The Graduate Program in Applied Linguistics (Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística Aplicada – PPG-LA) has invested in research and teaching to reflect on the different uses of language since its accreditation for the Master's degree program in 1987 and for its Doctorate degree program in 1993. The emergence of new objects of study has called for theories that consider the inevitability of change and that reaffirm views that strive to be transformative and ethical as well. Fed by different theoretical and methodological trends, our research areas and topics help to establish a historical overview of Applied Linguistics in Brazil.

The program emphasizes the interrelationships amongst research areas and topics, which reinforces the interdisciplinary nature of research in Applied Linguistics. We have strongly supported the creation of social spaces for education and research, as well as the use and creation of media policies and new technologies. Such media and technologies are seen as discursively constructed spaces and, as such, they are constantly tensioned, which fosters the challenge of theoretical and methodological boundaries of research.

The relevance and consistency of the research developed in the program is highlighted by the increasing investment in the internationalization of the students and faculty members; post-doctoral internships, lectures and courses abroad; agreements with international research institutions and projects’ grants received from CNPq's  (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) Research Productivity Grants. Our Program is also characterized by the quality of its infrastructure, the transparency of its actions and the scientific maturity of its faculty members.

In addition to seeking excellence in teaching and research activities, with the expansion of areas of interest already consolidated and openness to innovative work in the area, the Program offers a privileged qualification area for professionals in different fields of interest in Language Studies. More precisely, our goal is to qualify masters and doctors to be researchers and professors at higher education institutions in Brazil, since the program is a consolidated reference in the development of human resources in the field. Many of our supervisees work in Federal and State Universities and Colleges throughout Brazil.

The PPG-LA has increasingly sought to strengthen its commitment to the integration of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies in order to enhance the interest of students in research in the field of Applied Linguistics. Actions in this direction include, among others, internal seminars with the participation of graduate students, such as the SePeG  (Seminário de Pesquisa da Graduação) - The Graduate Studies Research Seminar at the Institute of Language Studies and the UNICAMP's Scientific Initiation Internal Congress; as well as the Teacher Training Program (Programa de Estágio Docente – PED) aimed at the graduates’ education as future teachers.

The relationship between the PPG-LA and the academic community and society is expressed in our commitment as disseminators and multipliers of knowledge. In order to live up to such a standard a wide range of actions have been taken, such as the PPG-LA’s active participation in widening student access and retention programs, such as the Interdisciplinary Higher Education Program (Programa de Formação Interdisciplinar Superior – ProFIS), a two-year general education program, which was established in 2011 at UNICAMP and whose main goal was to increase the access of low-income students who attended high School in the Campinas Public School district. We can also highlight projects developed by the Program's faculty members, together with undergraduate students, whose main goal is the production of teaching materials. Some of these materials are aimed at secondary education and Youth and Adult Education Programs (Educação de Jovens e Adultos - EJA), while others are made available to public and private school teachers.

It is also important to mention that a significant part of our program focus is on the practice of teaching in a great variety of contexts, such as Early Childhood Education, Youth and Adult Education, Indigenous Education and Special Education. Besides, Distant Education, another strongly established field in our Program, contributes by widening the scope as far as teaching material production is concerned.

The work concerning PIBID (Programa Institucional de Bolsa de Iniciação à Docência) – Institutional Grant for Teaching Initiation Program, coordinated by a member of the PPG-LA, along with other members of the Institute of Language Studies, should also be highlighted.  As a result of this program, teaching materials are produced and made available to schools coordinators and teachers.

Published by PPG-LA, the journal "Trabalhos em Linguística Aplicada  - TLA" (Works in Applied Linguistics) (ISSN 0103-1813), is a means of social diffusion of knowledge and of giving visibility to the Program. The TLA has been hosted at the SCIELO platform - Scientific Library On Line since January 2008 and its articles are available online. The publication maintained the A1 rating at the Capes Journal Assessment of 2015.