Courses Syllabi
Level: Master’s and Doctorate
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Instructor: Frederico Wagner de Azevedo Lopes
Syllabus: Geosystems. The Hydrological Cycle in Urban Environments. National Environmental Policy. Management of Natural Resources. Main Water Supply Systems. Main Sanitation Systems. Main Solid Waste Disposal Systems. Environmental Technology and Monitoring.
Level: Master’s and Doctorate
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Instructors: Rodrigo A. A. Nóbrega, Marcos A. T. Elmiro, Plínio Temba, and Marcelo A. Nero
Syllabus: Shape and Dimensions of the Earth, Geodetic Reference System, Datum, Cartographic Projections, Reading and Calculating Coordinates on Maps, Distance and Area Calculations and Corrections.
Level: Master’s and Doctorate
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Instructors: Sónia Maria Carvalho Ribeiro and Fernando Goulart
Syllabus: This course provides an introduction to the concepts and methods in Landscape Ecology (LE). LE is a science at the interface between natural and social sciences. In the PPG AMSA, the goal of LE is to promote landscape management, allowing for the exploration of ex-ante possible scenarios to mitigate, adapt to, and find effective solutions for addressing socio-environmental issues of the 21st century. Landscape approaches enable different stakeholders, including decision-makers and planners, to proactively explore solutions for socio-environmental problems in both urban and rural contexts.
Level: Master’s and Doctorate
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Instructors: Camila Palhares Teixeira, Fernando Goulart
Syllabus: Ecology: General Aspects. Structure and Functioning of Ecosystems. Energy Flow and Movement of Materials in Ecosystems. Limiting Factors. Climatic Factors. Population Dynamics. Populations in Communities. Ecological Succession. Physical Environment and Limiting Factors. Ecosystems: Energy Flow and Biogeochemical Cycles. Population Parameters. Growth and Regulation of Populations. Interspecific Relationships. Concepts and Parameters of Communities. Patterns of Biodiversity. Community Development.
Level: Master’s and Doctorate
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Instructor: Program Coordinator
Syllabus: This course aims to prepare graduate students for teaching. In this sense, teaching can be considered an integral part of graduate education. The development of the teaching internship is regulated by a specific norm approved by the PPG-AMSA Committee on June 1, 2017.
Level: Master’s and Doctorate
Course Load: 30 hours / 2 Credits
Instructor: Rodrigo A. A. Nóbrega
Syllabus: Technical, Economic, and Environmental Feasibility Study (EVTEA), Multicriteria Analysis AHP, Geographic Data Modeling, Map Algebra in Geoprocessing, Viability Corridors.
Level: Master’s and Doctorate
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Instructors: Úrsula Ruchkys de Azevedo and Maria Márcia Magela Machado
Syllabus: Definition and Origin of the Concept | Values and Threats | Geodiversity in Brazil. Concepts of Geological Heritage and Geosites | Typologies of Geological Heritage | Geological Heritage as Natural Heritage | Uses of Geological Heritage: Geoparks. The Global Geoparks Network. Geotourism. Geotourism Potential in Brazil. Geoconservation and Care for Geological Heritage | Initiatives and Strategies for Geoconservation. Modeling Involving Geodiversity, Geoconservation, and Geotourism. Application Examples.
Level: Master’s and Doctorate
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Instructors: Úrsula Ruchkys de Azevedo and Maria Márcia Magela Machado
Syllabus: Conceptual and theoretical foundations of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Methods of abstraction, conversion, and structuring within this computational system. The potential of Geoprocessing techniques for representing phenomena and environmental models related to various fields of study. Application of Geoprocessing techniques for diverse applications, taking into account the components of geographic space.
Level: Master’s and Doctorate
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Instructor: Marcelo A. Nero
Syllabus: Concepts of advanced tools and applications in geoprocessing; Introduction to GIS modeling and its applications. Applications of GIS modeling in the environment. Applications of fuzzy logic and multiple linear regression. Simulation in the environmental field and applications in fire prevention. Seminars. Thematic quality control.
Course Load: 30 h/2 Créditos
Syllabus: A governança ambiental surgiu como uma área distinta de política e pesquisa, particularmente no que diz respeito à expansão do conhecimento teórico sobre justiça ambiental e sustentabilidade (Batterbury e Fernando, 2006). A disciplina Governança Ambiental tem como objetivo proporcionar aos estudantes de mestrado e doutorado a expansão do conhecimento teórico sobre a governança ambiental, visando uma compreensão ampla e crítica dos processos de justiça ambiental e sustentabilidade em diferentes escalas geográficas e institucionais. Visa capacitar os alunos a analisar os desafios e as oportunidades relacionados à gestão da paisagem em contextos complexos e interdisciplinares, abordando o papel de atores públicos, privados e da sociedade civil na construção de soluções para o planejamento territorial e desenvolvimento sustentável.
A governança ambiental, seus métodos e ferramentas, permitem que os diferentes atores “stakeholders” incluindo os tomadores de decisão e planejadores explorem proativamente soluções para os problemas socioambientais quer em contexto urbano quer rural.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Ricardo Alexandrino Garcia
Syllabus: This course aims to provide students with exposure to the terminology, symbolism, standards, and meanings related to the organization and presentation of quantitative data. It focuses on developing skills to organize data in series, use relative numbers, graphically represent data, and handle and analyze related variables in scientific research within the field of geosciences. This is achieved through understanding and utilizing mathematical functions, measures of central tendency, position, variability, normality, and theoretical probability distributions.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Course Load: 30 hours / 2 Credits
Responsible: Various faculty members of the program
Syllabus: This course encompasses the study of the processes that characterize scientific investigation, as well as the most common types of research in the health field. Through the content of this course, it is expected that students will be able to produce a scientific paper with all its components and also conduct a critical reading of scientific articles regarding their methodological aspects. The content of this course is essential for preparing graduate students to develop and formulate their research project, as well as to write their final paper.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Camila Palhares Teixeira
Syllabus: Factorial ANOVA, ANCOVA, Correlations, Matrix and Cluster Analysis, PCA, CA, PCoA, CCA, RDA, NMDS, PERMANOVA, and ANOSIM, Rank, diversity indices, Maps and GIS in R.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Carlos Lobo, Ricardo Alexandrino Garcia, and Diego Macedo
Syllabus: Principles and elements of Spatial Statistics and Geostatistics. Analysis and interpretation of measures of centrality and spatial dispersion of points. Evaluation of point densities: Kernel model. Global and local spatial correlation indicators. Spatial regression. Interpolation methods.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Carlos Lobo and Ricardo Alexandrino Garcia
Syllabus: Methods and technical procedures for the use and treatment of quantitative geographical data. Use of statistical techniques for spatial applications, emphasizing their potentialities and limitations. Introduction to empirical analysis on computational databases.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Camila Palhares Teixeira
Syllabus: Use of R software for statistical data analysis, including: experimental design, sampling theory, measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion, normality tests, data transformation, correlation, frequency analysis, t-tests, analysis of variance, and non-parametric tests.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Ubirajara de Oliveira
Syllabus: Models, typologies, degrees of abstraction, and applications in earth sciences, ecology, urban studies, and demographics, among other areas. Discuss the concepts of models, typologies, degrees of abstraction, methods for implementing environmental system models, and their applications, with special attention to landscape dynamics models. Applied models addressing land use changes, ecology, urban studies, and other areas are presented and explored.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Raoni Guerra Lucas Rajão
Syllabus: Analysis of the limits and social implications of models (economic theories, geographic information systems, expert systems, and operational research applied) in governance, with a focus on environmental issues; Co-production of science and society; Ontological aspects of models; Epistemological aspects of models.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Sónia Maria Carvalho Ribeiro
Syllabus: 1) Methodologies for developing participatory scenarios (Börjeson, Höjer, Dreborg, Ekvall, & Finnveden, 2006) involving local communities, 2) Study of modeling tools (e.g., multi-criteria analysis), 3) Environmental governance mechanisms for solving environmental problems with a focus on public land use and occupation (Ribeiro, Correia, & Paracchini, 2016; Van Berkel, Carvalho-Ribeiro, Verburg, & Lovett, 2011). The central question addressed is: What governance mechanisms can stimulate sustainable transitions in land use and cover, reversing trends of habitat loss, particularly of natural forests, while maintaining and/or recovering them to ensure they remain structurally and functionally diverse?
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Ubirajara de Oliveira
Syllabus: The course will provide an introduction to species distribution modeling methods. Relevant theoretical topics for the proper use of species distribution modeling methods will be covered, along with the main techniques necessary for applying the species distribution prediction method. By the end of the course, students should be able to understand and identify the assumptions, limitations, and applications of distribution modeling methods. Additionally, students will be capable of carrying out the practical steps required for executing this method.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Vagner Braga Nunes Coelho
Syllabus: Formal logic; Relational model; Object-oriented model; Geographic data modeling; Relational algebra; Spatial relationships; Topology; Diagram construction (Entity-Relationship Diagram; Class Diagram).
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Ubirajara de Oliveira
Syllabus: Construction of models for the study of environmental phenomena and processes or for the implementation of planning/infrastructure projects and land-use management.
Level: Master’s and Doctorate
Workload: 60 hours/4 Credits
Responsible: Bráulio Magalhães Fonseca
Syllabus: The Territorial Planning Workshop discipline will address: processes of land occupation; rural-urban interaction; the concept of SCALE in territorial and environmental planning: regional and local public policies – how to reconcile them? metropolitan/regional governance and its limitations; Territorial Governance and Investment Attraction: physical-territorial bases of territorial planning and landscape planning. Practical methodologies will be addressed (Geodesign and Functional Morphological Zoning), innovative territorial and participatory planning instruments will be explored; examples of conflicts over land use and occupation and good practices for conservation and territorial development. Territorial Entrepreneurship Instruments: Municipal Master Plans; Export Processing Zones; Territorial Marketing and Branding.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Course Load: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Rodrigo A. A. Nóbrega
Syllabus: Introduction to Digital Image Processing (DIP), Understanding Digital Images, DIP Tools, Preparation and Processing of Digital Earth Images, Band Stacking, Band Merging, Principal Component Analysis, Image Registration, Image Mosaicking, Information Extraction through Image Classification, Connection between Remote Sensing and Geoprocessing, Geoprocessing in Raster Data.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Responsible: Getulio Fonseca Domingues
Syllabus: 1. Conceptualization and importance; 2. History of computer development and the contributions of computing in Environmental Modeling; 3. Development and construction of algorithms; 4. Programming logic; 5. Programming paradigms and programming languages; 6. Basic programming components: objects, functions, data structures, conditional operators, loop structures (for, while, and repeat); 7. Data manipulation: data input/output, filtering, selection, transformations, relationships between tables; 8. Applications in specific problems of Environmental Modeling.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Workload: 30 hours / 2 Credits
Responsible: Marcelo Antonio Nero
Syllabus: General concepts of thematic quality. Analysis of methods for producing thematic data (origin of thematic data). Confusion matrix applied to thematic data. Methodologies for analyzing thematic quality. Thematic quality applied in environmental sciences.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Workload: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Maria Márcia Magela Machado
Syllabus: How to prepare a scientific article for publication in journals. How to efficiently write abstracts, introductions, reviews, materials and methods, results, discussions, conclusions, and citations. How to submit an article for publication and respond to reviewers. Ethics in publishing. Throughout its pedagogical development, the course will encourage students to draft a scientific article of their own authorship, using material produced during their master’s or doctoral program. Evaluation will be based on the quality of the article written by the student. The produced text must meet the requirements of the “Instructions for Authors” of a suitably chosen high-quality journal.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Workload: 15 hours / 1 Credit
Responsible: Sónia Maria Carvalho Ribeiro
Syllabus: Critical analysis of international scientific articles on the topics of Environmental Systems Analysis, Environmental Systems Modeling, and Landscape Management.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Workload: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Marcos Antônio Timbó Elmiro
Syllabus: Principles of Remote Sensing physics; Characteristics of Remote Sensing data acquisition systems; Levels of data acquisition: laboratory, field, aircraft, and spacecraft; Main existing Remote Sensing systems and the characteristics of the generated data and images; Spectral behavior of Earth targets; Fundamental concepts of Cartography and Geodesy applied to Remote Sensing; Error corrections and data registration in Remote Sensing; Methods for extracting information from Remote Sensing data; Visual interpretation of Remote Sensing data; Introduction to the digital processing of Remote Sensing data; Introduction to programs, algorithms, and languages for processing Remote Sensing data; Introduction to Radar and Lidar Remote Sensing; General applications of Remote Sensing in areas related to environmental systems.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Workload: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Adriana Monteiro da Costa
Syllabus: Soils. Soil degradation, land use. Main characteristics of Brazilian soils. Potentials and vulnerabilities. The multiple functions of soil. Soil as a filter. Soil as mechanical support. Soil as a water reservoir. Soil erosion. Soil contamination. Soils and special characteristics. Sandy soils. Expansive soils. Collapsible soils. Saline and thionic soils. Organic soils. Integrated methodologies for landscape analysis. Economic and Ecological Zoning – ZEE. Environmental and Productive Zoning – ZAP. Dynamics: possibilities for use in soil analysis.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Workload: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Plínio Temba
Syllabus: Introduction, Conventional Photogrammetry, Analytical Photogrammetry, Digital Photogrammetry, Photogrammetry for Pushbroom Sensors, LIDAR, and Complementary Topics.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Workload: 30 hours / 2 Credits
Responsible: Laura Bachi
Syllabus: This course aims to equip students with the skills to understand, assess, and map cultural ecosystem services that play a fundamental role in the interaction between people and ecosystems. Students will develop practical and theoretical skills to identify, evaluate, and map the supply and demand of these services (e.g., aesthetics, recreation, heritage/history), recognizing their value for human well-being and ecosystem conservation. This course explores cultural ecosystem services and their relevance in conservation practices, land planning, and resource management. Through case studies, quantitative and qualitative methods, and spatially explicit mapping technologies, students will learn to identify, analyze, and integrate cultural ecosystem services into conservation and sustainable development strategies.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Workload: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Responsible: Diego Rodrigues Macedo
Syllabus: This course covers the study of the process that characterizes scientific investigation, as well as how to prepare the writing of dissertations/theses and scientific articles for publication in journals. The content of this course is essential to prepare graduate students to develop and elaborate their research projects, as well as to write their final work. It includes how to efficiently write abstracts, introductions, literature reviews, materials and methods, results, discussions, conclusions, and citations. It also addresses how to submit an article for publication and respond to reviewers, as well as ethical considerations in publishing. During its pedagogical development, the course will encourage students to draft their own scientific text using material produced during their master’s or doctoral program.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Workload: 15 hours / 1 Credit
Syllabus: Topics of interest for the development and application of environmental systems modeling. Contemporary themes, regional needs, and contexts of application. The Special Topics course will allow the PPG AMSA to offer, according to the conditions of its faculty, occasional courses that can dynamically complement the education of the students in the program.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Workload: 30 hours / 2 Credits
Syllabus: Topics of interest for the development and application of environmental systems modeling. Contemporary themes, regional needs, and contexts of application. The Special Topics course will enable the PPG AMSA to offer, based on the conditions of its faculty, occasional courses that can dynamically complement the education of the students in the program.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Workload: 45 hours / 3 Credits
Syllabus: Topics of interest for the development and application of environmental systems modeling. Contemporary themes, regional needs, and contexts of application. The Special Topics course will enable the PPGAMSA to offer, based on the conditions of its faculty, occasional courses that can dynamically complement the education of the students in the program.
Level: Master’s and Doctoral
Workload: 60 hours / 4 Credits
Syllabus: Topics of interest for the development and application of environmental systems modeling. Contemporary themes, regional needs, and contexts of application. The Special Topics course will enable the PPGAMSA to offer, based on the conditions of its faculty, occasional courses that can dynamically complement the education of the students in the program.
Workload: 30 h/2 Credits
Syllabus: Anthropogenic disturbances and the Anthropocene; Ecological Indicators: concept and importance; Hydrogeomorphological Indicators based on Physical Habitat; Water Quality Indicators; Remote Sensing Indicators; Land Use and Occupation; Geodiversity; Biological Indicators; Ecosystem Services; Criteria for selecting ecological indicators; Applicability of ecological indicators.
Workload: 30 h/2 Credits
Syllabus: Geodiversity, geoheritage, geoconservation, geotourism and geoethics: new approaches in the context of geosciences. Projects and programs under development in Brazil, including geoparks. The context of Minas Gerais. Study methods and techniques. Geoprocessing and applied practices.