Internationalization of Graduate Education from the Periphery

Objective: To critically analyze the internationalization of graduate education from the perspective of nursing in the Brazilian Amazon, considering regional and structural inequalities. Method: A reflective essay based on a purposive reading of the literature on higher education, nursing, and internationalization, articulated with the experience of a graduate program located in the Amazon. Results: Prevailing internationalization models, centered on mobility, productivity, and rankings, tend to reproduce hierarchies between academic centers and historically underrepresented regions. In Brazil, opportunities remain concentrated in institutions in the South and Southeast, while barriers related to funding, linguistic inequalities, bureaucracy, and weak institutional policies persist. Conclusion: A situated approach to internationalization, guided by equity, reciprocity, South–South cooperation, internationalization at home, and the social mission of public universities, may broaden the participation of different territories and perspectives in the production of knowledge in nursing and higher education and support contextualized, inclusive, and socially responsive approaches to internationalization.