From the end of the century XIX, the Ecology is suffering processes of enlargement and diversification. The objective of this study is to identify the paradigms that pervade the pedagogical proposals of university degree programs in ecology. Each course is understood as an expression of the thoughts and actions of a scientific community, which influence the construction of professional concepts as well as the contents and forms of the field's inquiries. The research is characterized as qualitative, in terms of both documentary and hermeneutic nature. All of the university ecology degree programs in Brazil, which total eight, were analyzed. It was concluded that the structured programs from the turn of the century and onward have included more complex perspectives. Specifically, they are comprised by organisms that are not only part of ecological communities but rather are part of more complex ecosystems, of which contain a multitude of smaller organisms that are endowed with considerable autonomy, and, moreover, are harmoniously integrated in how everything within an ecosystem works.
Ecology; Paradigms; Educational projects
