Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

UFSC Social Sciences program prepares sociologists, anthropologists and political scientists not only to develop academic research and produce knowledge about social relations, but also to conduct surveys and consulting services in public or private companies.

The program’s core subjects are in the fields of Sociology, Anthropology and Political Science, but, since the early stages, the student may choose to focus on one particular social area, by taking specific courses in this area.

Different segments of society are object of research, including the political system, the public policies, the social institutions and the business system, as well as the social movements and the socio-cultural diversity. Research is carried out in specialized places, such as the Image and Sound Research Laboratory, where educational videos are also produced for the teaching and learning of social sciences.

The program offers two types of degrees: a teaching degree and a degree leading to research and other career possibilities. The teaching degree enables students to work in primary and secondary schools. The student takes pedagogical courses throughout the program and completes a teaching internship in an educational institution. In the other degree option, the program focuses on research, consulting, advice, and public and private policy management. In the final semester, the student develops a final thesis.

The UFSC Sanitary and Environmental Engineering Program provides a professional training in methodologies and technologies for the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance and management of water supply systems, sanitary sewage, urban and industrial solid waste, industrial effluent treatment, storm water management, urban drainage, applied hydraulics and hydrology, hydraulic-building installations, and water and air pollution control. It also covers the development of actions for the diagnosis and characterization of the environment, the monitoring and control of environmental quality, the planning of water resources, the recovery of the environment and the preservation and improvement of environmental quality.

Courses are divided into basic contents (calculus, physics, chemistry, biology and graphic representation), professional contents (from engineering) and specific contents (related to sanitation and environment). The curriculum also includes project courses, the development of a final project, and 360 class hours of supervised internship. Students can also engage in complementary activities of research, outreach and student tutoring.

The career opportunities for the Sanitary and Environmental Engineer are guaranteed by the regulation of their professional practice and especially by the society’s increased awareness of sanitary and environmental problems. Municipal, state and federal government bodies, consulting firms and the industrial sector all have a growing need for professionals with a high technical competence and adequate training to deal with technological, managerial and planning issues in the areas of sanitation and environment.

The Joinville Campus’ Railway and Metro Engineering program prepares students for a career in railway and metro project, operation, management and maintenance. More specifically, railway and metro engineering graduates may work in areas such as: railway and metro dynamics; project and maintenance of rolling stock (locomotives, wagons and passenger cars); materials for railway and metro transportation systems; railway and metro communication, signaling and operation systems; permanent way; railway and metro accident prevention and investigation; and management of railway/metro enterprises.

The subway and metro sector has received increased attention in Brazil due to the need for sustainable development. New investments in the expansion of railway lines have ensured the recent growth of the railway industry. Moreover, the concern about urban mobility has demanded investment in new metro lines, surface trains, monorails and high-speed trains. Many companies are installed or being installed in Brazil to promote rolling stock projects and new technologies and solutions for this sector.

Learn more about the Railway and Metro Engineering Program by watching this video (in Portuguese):

Established in 1978, The Psychology Program was the first one to be offered in the state of Santa Catarina, with an extensive experience in teaching, research and outreach. Its comprehensive curriculum enables students to learn about different theoretical contributions that give support to the professional practice in various areas and fields of work in Psychology.

This full-time program offers two types of degrees: a teaching degree and a degree that prepares for the practice of psychology. Its current curriculum was established in 2010 and is divided into two modules: one comprised of basic subjects, corresponding to the first three years of study, and the other of professional subjects, set in the final years.

Students take practical courses since the early stages of the program, through the introductory internships. During the professional module, they take more in-depth internships, with a more intense weekly workload.

The professional module provides students with the opportunity to get further knowledge in at least two of the following areas of focus: 1. Health and Clinical Processes; 2. Work, Organizations and Management; 3. School/Education; 4. Community Processes and Collective Action.

UFSC Psychology Program has several laboratories, research centers and a Psychological Care Service (SAPSI), which offers free services to the local community and is a place for internships, research and outreach. As for other fields of intervention, the program has a solid partnership with institutions in the region (schools, hospitals, non-profit organizations, companies, etc.) and contributes largely to the process of consolidation of the new mental health model in Brazil.

Since 2010, the program was recognized by the Ministry of Health and Education as a Training Reference Center for the Unified Health System (SUS). It prepares students for teamwork in different care units of SUS: health centers; medium complexity care in psychosocial care centers or psychotherapies; hospital settings; urgencies and emergencies.

The Portuguese Language and Literatures Program aims to prepare professionals with competence in terms of information and autonomy, who are able to deal with literary and linguistic issues in a systematic, reflective and critical manner, in different oral and written contexts.

The program covers three major areas: 1) Portuguese Language/Linguistics, 2) Literature (Portuguese and Brazilian Literature and Literary Theory) and 3) Latin (Language and Literature). Most courses are offered by the Department of Vernacular (Portuguese) Language and Literature from the School of Communication and Arts.

In the second half of the program, students may choose if they want to follow a teaching career.

The teaching degree is offered by the Department of Teaching Methodology from the School of Education. The department is responsible for the teaching courses and for the teaching internships, which are carried out in primary and secondary schools. By the end of each internship, the student writes a report on their teaching experiences.

Graduates holding a teaching degree can work in primary and secondary schools, as well as in preparation courses for university entrance examinations in the area of Portuguese Language or Literatures. They can also pursue graduate studies in order to proceed their training towards a university teaching career.

Students who don’t pursue a teaching degree will, on their turn, focus their studies on research. They will receive support from a faculty supervisor, who will guide them through the program and will help select specific and elective courses that will match the chosen line of research. In the last year, the student develops a research project and writes a final thesis which will be publicly defended before an examining committee.

Graduates who don’t opt for a teaching degree often go on to graduate school. Outside the academy, work possibilities include text revision, consulting and advisory services in educational and textual projects.

When applying for the Physics Program, the applicant must choose between two degrees: Physics or Physics Education. The Physics degree prepares graduates for a career in research, while the Physics Education degree prepares physics teachers for primary and secondary schools. The two degrees have different curriculum structure.

Students can take courses from both degree types, as one holds classes in the afternoon and the other in the evening. This way, after graduating from one of the degrees, they can apply for returning admission to qualify in the second degree.

In both degrees, core courses in General Physics, Calculus and Chemistry are offered in the early stages, accompanied by laboratory practice. By the end of the program, students in the Physics degree may develop a project in one of the department’s research groups. Students in the Physics Education degree, in their turn, take specific courses on the Teaching of Physics and engage in teaching internships in primary or secondary schools.

All Physics students are encouraged to pursue graduate studies. The master’s or doctoral degree is a requirement to work in research laboratories and institutes and to become a university professor.

The field of work for the physicist is broad. They can find work opportunities in the field of medicine, particularly in the areas of ultrasound and radiation, and in industries, in the development of products and machinery. As the Physics Program provides graduates with in-depth knowledge of mathematics and computer science, they also find working opportunities in the field of data processing, among others.

Created in 2010, the Physiotherapy Program at Araranguá Campus was the first health-related degree to be offered by a public institution in the southern region of the State of Santa Catarina. It aims to meet the regional demand for public, free and quality education.

The program trains professionals capable of finding and proposing solutions based on scientific knowledge and care resoluteness, in a technical-scientific and ethical-humanistic perspective, combining teaching, research and outreach. The physiotherapist should be able to preserve, develop and functionally restore the integrity of body organs and systems, from the functional kinetic assessment to the physical and functional diagnosis, in several areas: Primary Care, Pediatrics, Orthopedics, Traumatology and Rheumatology, Geriatrics, Pulmonology, Cardiology, Gynecology and Obstetrics, and Dermatology.

The learning settings include basic health units, APAE (Association of Parents and Friends of Exceptional Children), stud farms, nursing homes, community centers, medical clinics and hospitals.

The program is full-time.

Learn more about the Physiotherapy Program by watching this video (in Portuguese):

Through the study of different philosophical doctrines and the debate around these doctrines, the Philosophy student at UFSC is well prepared for the academic and intellectual work – including readings, expositions, debates, writings – that seeks to give an answer to the philosophical inquiries about the human condition.

The core courses in the program are of two types: there are four courses in the History of Philosophy, which introduce the knowledge of philosophical doctrines from Antiquity to the present day, and twelve systematic courses on the various fields of Philosophy: Logic I and II, Theory of Knowledge, Ontology I and II, Ethics I and II, Aesthetics, Philosophy of Science, Political Philosophy I and II and Philosophy of Language. Besides these compulsory courses, the student should also take elective courses in philosophy and other academic subjects.

The program offers two degree options: a research-focused degree, which requires the writing of a final thesis (TCC) about a chosen philosophical issue, and a teaching degree, which gives graduates a teaching license for upper secondary school education. To obtain this degree, students must take pedagogical courses and a teaching internship. Both degree options allow students to pursue graduate studies.

In order to be considered a scholar of philosophy, or even an original philosopher, holding an undergraduate degree is not enough. The philosophy practitioner must publish the results of their investigations and reflections in the form of articles and books, as well as participate in conferences.

Several research groups of the Department of Philosophy encourage students in this direction, such as the Center for Epistemology and Logic (NEL), dedicated to studies on human reasoning and the fundamentals of sciences; the Center for Ethics and Political Philosophy (NEFIPO), which seeks to justify moral and political decisions; the Center for Ancient Philosophy and Medieval Studies, which promotes knowledge of the medieval and classical Greco-roman thought, encouraging Greek and Latin language learning; the Center for Metaphysical Investigations (NIM), concerned with transcendental issues; and the Center for Philosophical Studies and Activities in Secondary School, which gives support to secondary school philosophy teachers. Because of the experience in these and other research activities, Philosophy graduates can also work for publishing houses and other cultural institutions, as well as translate philosophical works.

The UFSC Pharmacy Program focuses on a student-centered learning in which the professor has the role of a facilitator and a mediator in the teaching and learning process. It aims to provide a full and appropriate training through the articulation of teaching, research and outreach/care. The pharmacist graduated from UFSC should have a qualification that considers the societal health needs, the comprehensive health care in the regionalized and hierarchical system of reference and counter-reference, and teamwork, with emphasis on the Unified Health System (SUS).

The National Council of Education (CNE) and the Superior Board of Education (CSE) also state that the Pharmacy graduate should have the following profile: a broad, humanist, critical and reflective qualification to work in all levels of health care, with scientific and intellectual accuracy; and the ability to perform activities related to drugs, medicines and pharmaceutical care, integrated to clinical and toxicological analysis, cosmetics and food, in favor of the health care of individuals, families and the community.

The Program’s curriculum covers the following areas of knowledge:

I. Exact Sciences: notions of physical, chemical, mathematical and statistical approaches, processes and methods that support pharmaceutical sciences;

II. Biological and Health Sciences: molecular and cellular-based contents of normal and altered processes, structure and function of tissues, organs, and systems, as well as biochemical, microbiological, immunological processes and molecular genetics throughout the development of the health/illness process;

III. Human and Social Sciences: contents related to the various dimensions of the individual/society relationship, contributing to the understanding of the social, cultural, behavioral, psychological, ecological, ethical and legal determinants, and contents related to communication, economics and management at the individual and collective levels, giving support for the pharmaceutical activity;

IV. Pharmaceutical Sciences: studies of medicines with respect to the research, development, formulation, production, storage and quality control of inputs, drugs, medicines and cosmetics; pharmacodynamics, bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, therapeutic use and pharmacoepidemiology, to ensure good dispensing practices and rational use of medicines; fundamentals that support pharmaceutical care at the individual and collective levels; contents related to clinical laboratory and therapeutic diagnosis and to bromatology, biosafety and toxicology, giving support for the pharmaceutical care.

The UFSC Physical Education program aims to qualify professionals for a humanist and ethically responsible practice, with the goal of promoting health and quality of life for all people.

The program offers two types of degrees: a teaching degree and a degree that leads to other career possibilities. With the teaching degree, the Physical Education graduate is qualified to work in basic education schools (early childhood, primary and secondary education), whereas other career possibilities include working in gyms, community associations, companies, or even as personal trainers.

The program curriculum is based on four major areas: natural and biological sciences; humanities; theoretical and practical knowledge of the culture of movement; and pedagogical education. In the last two years, students take supervised internships where they get to know the professional practice of a physical education teacher.

UFSC School of Sports offers outreach projects in more than thirty types of sports, such as tennis, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics, dance, capoeira and judo. There are also a number of scholarship opportunities for students in research, including the Scientific Initiation program, in student tutoring, in the Children Sports School (Esinde) and in the Tutorial Education Program (PET).

Among the facilities of the School of Sports are an indoor thermal pool, tennis courts, a soccer field, a running track, three gymnasiums, multipurpose courts, dance, gymnastics, fitness and dojo rooms. Besides, students can use laboratories of Physical Effort, Physiology, Anatomy, Foreign Languages, Computer, Pedagogical Studies, Biomechanics and Media.

Learn more about the Physical Education Program by watching this video (in Portuguese):