The recent expansion of Brazilian investment in graduate ecology training creates a special opportunity for progress. Progress requires goals, and the goals of a joint effort should be built upon shared principles. This article contributes to the ongoing debate about graduate-level training in ecology by proposing a set of disciplines that offer a fundamental background for the professional ecologist. Mathematics, Statistics, and Evolution are presented as supporting ‘pillars’, whereas Natural History, Logic, and Rhetoric are viewed as binding disciplines that give consistency to a training program. To conclude, we offer general principles of implementation aimed at transforming the proposed values into an innovative and productive training reality.