UFMG The Federal University of Minas Gerais-UFMG is located in Belo Horizonte, the capital of the state of Minas Gerais. Ever since its foundation in 1927, UFMG has been conspicuous for the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research and extramural studies. It offers 51 undergraduate programs with about 20 000 enrolled students in nearly a hundred departments. 5 500 graduate students attend its 84 graduate programs (30 Ph.D. programs and 54 M.A. programs) as well as 41 shorter graduate specialization programs. This impressive body of undergraduate and graduate students gets the most qualified academic training available in the country. Thanks to the excellence of its teaching UFMG came out first among all national public and private institutions of higher learning according to the official evaluation by the Ministry of Education in 1997. CAPES (the Board for the Evaluation and Improvement of Higher Education) likewise awarded UFMG for the first national place for M.A. and Ph.D. programs in 1998. For this achievement, credit is due to the traditionally enterprising people of the state of Minas Gerais, particularly to the University administrators and teacher's increasingly energic disposition to face challenges and innovation. As a counterpart for the excellence of its teaching, UFMG enjoys a remarkable reputation in its several research areas as well as for scientific, technological, artistic and philosophical creativity. Boasting 3 250 projects in 1998, its laboratory and study centers yield an average of six thousand yearly publications of the most diverse kinds. As a result of a consistent policy of investment in the qualification of its faculty, 80 percent of UFMG teachers have either Ph.D. (45 percent) or M.A. degrees (35 percent). Most personnel are secondary school or university graduates. This competence, put in the service of teaching, research, and extension activities in the several fields of knowledge, makes UFMG an outstanding vehicle for regional and national advancement.