We present the origins and the first results of a graduate study experience for the expansion of the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) located on the coast of State of Paraná. The Academic Masters Studies in Sustainable Territorial Development was created from a differentiated pedagogical political project and after eight years of consolidation. Its challenge is to perform inter and multidisciplinary research that contribute to the regional development and to understand the constant tensions between conservation and degradation of the region’s nature, a remarkable remnant of the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest. Paradoxical issues permeate the entire territory because – in addition to its rich biodiversity, it preserves unique cultural traits and, at the same time, stands out as an industrial export center of agribusiness commodities and provision of services for the exploitation of the pre-salt oil.