摘要：Resumo O artigo apresenta um estudo comparativo entre os land-grant colleges e a Escola Superior de Agricultura de Viçosa (ESAV). Pretende examinar o modo como a Escola adotou o modelo daqueles colleges, considerados a base da moderna educação superior de massa nos Estados Unidos. O estudo conclui que o processo de assimilação do modelo se completou no final da década de 1940, quando acordos de assistência técnica foram firmados com organismos norte-americanos. Tais acordos contribuíram para que a ESAV se tornasse universidade rural e, mais tarde, para envolvê-la nos programas da United States Agency for International Development no Brasil. Palavras-chave: educação comparada; escolas agrícolas; educação superior. Abstract The paper presents a comparative study between the land-grant colleges and the Escola Superior de Agricultura de Viçosa (ESAV). It intends to examine the way this school has adopted the land-grant college model which is considered the basis of the modern mass higher education in United States. The study concludes that the process of assimilation was completed at the end of 1940s, when agreements of technical assistance were signed with American organisms. These agreements have contributed for ESAV to become into a rural university and later they involved the institution with United States Agency for International Development’s programs in Brazil. Key-words: compared education; agricultural colleges; higher education.
