The Special Council for Graduate Studies and Research at UFRGS approved in 1985 the Graduate Program in Chemistry (PPGQ – Ordinance 018/85), which first started only with activities for the Master's degree. In February of 1986, the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) acknowledged and recommended PPGQ for a two-year experimental evaluation. Since its creation, the PPGQ interacts with the regional industrial field through agreements and partnerships. In addition, it has contributed to the education of more than 500 Masters who work in industries, in research and technology centers, or who choose to continue their graduate studies, joining in doctorate degrees at UFRGS PPGQ, in other states, or even abroad. 

Created in 1998, the PPGQ Doctoral program has formed approximately 200 Doctors who also work in the many fields of Chemistry, in research centers, in Brazilian universities, or abroad. More recently, PPGQ has been acknowledged with the highest score (7) on CAPES evaluation (quadrennium 2013 – 2016). This position has been maintained for the last 3 quadrennia (since 2008), reinforcing UFRGS PPGQ as one of the best Brazilian Graduate Programs in Chemistry.

The PPGQ’s outstanding position reflects, mainly, the excellence of its faculty and students, which results in a direct impact on the quality of its scientific production. The academic excellence presented by PPGQ has also driven a higher internationalization of its activities, resulting in expressive interaction with institutions and research groups from several countries around the world. Internationalization actions happen at different levels and modalities, including hosting foreign researchers on work missions, offering workshops and seminars, sending students for research projects abroad, developing research projects sponsored by Brazilian and international funding agencies, as well as signing cooperation agreements for doctoral double degree programs.