Master's and doctoral degrees in nursing in Brazil: an ecological study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the temporal trend and spatial distribution of master's and doctoral degrees in the field of nursing in Brazil. METHOD: An ecological study using data from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, employing descriptive statistics and Joinpoint regression for temporal trend analysis. RESULTS: Between 2004 and 2023, 22,923 degrees were awarded, of which 74.92% were master's degrees and 25.08% were doctoral degrees, with the highest concentration in the Southeast (49.74%), Northeast (22.20%), and South (20.78%) regions. Master's degrees showed an upward trend in Brazil (Average Annual Percentage Change-AAPC: 7.55; p < 0.000), with the greatest variation in the North region (AAPC: 16.40; p < 0.000). For doctoral degrees, an upward trend was also observed nationwide (AAPC: 8.31; p < 0.000), particularly in the Midwest (AAPC: 15.96; p < 0.000), while the North region did not record any doctoral degrees at this level during the analyzed period. CONCLUSION: The results showed an increasing trend in postgraduate degrees in the field of nursing, coexisting with regional inequalities, which reinforces the need for strategies aimed at expanding and decentralizing postgraduate education to reduce disparities in advanced training.