The Graduate Program in Food Engineering (PGEAL) of the Federal University of Santa Catarina was created in 2000, and currently is evaluated by Brazilian Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) with grade 6, in a range from 3 to 7, in which 7 is the maximum score a program can achieve.

The program constantly seeks for excellence in training its students by highly qualified teachers, and by the development of projects involving relevant and innovative research, with national and international impact.

The quality of PGEAL has allowed its alumni to enter and performance in academic teaching in the most prestigious institutions, as well as in research and development of products and processes in the foof industry. For reaching excellence, the Program has increased its national visibility by inter-institutional projects, involving  Masters and PhD students in cooperation with international institutions.

As a form of international recognition, the PGEAL maintains cooperations with renowned institutions in different countries. So the PGEAL offers its students the opportunity of international exchange in various themes related to Engineering, Food Science and Technology.