The history of undergraduate education in public administration in Brazil is told by a set of books/authors since the installation of this course at EBAP-FGV in March 1952. However, few words were written about the early history of this academic training in Brazil; its history need systematization. This article aims to review the origins of that education to understand its introducing in national higher education system. This kind of work is important because it contributes for the construction of a memory of public administration knowledge area in Brazil, and particularly of its teaching (and research). Based on an extensive literature review and document analysis, the article reveals three clear, related and successive moments between the II Empire and the end of Estado Novo, which preceded the institutionalization of this higher education course in the decade of 1950.
history; undergraduate education; public administration; Brazil
