The postgraduate program in epidemiology of the Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil, went through an intense self-assessment process to solve problems related to its Master's course. The result was the introduction of a curricular structure based on two pillars. The first one: theoretical courses to offer students the bases of epidemiology. The other, practical training in which students work in groups to design their research projects, from the choice of a research question, to literature review, definition of objectives and methods. This joint effort leads to shared fieldwork, a cross-sectional population-based study, where all students have full participation and get data for their dissertations. This strategy has provided students with strong theoretical background and experience in preparing and conducting fieldwork. Besides, a median completion time below 24 months has been achieved. About 80% of the students who complete the course published at least one paper based on their dissertations; and almost 90% of these papers were published in journals classified as A-International by the Qualis criteria established by Capes.
post-graduation; masters; cross-sectional studies
