The Graduate Program in Dental Radiology has 11 full-time lecturers and 3 collaborator members, several of whom are CNPq researchers. It receives and trains professionals from all regions of the country as well as foreigners (from Latin America). Its main objective is to assist their students in the development of critical and scientific thinking and to familiarize them with new forms of knowledge and information. Thus, the professional profile created by the program corresponds with a qualified professor, who is able to join any institution in the country or abroad, to adapt to the existing conditions in a way that will allow them to teach and develop research topics. In addition, we aim to train a researcher of excellence, who is able to guide and develop research activities at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

For proper training of students, the program maintains student exchange programs with other national and international institutions such as Catholic University of Leuven, University of Denmark and University of Amsterdam. These exchange programs are expressed through joint projects and publications, students internships through doctoral exchange programs and mutual visits of researchers. The professors encourage their students to participate in these programs with the aid of grants under a doctoral exchange program or other forms of financing.

The program has 3 research topics. The master's degree program lasts an average of 24 months and the doctorate degree program lasts from 24 to 48 months. In order to obtain the title, the student must earn a total of 56 credits in courses and be approved in the public defense of their dissertation or thesis.

The candidate selection process usually includes an assessment of specific knowledge, an interview by the Examining Committee, resume analysis and an English language proficiency test, based on the reading and interpretation of a scientific article without dictionary assistance. The granting of scholarships depends on their availability, and of the funding agencies own criteria as well as the Graduate Program in Dental Radiology.

The curriculum is based on weekly classes and seminars, in which relevant topics are taught and discussed. The content includes topics that the students must know in order to teach and develop research topics as well as the discussion of clinical cases and scientific articles. In addition, graduate students have a clinical care scale to perform radiographic exams and CT scans, as well as the reports regarding the examinations. They also participate in undergraduate classes, where they mentor undergraduate students and assist teachers. The graduate students are excused from these activities to participate in scientifc events, since these type of activities are encouraged for their updating and are also allowed to present their work at conferences and congresses. This way, we ensure that there is a broad participation of faculty and student body members in scientific events where they may obtain awards.

For the development of research and patient care, the program has adequate infrastructure, such as dental cone beam computed tomography and digital panoramic devices, digital systems for intraoral radiographs and computerized microtomography, besides using laboratories and their infrastructure from other areas. Resources from funding agencies, technical reserves and research projects have contributed to the maintenance and upgrading of equipment and materials necessary for the development of researches. The success of the program can be proven by the quality and quantity of scientific production derived from ir.