The university´s research focuses on studies and research on environmental disasters in a broad sense, spanning several areas. This is partly motivated by the institution's location in the semiarid region of Brazil, high populated and socially and economically vulnerable to environmental hazards, such as droughts, desertification, land degradation, flash floods, health vulnerability, leading to social inequality.

Research challenges addressed by our research groups are strongly related to, among other topics, water availability, pollution, access and management, epidemics of dengue, Zika virus and Chikungunya, resilient agroecology and family-based agriculture, climate variability and change, waste management, regional sustainability, disaster monitoring in rural and urban environments, risk communication, land cover and change, desertification.