Faculdade

Department

About

The Department of Applied Social Sciences (DCSA) brings the perspective of the social sciences to the Faculty of Science and Technology courses, both at undergraduate and graduate level. Our aim is to encourage students to develop skills in the fields of communication and expression, relationships between science / technology / society (history, philosophy and contemporary thought), of ethics, organization of work and economics, management and entrepreneurship.  Specifically, we intend to offer students a set of tools to understand complex issues related to the development of contemporary communities, namely by developing:

  1. a scientific and technical culture that allows them to (i) create an active and critical reflection on the role of science and technology in contemporary society, (ii) incorporate and consolidate ethical values; 
  2. a basis for understanding today's labour market, mainly through the lens of economics and sociology;
  3. an entrepreneurship-driven approach of their professional careers;
  4. their capacity for oral and written expression and their ability to convey ideas and concepts with clarity and readability.

The Department of Applied Social Sciences (DCSA) is organized in 4 main scientific areas:

Educational and Training Sciences and Technologies, Economics and Management, History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, and Industrial Sociology. 

Concerning teaching, the DCSA offers disciplines to all courses in the faculty. It is also responsible for Master and Ph.D. Programs in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, Technology Assessment, and Education Sciences. All DCSA teachers are specialists in their areas of teaching and research, their quality being acknowledged both nationally and internationally.  

As for research, DCSA members belong to research units funded by the National Council for Research (FCT/MCE), and are leaders or members of national and international R&D projects. DCSA members regularly publish books and papers in journals highly ranked in international indexes and participate  in  executive and editorial committees, and in international scientific societies.