Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

The UFSC Materials Engineering program on the Florianópolis Campus 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.

 The Library Science program trains professionals capable of locating, storing, retrieving and organizing information in any medium: from books and paper documents to those stored in electronic databases or available on the Internet.

Diversity and versatility are hallmarks of the Library Science graduate, who is skilled in creating information access tools and conducting library marketing and promotional activities. Graduates can find employment in a variety of settings, including companies, organizations, law firms, trade unions, museums, newspapers, and federal, state, or municipal government agencies that have libraries or documentation centers.

In the computer lab, students develop research techniques especially focused on the internet, which is gaining increasing relevance, as it creates new job positions. Other traditional areas of study are also included in the program.

The curriculum is comprised of around 50 courses, grouped into three areas: general foundations, including courses taught in other programs; instrumentals, which covers subjects in the fields of languages, logic and research methods and techniques; and professional training, which provides students with the theoretical foundations of library science.

Throughout the program, students can engage in a number of outreach activities developed in two support libraries: the Education Library and the Virtual Library in Library Science and Information Science. Additionally, they have access to the Document Conservation and Restoration Laboratory and the Information Handling Laboratory, which is dedicated to the study and thematic analysis of texts and books, providing a valuable opportunity to explore different fields of knowledge.

UFSC Law program is derived from the Faculty of Law of Santa Catarina and it was the first Law degree to be offered in the state, established in Florianópolis in 1932. It became part of UFSC in 1960.

The program aims to prepare professionals for the legal practice, equipping them with technical knowledge, a critical view and social and political consciousness. The program’s curriculum includes a strong humanist base, which combines the need for a dogmatic and practical training and an education concerned with the development of a truly conscious and participatory citizenship.

For degree completion, in addition to achieving the number of credits for required courses and completing a final thesis (TCC), students must obtain 324 class hours of elective courses, 360 hours of internship experience and 360 hours of complementary activities (including research and outreach activities, extracurricular courses and internships, and student representation).

In addition to the degree requirements, Law students can develop research activities in the Tutorial Education Program (PET) or take part in research carried out by faculty members of the Department of Law. Many of the program’s faculty members are internationally recognized authorities in several fields of Law.

Supervised internship is developed in the Office for Legal Assistance (EMAJ), linked to the Legal Practice Center (NJP), which offers legal assistance to the disadvantaged community. Due to an agreement between UFSC and the Court of Justice of the State of Santa Catarina, since 1993, students can profit from a forum located inside the university. Initially, the forum served the activities of the EMAJ only, but today the Regional Forum of the North of the Island is a pioneer in providing decentralized legal services (Special Courts). It comprises four courts, an auditorium for 200 peoples, and a structure to perform real juries.

The program also has modern and well-equipped facilities, with large classrooms, an exclusive branch library and a computer lab.

Learn more about the Law program by watching this video (in Portuguese):

UFSC Journalism program prepares students for a career as reporters, photographers, editorial designers, writers or editors in newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, internet, news agencies and press offices, either employed, as a freelancer or as an entrepreneur.

From the early stages of the program, students engage with journalism practice through hands-on courses conducted in specialized labs for Radio Journalism, TV Journalism, Photojournalism, Writing, Online Journalism, and Infographics.

The curriculum also offers a number of theoretical courses that provide the foundation for the professional practice. This includes: Journalism Ethics; Aesthetics and Mass Culture; Theory and Research Methodology in Communication; Institutional Communication; Media Relations; Communication Policies; Communication Theory; Journalism Theory; among others. The program has partnerships with private companies and corporate entities, such as the National Federation of Journalists (FENAJ), which allow students to establish contact with professional journalists and expand their training. Students can also profit from an internship agreement with the Globo TV network, located in Rio de Janeiro.

As a way of experiencing the practice even further, UFSC Journalism students can engage in outreach projects and earn scholarships in the various fields of journalism. In radio journalism, they participate in an online radio station, Rádio Ponto UFSC. In the internet, they produce articles for the website Cotidiano, which brings news about UFSC and the Brazilian higher education. The lab newspaper Zero is another possibility for journalism practice.

The program’s facilities also include professional TV and radio studios; photography, infographics, computer and writing laboratories; and the New Media Laboratory, where students produce websites and try out new communication technology resources.

Journalism students at UFSC can also engage in university communication, doing internships at the UFSC Communication Agency and TV UFSC.

The Italian Language and Literature program at UFSC is one of the most dynamic Italian degree programs in Brazil. Its faculty is strongly committed to research and outreach in the areas of linguistic, literary and translation studies.

The program features a weekly schedule of eight hours of Italian language courses. In the first four semesters, students complete core courses, and in the fifth semester, they choose between pursuing a teaching degree (licenciatura) or a research-focused bachelor’s degree (bacharelado).

The Italian program aims to educate professionals capable of working with language and interculturality, fostering and disseminating a critical understanding of society. Graduates will demonstrate proficiency in the Italian language, as well as in literature and literary theories, and in the theory and practice of translation, from (inter)cultural, functional and structural perspectives, engaging socially and adopting professional stances that contribute to an awareness of the other.

The program, located in the state of Santa Catarina, is situated in a context where  approximately 60%  of  the  population  has Italian ancestry. Serving as a key institutional  hub  in  this  reality, it  adopts  a plurilingual  approach  as  a historical  and  cultural characteristic of the state.

In March 2011, an agreement was signed between the Italian government and the government of Santa Catarina for the teaching of Italian in public schools across the state. Currently, there are about 14 municipalities where the language is taught.

Recent transformations in the international landscape have introduced significant challenges for higher education institutions. Since the end of the Cold War, numerous events have shaped the practice of international relations. These include the rise in trade and capital flows, increasing competition for non-renewable resources, and large-scale geopolitical changes such as the creation of new nation-states, integration processes, and territorial conflicts.

In response to these phenomena, both governments and civil society organizations are seeking professionals with specialized academic training in international relations. This training adopts an interdisciplinary approach to address the complex nature of these issues.

The International Relations program aims to foster technical competence in various fields of international relations, with a particular emphasis on international economic relations. This focus is driven by Brazil’s growing integration into the global economy and the unique characteristics of the state of Santa Catarina, which boasts a significant number of exporting companies, a logistics infrastructure oriented towards foreign trade, and a strategic location within Mercosur, Brazil’s major regional integration process.

International Relations graduates can work in government agencies, public or private companies, and international organizations. Their entry into in the job market is primarily driven by the increasing demands related to international economic relations.

The Science and Technology program equips students with a strong foundation in the exact sciences, preparing them to work in a wide range of fields. With knowledge of current technologies and the ability to analyze and solve complex problems, graduates will have the skills to use and apply mathematical and computational tools in the business, financial or industrial sector.

After degree completion, Science and Technology graduates can apply for admission to a graduate program or return to an undergraduate program to further their studies in engineering or another field of interest.

Learn more about the Science and Technology program by watching this video (in Portuguese):

The Civil Infrastructure Engineering program at Joinville Campus aims to train engineers capable of using and advancing scientific and technological knowledge to provide infrastructure that tackles human, natural, social and economic challenges.

A civil  infrastructure  engineer specializes  in  civil  works,  with an  emphasis  on large-scale  infrastructure projects,  such as  highways, railways,  metros,  dams, tunnels,  bridges,  waterways, ports,  airports,  coastal structures, and sanitation.

The program seeks to keep a constant and permanently updated contact with technology and executive methods, and uses innovative approaches to combine traditional knowledge with new technologies.

Laboratory classes, competition teams, outreach projects and technical visits, added to a strategically-located campus, allow students to experience real market situations, which they will encounter in their future career.

Learn more about the Civil Infrastructure Engineering program by watching this video (in Portuguese):

The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) program focuses on computer applications, preparing professionals with the necessary skills to use, design and develop ICT solutions in economic, social and cultural environments.

These technologies involve: computer programming, information systems, software engineering, database applications, internet applications, business creation and management, as well as technological applications for education and communication.

It is a short interdisciplinary bachelor’s program, consisting of 6 semesters, with classes from Monday to Saturday.

Among the program’s objectives are developing theoretical and practical foundations for the effective use of current digital resources, while also staying ahead of emerging digital technologies. These foundations will enable the creation of models to address and solve economic, social, and cultural challenges.

ICT professionals will be equipped to plan, implement and manage the IT infrastructure of companies and organizations. Graduates are encouraged to exercise their creativity and entrepreneurship with a critical, ethical and social spirit.

Learn more about the Information and Communication Technologies program by watching this video (in Portuguese):

With the ever increasing level of computerization in contemporary society, companies, industries and organizations are demanding professionals that not only master the existing resources, but that are able to create new options for information processing. UFSC Information Systems program prepares professionals who meet this profile, with full competence to design, develop and operate computerized systems.

The curriculum offers a solid training in programming and data structure, in addition to developing skills in the areas of computer architecture, discrete mathematics, logic, systems theory, and business organization and management.

The program also covers the latest technologies – with an emphasis on software engineering, database, computer networks and distributed systems – and encourages entrepreneurship and internship experiences. The intensive use of laboratories allows students to put into practice the knowledge acquired in the classroom.

Graduates can work in any type of organizations as system designers and developers, information technology consultants, or as network, database and information center managers.