Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

The UFSC Materials Engineering program was established in 1998 and has graduated more than 800 materials engineers until today.

Innovative from its inception, the program has embraced unique approaches to teaching and learning, such as the cooperative curriculum. This model allows students to alternate between periods of study at the university and hands-on training in companies, where they complete supervised internships.

The  materials  engineer  will  be qualified  for  the  research, development  and  production  of functional  materials.  This  includes the  capacity  to  design  parts  or components  for  specific applications,  offering  solutions  for: improving productivity and reducing manufacturing  costs;  increasing component  lifespan;  and developing  innovative  materials, techniques  and  manufacturing processes  with  a  lower environmental impact.

Throughout the degree program, students complete two required internships, with the option to undertake an additional elective internship, each lasting 18 weeks. These internships are available across the three primary areas of Materials Engineering – ceramics, metals, and polymers – and students may also choose to intern in marketing and business management. All internships are paid.

This practice, however, does not affect the length of the five-year program. At UFSC, Materials Engineering students spend the first five semesters in the university and in the sixth semester they take the first required internship. Then, they return to UFSC for another semester of studies and in the next one they move to the second internship. Finally, in the last semester – which is made up of elective courses –, they can take a third internship in an industrial setting. This early contact with the job market provides students with the equivalent of one and a half year of professional training and experience. In addition to learning the tasks they will perform in their future career, the students gain knowledge on work relationships, discipline, hierarchy and on how to behave in the professional world.