Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

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

The subway and railway 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 subway 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 Subway 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):

UFSC Pedagogy Program prepares students for a career in teaching, both in early childhood and primary education, as well as for the organization and management of educational systems, units or projects, and for the production and dissemination of knowledge in different areas of education.

Hence, the program’s curriculum focuses on teaching, while also providing students with the necessary knowledge for the performance of other pedagogical activities involved in the education systems or units. Throughout the program, students take courses from multiple fields and must write a final thesis (TCC) on any topic related to the educational field.

They also have to engage in two teaching internships: one in childhood education and the other in primary school. These can be done at the university’s Child Development Center (NDI) or Laboratory School (Colégio de Aplicação), as well as in any municipal or state schools and childhood education institutions.

UFSC Oceanography Program aims to qualify oceanographers for the identification and solution of problems to broadly meet the demands of the Brazilian society through a critical, creative and entrepreneurial spirit.

Studies cover several areas of ocean sciences in a comprehensive and integrated manner, seeking to prepare professionals not only with a solid conceptual background, but with knowledge of the methodological instruments required for the understanding of the relations of interaction between processes in the physical and biological environment. The program aims to encourage students to pose questions and seek solutions for the understanding of the functioning of the oceans as a whole and of the coastal zone in particular. It is expected that graduates will be conscious, critical, as well as economically, socially and environmentally responsible in their work.

In accordance with the National Curriculum Guidelines for undergraduate degrees in Oceanography, the specific objectives of the program are to enable students to:

I. develop research projects for the understanding of components and processes acting in the marine environment, aimed at its sustainable use;

II. engage in activities related to the study and management of transition systems: coastal zone, mixohaline systems and watersheds;

III. work in leadership positions in different sectors and spheres of oceanography;

IV. coordinate inter- and transdisciplinary activities concerning the marine environment;

V. develop mechanisms and strategies for the teaching of oceanography and environmental education;

VI. perform their professional activities with ethics and responsibility.

UFSC Oceanography graduates should have scientific and technical qualification to understand and predict the behavior of the oceans and coastal environments and to be able to work in a transdisciplinary manner when it comes to the rational use and exploitation of renewable and nonrenewable marine resources.