The Graduate Program in History, Politics and Cultural Heritage (PPHPBC) started in 2003, when an experienced team from the Center for Research and Documentation of Contemporary History of Brazil, from Fundação Getulio Vargas (currently, School of Social Sciences — FGV/CPDOC), created the Professional Master's Program in Cultural Heritage and Social Projects. At a second stage, in 2007, the Academic Master’s and the PhD Program in History, Politics and Cultural Heritage were implemented. In the last four-year evaluation of Graduate Programs carried out by Capes, PPHPBC received score 5.

By creating an academic master's program and a PhD program in history, CPDOC intended to qualify professionals capable of both producing knowledge and training new knowledge producers based on an intense dialogue with social sciences. The creation of these programs was based on a plan of expanding and diversifying the scope of graduate studies in history, rather than competing with traditional programs offering courses at a regional level. Its emphasis on political history, particularly on Republican Brazil, combined with an analytical concern with cultural heritage and, more recently, with urban challenges and international relations, make the programs unique. This uniqueness is intensified with the strength that interdisciplinarity has in them, which is justified by the vision that has guided CPDOC’s belief from the start, that is, that the current dynamism of history is largely due to the dialogue that it promoted with social sciences.

The academic master's and PhD programs offered by CPDOC are exempt from tuition fees, and PPHPBC has been increasing the number of scholarships awarded by funding agencies, which is proof of how reputable it is. In addition to these regular scholarships, some students receive scholarships for research projects developed by the faculty.

The last few years have been marked by the internationalization of PPHPBC. This effort is generally and permanently translated into the establishment of agreements with foreign research and education institutions under which different initiatives are undertaken: collaborative research projects, visits by faculty and students, and promotion of joint events and publications. For more information on the agreements established, please visit the CPDOC Portal. In 2018, PPHPBC was included in Capes’ Institutional Program for Internationalization (Capes-Print), for activities designed to boost the internationalization of Graduate Studies involving students and faculty.