The research project presents practical strategies undertaken by coordinators of four excellence programs in the field of Education (Pontifical University of Rio Grande do Sul - PUCRS, Rio de Janeiro State University - Uerj, Federal University of Minas Gerais - UFMG and Unisinos) whose programs achieved higher scores when comparing the triennial reviews held by the Coordination for Improvement of Higher Education Personell - CAPES in the years of 2001 and 2010.The general aim of this research is to understand how the relation between excellence and management is characterized in the four programs, with emphasis on the strategies implemented by their coordinators with the with the aim of reaching that condition. Qualitative methodology was chosen to approach case studies of four institutional experiences mainly in the light of the theoretical and methodological contributions of Pierre Bourdieu and Stephen Ball. Ball´s policy cycle approach associated to the concept of performitivity seeks to build a bridge between macro-level of policy definition for Graduation and local application at micro-level through comparative analyses of discourses and pratices of actors involved in the programs as well as its outcomes. The description, analysis and comparison of different aspects related to management was carried through at four levels: the contexts of influence, of policy text production, of practice and of outcomes. The theoretical and conceptual framework for the analysis of Graduate course management policies was built, fundamentally in accordance with Bourdieu, notably with his concept of scientific field. He proposes breaking with the naïve idea of Science and allows us to see the field of education and Graduate programs as a social field, with specific forms of power and monopoly, struggles and strategies, interests and benefits. Main findings indicate that certain contextual dimensions are relevant for the work of coordinators such as the achievement of their position, their preparation and payment as well as the technical and managerial support available to them. The comparative analysis of strategies adopted in the programs and native categories that emerged during the interviews show similar aspects related to issues such as the joint management of programs, effective accreditation of faculty members, a higher degree of rigor in deadlines for students, the importance of the existence of masters’ or doctoral projects more closely related to the research conducted by faculty members as one of the elements for the selection of candidates. Further, the diversity of pedagogical strategies to increase students’production reveal the relevance of the role of coordinators in the attainment of grades that qualify the analyzed programs as excellence programs. The analysis of the context of outcomes permitted us to realize how a new position of excellence ended up bringing symbolic and material benefits, such as greater academic exposure and greater access to financial grants, although to the cost of increasing working loads for the coordination as well as for faculty members. Concluding remarks point to various contexts taken into account and highlight the main features of Graduate course management models that explain the detected convergences and divergences. We hope our findings will meet the objectives expressed in the Documento de Área da Educação 2013 which states that there is need to produce indicators that provide the diagnosis of management conditions so as to produce a better development of programs, thus, offering a better guidance to institutions regarding this matter.