Postgraduate Program in Global Studies

CREDITS / ECTS: 48 ECTS
DURATION: 1248 hours
COORDINATOR: José Eduardo Franco, José Porfírio, João Relvão Caetano
START: 2024-11-05
APPLICATIONS FROM: 2024-06-26
APPLICATIONS UNTIL: 2024-09-15
COST: 1750€ (plus application fee: 45€)

The Postgraduate Course in Global Studies (PgEG) is part of UAb’s educational, scientific, and cultural project, as outlined in its Strategic Plan and its internationalization objectives. UAb, a public university exclusively dedicated to Distance Education (EaD), has a statutory mission to promote the Portuguese language and culture worldwide, using the most advanced technologies and pedagogies. UAb is supported by its technological infrastructure and unique Virtual Pedagogical Model, which is nationally and internationally validated and shared with similar institutions in Portugal and other countries through joint offerings of higher education programs.

UAb is inclusive and global, both in its teaching methodologies and pedagogies, and because it reaches those who, otherwise, would not have access to higher education. In this regard, the focus on a postgraduate course dedicated to the emerging field of Global Studies, where innovation and interconnection are central, stems from the recognition that globalization affects daily life and that the world needs innovative ways of thinking and acting, promoting the capacity for international cooperation with a view to solving problems from an international and global perspective. This overarching goal is based on a multifaceted and non-hegemonic program applied to global contexts, in which societies are viewed as subsystems of the interdependent global world, aiming for social justice.

Globalization refers to a process that brings economies and societies closer together, influencing political and cultural processes, and entails a complex thought that, according to Edgar Morin, instead of separating, connects knowledge and brings theory and practice together in a transdisciplinary approach. On one hand, the PgEG course naturally establishes itself as a project of holistic and interdisciplinary scope (encompassing the different departments of UAb); on the other hand, the EaD format, in its online aspect and as a distinctive educational project of UAb, proves suitable for attracting a heterogeneous student body from a scientific, geographical, and cultural standpoint. Finally, it should be noted that the EaD model used is particularly coherent with the globalization phenomena that the course aims to address.