning, organization, coordination and control of personnel, resources and facilities, all in order to provide conditions for the application of military force. To that end, it also studies the dynamics of organizational, interorganizational and interinstitutional relations, in its formal, symbolic and behavioral dimensions, and its managerial expressions.

2) Peace and War Studies

It investigates aspects related to geopolitics, international relations and strategy, the latter understood as the preparation and application of national power to conquer and preserve objectives, overcoming obstacles of any order. In this sense, the study of these aspects and their interface with military power, based on its history, organization, preparation in all its dimensions and its employment, will enable the desired interdisciplinarity necessary for the contextualization of the study within the political powers and the military.

The mission of the Master's course is to train qualified human resources able to integrate research groups.

The curricular structure of the courses is based on the credit system (1 credit = 15 hours per class). The academic master's course has thirty (30) credits, equivalent to 450 (four hundred and fifty) hours of didactic-pedagogical activities, of which 27 (twenty-seven) credits are associated with disciplines and three credits related to the dissertation, in addition to the Research Seminar. In addition, the student must comply with a minimum of ten credits in activities associated with the individual research project.

The objective of the Academic PhD course is to train highly qualified human resources with the capacity to lead research groups and generate autochthonous knowledge in the field of Military Sciences and Defense.

The curricular structure of the courses is based on the credit system (1 credit = 15 hours per class). The PhD course has sixty (60) credits, corresponding to 900 (nine hundred) hours of academic activities, of which 38 (thirty-eight) credits are associated with disciplines, 12 (twelve) credits related to Research Seminars and ten attributed to the elaboration of the doctoral thesis.

The Postgraduate Programme in Military Sciences offers the possibility of a postdoctoral training for doctors who wish to specialize and deepen research on topics related to the research developed at the Meira Mattos Institute. Postdoctoral research must be accompanied by a teacher linked to PPGCM (Post-Graduate Programme in Military Science)-IMM (Institute: Meira Mattos). In this way, the programme seeks to contribute to the development of scientific research in Brazil in the areas of Military Sciences and National Defense.