Curricular structure
Master’s courses
Master’s courses are divided into required and elective, in addition to the mandatory course ‘Seminars’.
The required courses reflect the intellectual and technical support essential to the development of the Master’s Program and, therefore, must be taken during the first semester of entry into the Program. They are: Scientific Methodology (methodological in nature); Fundamentals of Social and Political Theory; and Social Theory and Contemporary Politics (of a theoretical nature).
Elective courses are those that, due to their universal nature, relate to all of the Political Sociology Postgraduate Program’s lines of research.
The Master’s seminars are divided into:
a) The ‘Seminars’ course: weekly seminars offered every semester by professors accredited by the PPGSP or by professors and researchers from other programs or institutions, aiming at the diversified theoretical and methodological training of masters based on thematic approaches to studies in the area of Political Sociology through the stimulation of dialogue with themes considered strategic in Political Sociology or in areas related to Sociology. Students are required to enroll in the course for 2 (two) academic semesters during their pursuit of a master’s degree, in keeping with the General Regulations of Postgraduate Studies at UENF;
b) Thesis seminars: offered by one of the professors accredited by the Graduate Program during the second semester of the second year in order to monitor the development of the master’s thesis through the written and oral presentation of the research and chapters in progress.
Students must attain a minimum of 25 credits in order to obtain a Master´s degree in Political Sociology, distributed as follows:
I – 12 credits in required courses;
II – 05 credits in elective courses (minimum of 03 credits in the Political Sociology Program);
III – 01 credit in the course Seminaries I;
IV – 01 credit in the course Seminaries II;
V – 02 credits in the course Thesis Seminary;
VI – 04 credits in the course Thesis Research.
Master’s students are allowed to take 02 (two) credits of an elective course in another stricto sensu Capes-accredited postgraduate program, provided both the student´s advisor and the PPGSP Coordinating Committee agree.
The thesis project must be defended within one year after the beginning of the student’s first academic semester (the semester of initial enrollment in the course), as established in the General Regulations of Postgraduate Studies at UENF.
The Master´s thesis must be defended within a maximum period of 24 (twenty four) months after the beginning of the student’s first academic semester (the semester of their initial enrollment).
Doctoral courses
Doctoral courses are divided into required and elective courses, in addition to the Seminars courses. After the changes made by the Coordinating Committee on 11/27/19 – transitioning from one to three compulsory courses and compensating the increase in the minimum number of elective credits -, the grid is now composed of 12 credits in compulsory courses, 11 in elective courses, 08 in seminars, and 04 in project and thesis research.
Doctoral course requirements are as follows:
a) Three required courses:
– Fundamentals of Social and Political Theory (4 credits, theoretical nature);
– Social Theory and Contemporary Politics (4 credits, theoretical nature);
– Scientific Methodology (4 credits, methodological nature).
b) Elective courses: those that, due to their universal nature, are related to all the lines of research of the Political Sociology Postgraduate Program.
The Seminars doctoral courses are divided into:
a) The course ‘Seminars’: weekly seminars offered every semester by professors accredited by the PPGSP or by professors and researchers from other programs or institutions, aiming at the diversified theoretical and methodological training of doctoral students using thematic approaches in the area of Political Sociology, while stimulating dialogue with topics considered strategic to Political Sociology or related areas. Students are required to enroll during 4 (four) academic semesters of their doctoral studies, as set forth in the General Regulations of Postgraduate Studies at UENF;
b) Dissertation project seminars: these aim to accompany the development of the doctoral dissertation project through the use of written presentations of research progress and class discussion;
c) Dissertation seminars: aim to accompany the elaboration of the final doctoral dissertation through written and oral presentations of research and the chapters in progress.
The number of credits required to obtain a doctoral degree in Political Sociology is a minimum of 35 (with up to 17 Master´s level credits), distributed as follows:
I – 12 credits in required courses;
II – 11 credits in elective courses (with a minimum of 05 credits in the PPGSP);
III – 01 credit in the course Seminars I;
IV – 01 credit in the course Seminars II;
V – 01 credit in the course Seminars III;
VI – 01 credit in the course Seminars IV;
VII – 02 credits in the course Dissertation Seminar I;
VIII – 02 credits in the course Dissertation Seminar II;
IX – 02 credits in the course Dissertation Project Research;
X – 02 credits in the course Dissertation Research.
The doctoral student may request approval or transfer of up to 17 credits from the Master’s degree. The Coordinating Committee will only accept credits for required subjects if taken at the PPGSP/UENF. The transfer of credits from courses taken at other institutions may be ruled valid only as elective course requirements.
The defense of the dissertation project will take place 12 (twelve) months after the beginning of the student’s first academic semester (the semester of their initial enrollment). The dissertation project will be evaluated by an examining board consisting of at least 04 (four) full members and 01 (one) alternate holding a PhD.
The doctoral student will take a qualifying exam, within a maximum period of 6 (six) months after fulfillment of crediut requirements, before an Examining Committee, as established in the General Regulations of Postgraduate Studies of UENF. The qualifying exam will be evaluated by an examining board consisting of the student´s advisor and a minimum of 03 (three) full members — two of whom are external to the Program — and 01 (one) alternate (all holding a PhD). The examining board will be chaired by the advisor, without the right to vote. The student must present the defended dissertation project to the examining board (after incorporating the changes made from the suggestions of the project examining board and the indications of its supervisor); descriptive summary of the chapters, with a description of the content to be covered in each of them; the bibliography raised; and two finished chapters. The Qualification Exam, before the examining board, will be oral and will consist of questions about the material presented by the student.
The thesis will be defended within a maximum period of 48 (forty-eight) months after the beginning of the student’s first academic semester (the semester of initial enrollment in the course).
During the quadrennium, the three compulsory subjects (Fundamentals of Social and Political Theory; Scientific Methodology; and Social Theory and Contemporary Politics) will be offered annually, with the first two during the initial semester and the last during the final semester of each year