Graduate study in the field of agricultural sciences represented a pioneering area in Brazil and currently comprises a large number of programs. Of the 110 graduate programs belonging to the area of “Agricultural Sciences I”, 44 were included in this analysis, based on the data relative to the Reference Faculty Nucleus 6 (NRD6, Capes Classification), available in the Capes 2003 Report. NRD6 includes all but the affiliated members and retired faculty members. The analyzed programs are distributed in all five Brazilian regions and only two are graded 6, whereas eight are classified as 5, seventeen are rated 4 and the remaining seventeen are given the grade of 3. In 2003, the programs counted on 701 faculty members and gave degrees to 595 Master and 210 Doctoral students. The average elapsed time for completing the Master and Doctoral degrees is adequate, being around 24 and 48 months, respectively. The final classification rating attributed to each program is directly associated with the quantity and quality of its intellectual production.