The Graduate Program in Philosophy at the Federal University of Sergipe was born out of three very favorable contexts. The first of these was the national scenario of Brazilian postgraduate education, which, at the time, encouraged the formation of research centers, especially with the opening of new campuses in the interior of Brazil. This national context facilitated dialogue between these research centers and the Pro-Rectorates of Postgraduate Studies in higher education institutions, which supported these emerging or consolidating centers. Thanks to this work, the Pro-Rectorate of Postgraduate Studies at UFS encouraged the professors of the Department of Philosophy of this institution to organize themselves around a common postgraduate project.

The second important factor for the formulation of the PPGF was the arrival of new professors and the consequent reinforcement of research lines, adding greater strength to the project. The Department of Philosophy at UFS had received new professors, all holding degrees in Philosophy and trained in major research centers in the country or abroad, making it one of the most qualified departments in the Center for Education and Human Sciences, with 100% of full professorship in the field, meaning they all held a Ph.D. in Philosophy. Thus, with a qualified teaching staff and aiming to improve undergraduate education, the proposal for a graduate program was practically a natural trend that everyone embraced with enthusiasm. Thanks to this dialogue among all the professors of the Department of Philosophy around a common project, the proposal demonstrated intellectual maturity and, therefore, greater feasibility. This maturity is evident, for example, by the increasing number of department professors who have been successful in research projects funded by research funding agencies: about 70% of the professors in recent years have had or currently have projects supported by federal agencies (CNPq/CAPES) or state agencies (FAPITEC-SE), or even internal university policies to promote research. This indicates a reasonable ability to secure resources for a small department without a stricto sensu postgraduate program. This means that this research translates into publications and participation in national and international scientific events of significance.

Finally, the third and last favorable context was that, due to the mandatory teaching of Philosophy in high school, the expansion of undergraduate education in federal institutions (IFES) and new campuses, and the absence of graduate programs in Philosophy in the states of Alagoas and Sergipe at the time, the proposal became increasingly necessary and urgent. Many of our excellent students couldn't relocate to Bahia or Pernambuco, neighboring states where there were Philosophy postgraduate programs. For this reason, many ended up pursuing postgraduate studies in other fields such as Education or Development and Environment, even though they were researching philosophical topics. Our most outstanding students often went to major centers in the South and Southeast (UFPR, USP, UERJ, UFG, UNICAMP), or stayed in the Northeast (UFRN, UFPB, UFPE), mainly at UFBA. The establishment of the Graduate Program in Philosophy at UFS allowed our students to continue their studies at an institution with qualified professors and appropriate infrastructure, without the need to leave Sergipe. Moreover, in recent years, the PPGF/UFS has proven to be a hub capable of attracting students from various regions of the country.