LAUSR

OBJECTIVE to analyze the offering of the first graduate certificate program in nursing in the state of Minas Gerais, called "Graduate Certificate Course in Obstetrics" (Curso de Pós-Graduação em Obstetrícia), by the Nursing School Carlos Chagas, in 1966, and its contribution to the professionalization of obstetric nursing. METHOD this is a documentary, socio-historical study, based on the Sociology of Professions by Freidson. RESULTS the data collected allowed the following thematic composition: academic organization of the graduate certificate program and differentials and discontinuities of the first graduate certificate program at the Nursing School Carlos Chagas, with two categories delineated: "Construction of specific knowledge for obstetric nursing" and "Enhancement of specialized knowledge for scientific notoriety". CONCLUSION The first offering of a graduate certificate program in nursing by the Nursing School Carlos Chagas at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais was a milestone in the history of nursing in Minas Gerais and of the institution itself for being groundbreaking and having attracted students from other states, with repercussions in Brazil. This protagonism supported the professionalization course in the state and in the country, contributing to the scientific notoriety of the institution and of the professional category.