This article addresses questions that emerged in my research about the matter of cross-disciplinary sciences on environmental issues. This discussion about environmental interdisciplinarity has been growing over the past years. In the 1970s and the 1980s it became so strong that, in the 1990s, Environmental Education developed into a professional specialization in Brazil. The introduction of environmental subjects in the academic milieu of graduate studies in Brazil occurred gradually and, despite many obstacles, it has proven to be an innovative trend that has challenged program chairs, teachers and students, on account of the fragmented structure of traditional universities and programs. An analysis of Environmental Science's state of the art allowed us to record, beyond departments' divisions, the main complaints, doubts, solutions and possible ways and frameworks for an integrated scientific mindset in teaching, research and extension. The research was based on four case studies of Brazilian cross-disciplinary environmental programs. The institutionalization process of these programs reveal the significant progress achieved by the joint work of actors/authors of different academic backgrounds. This profitable cooperation not only meets the participants' professional interests but also supports the development of a sustainable society and the construction of a paradigm that goes beyond epistemological reductionism.
Interdisciplinarity; Environmental Sciences; University; Graduate Programs; Brazil