MSc INSIGHT - Interdisciplinary Social Research

ECTS
120

Duration
2 years

Language
English

Regime
In-person

Schedule
Daytime

Places
20

Tuition Fees
1^st curricular year: 1,200.00 €
2^nd curricular year: 1,100.00 €

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The 3^rd call for applications is open until 30 June 2026.
More information available on the Notice.

Welcome to the MSc INSIGHT - Interdisciplinary Social Research

The ICS-ULisboa presents the new Master's INSIGHT - Interdisciplinary Social Research that will begin in the academic year 2026/2027.
This degree will be taught exclusively in English.
Detailed information may be found on this page and in the brochure.

Welcome Message from the Director of the ICS-ULisboa
Message from the Master's Coordinator
Objectives of the Programme
Target Audience
Employability
Scientific Committee of the Programme

Welcome Message
from the Director of the ICS-ULisboa

Marina Costa Lobo

The Institute of Social Sciences, an Organic Unit of the University of Lisbon, an R&D Unit and Associated Laboratory of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), is an internationally renowned research centre. Here, innovative research is carried out on contemporary societies, addressing their legacies and facing their challenges, while promoting excellence in research and dialogue between science and society on topics related to Inclusion and Vulnerabilities, Citizenship, Sustainability and Memories and Legacies.
We are strongly committed to advanced scientific training, carrying out doctoral programmes and postgraduate specialisation and training courses, keeping teaching closely linked to theoretical and methodological approaches developed in ongoing research at ICS-ULisboa, as diverse as the societies we study.
It is in this context that the Master's INSIGHT - Interdisciplinary Social Research emerges, an innovative academic proposal that brings together three schools of excellence from the University of Lisbon — ICS-ULisboa, FC-ULisboa and ISCSP-ULisboa — around a truly differentiating training project. Focused on the rigorous analysis of complex societal challenges, the program combines cutting-edge empirical research, access to unique infrastructures, such as the PASSDA infrastructure, integration into national and international projects and strong links with public policies.
In a global scenario where the demand for interdisciplinary skills is growing, this Master's programme comes to fill a gap in the postgraduate offerings of the University of Lisbon, enabling students to build flexible, creative and socially relevant scientific and professional paths, in an environment of intellectual freedom and close monitoring. At ICS-ULisboa we believe that knowledge only makes a difference when it is rigorous, shared, discussed and applied. Therefore, we invite you to join us on this challenging journey, contributing, in turn, to a more informed, reflective, and interconnected society.

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Message from the Master's Coordinator

Alice Ramos

Welcome to our MSc INSIGHT - Interdisciplinary Social Research!

This Master's programme stands out in the postgraduate training offer of the University of Lisbon by offering a course entirely in English, oriented towards research in Social Sciences from a multi-methodological perspective, using advanced tools for quantitative, qualitative and mixed data analysis. Specifically, it allows combining: thematic research in Social Sciences (ICS-ULisboa) with programming in Data Science (FC-ULisboa) and Population Science (ISCSP-ULisboa).
Following a student-centred approach, and using active and constructive teaching methodologies, the Master's programme allows the creation of pathways according to the different academic and professional profiles and interests of the students, combining excellence in methodology, interdisciplinarity and practical application.
The mandatory curricular units expose students to theoretical and methodological content from different disciplinary areas (Social Sciences and Humanities, Life Sciences and Engineering), and attendance of the Advanced Studies Seminars is also part of the mandatory curriculum, where researchers external to ICS-ULisboa, both national and international, present their research on the challenges of the contemporary world, organised according to the thematic lines of this Institute: Citizenship; Social Inclusion; Memory and Legacies; Sustainability.
The faculty consists of highly qualified professors, all holding doctoral degrees, with recognised scientific expertise in the fundamental areas they teach.
As the institution responsible for this Master's programme, ICS-ULisboa promotes an inclusive environment open to critical thinking and a diversity of ideas, encouraging students to experiment with new approaches and pursue innovative paths while participating in academic life.

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Objectives of the Programme

General Objectives

The Master's INSIGHT - Interdisciplinary Social Research offers specialised training in the introduction to Social Science research, firmly grounded in empirical research methods, centred around the studies conducted by researchers at ICS-ULisboa. The course promotes active citizenship, questioning disciplinary boundaries, stimulating creativity and critical analysis of social phenomena. By addressing topics such as sustainability, inequalities and digital transformation, among others, the course promotes student engagement in fundamental cultural and ethical issues, contributing to the training of excellent professionals and researchers equipped for the challenges of the 21st century.

The programme's general objectives are based on three fundamental pillars:

Interdisciplinary approach - providing excellence in social science training that allows for the analysis of complex social phenomena from different methodological perspectives;
Research capacity building - anchoring the Master's in research carried out within the thematic areas of ICS-ULisboa, such as Inclusion and Vulnerabilities, Citizenship, Sustainability, and Memory and Legacies, as well as specialisations at FC-ULisboa and ISCSP-ULisboa, specifically data science and population sciences;
Internationalisation - taught in English, aimed at integration into international academic networks and partnerships.

Learning Objectives

Knowledge - in-depth understanding of the main theoretical-methodological frameworks in social science research, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed approaches; interdisciplinary knowledge on topics such as Inclusion and Vulnerabilities, Citizenship, Sustainability, and Memory and Legacies; familiarity with the various social sciences developed at ICSULisboa, as well as Data Science (FC-ULisboa) and Population Sciences (ISCSP-ULisboa);
Skills - formulating research questions and developing a research project; selecting and applying appropriate research methods; experimenting with the integration of different areas of knowledge in interdisciplinary approaches;
Competencies - autonomy in creating a personal academic and research pathway, developing essential methodological and analytical skills for further academic progression and future integration into the job market.

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Target Audience

The Master's INSIGHT - Interdisciplinary Social Research, taught in English, welcomes applications from recent graduates in social sciences, or other scientific fields (Social Sciences and Humanities, Life Sciences and Engineering), who are interested in deepening their knowledge both in terms of methods and various themes surrounding contemporary social challenges.
We are particularly interested in candidates with intellectual curiosity and openness to differentiated learning in an academic environment of rigor, freedom, pluralism and autonomy.

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Employability

This Master's programme prepares students for a wide variety of professional opportunities in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, both nationally and internationally.
The course provides students with advanced and interdisciplinary skills suitable for roles in research and innovation, public policy analysis and strategies, project management, consulting, and the interfaces between science and society.
It also provides a solid foundation for pursuing studies, teaching, and other research-related professions.

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Scientific Committee of the Programme

Coordinator	Alice Ramos
Members	Annarita Gori Marina Costa Lobo Mónica Truninger Ramon Sarró

In collaboration with:

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	Alda Botelho Azevedo Senior Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa		Alice Ramos Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa
	Ana Delicado Senior Research Fellow with Habilitation ICS-ULisboa		Andrés Malamud Senior Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa
	Ângela Barreto Xavier Research Professor ICS-ULisboa		Annarita Gori Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa
	Anne Cova Research Fellow with Habilitation ICS-ULisboa		António Branco Associate Professor with Aggregation FC-ULisboa
	Cátia Pesquita Associate Professor FC-ULisboa		Chiara Pussetti Senior Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa
	Clara Saraiva Senior Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa		Cristiana Bastos Research Professor ICS-ULisboa
	Edalina Sanches Senior Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa		Filipa Lowndes Vicente Senior Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa
	Filipe Carreira da Silva Research Professor ICS-ULisboa		Inês Ponte Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa
	Iracema Dulley Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa		Isabel Corrêa da Silva Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa
	João Vasconcelos Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa		Lara Tavares Associate Professor ISCSP-ULisboa
	Lea Heyne Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa		Luís de Sousa Senior Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa
	Marina Costa Lobo Research Professor ICS-ULisboa		Marta Vilar Rosales Research Fellow with Habilitation ICS-ULisboa
	Mónica Truninger Senior Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa		Nuno Domingos Senior Research Fellow with Habilitation ICS-ULisboa
	Olivia Bina Senior Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa		Pedro Figueiredo Neto Junior Researcher ICS-ULisboa
	Pedro Magalhães Research Professor ICS-ULisboa		Ramon Sarró Invited Research Professor ICS-ULisboa
	Ricardo Roque Research Professor ICS-ULisboa		Roberto Falanga Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa
	Rui Costa Lopes Senior Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa		Sara Madeira Associate Professor FC-ULisboa
	Simone Tulumello Senior Research Fellow with Habilitation ICS-ULisboa		Sofia Aboim Research Professor ICS-ULisboa
	Susana de Matos Viegas Research Professor ICS-ULisboa		Vanessa Cunha Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa
	Verónica Policarpo Senior Research Fellow with Habilitation ICS-ULisboa		Vitor Sérgio Ferreira Senior Research Fellow ICS-ULisboa
	Vitória Mourão Assistant Professor ISCSP-ULisboa

The Master's in Interdisciplinary Social Research lasts 2 years, with daytime study, corresponding to a total of 120 ECTS.

It includes a mandatory common component that provides a comprehensive theoretical and epistemological overview of debates on contemporary societies developed in various areas of the Social Sciences, as well as advanced methodologies for analyzing qualitative, quantitative, and mixed data.

The three schools offer a set of elective courses, allowing students to deepen their methodological and theoretical knowledge in the various thematic areas of the ICS, enabling the construction of multiple educational pathways.

1^ST YEAR - 1^ST SEMESTER

Curricular Units	ECTS
Research Design I	6 ECTS
Interdisciplinarity in Social Sciences: Theories and Approaches	6 ECTS
Methodology of the Social Sciences	6 ECTS
Advanced Studies Seminar in Social Sciences I	6 ECTS
Conditional Unit - 1^st Semester	6 ECTS

1^ST YEAR - 2^ND SEMESTER

Curricular Units	ECTS
Research Design II	6 ECTS
Interdisciplinary Research in Social Sciences	6 ECTS
Conditional Unit - 2^nd Semester	18 ECTS

CONDITIONAL UNITS

Curricular Units	1^ST S	2^ND S	ECTS
Content and Discourse Analysis	X	X	3 ECTS
Analysis and Visualisation of Quantitative Data	X	X	3 ECTS
Population Sciences: Concepts, Models, and Thought	X		6 ECTS
Social Epidemiology	X	X	6 ECTS
Fundamentals of Data Science	X		3 ECTS
Programming Fundamentals	X		6 ECTS
Social Imagination	X	X	3 ECTS
Natural Language Interaction		X	6 ECTS
Historical Analysis Methodologies	X	X	3 ECTS
Ethnographic Research Methodologies	X	X	3 ECTS
Participatory and Collaborative Methodologies	X	X	3 ECTS
Creative and Artistic Methods	X	X	3 ECTS
Archival Research Methods	X	X	3 ECTS
Numbers that Count: Quantifying the Population	X	X	6 ECTS
Data Mining		X	6 ECTS
Contemporary Themes: Citizenship	X	X	3 ECTS
Contemporary Themes: Inclusion and Vulnerabilities	X	X	3 ECTS
Contemporary Themes: Memory and Legacies	X	X	3 ECTS
Contemporary Themes: Sustainability	X	X	3 ECTS

2^ND YEAR

Curricular Units	Duration	ECTS
Dissertation Development Seminar I	1^st Semester	6 ECTS
Dissertation Development Seminar II	2^nd Semester	6 ECTS
Advanced Studies Seminar in Social Sciences II	Annual	12 ECTS
Dissertation	Annual	36 ECTS

Accreditation

Accreditation of New Studies Cycle (2025)

Applications

2026/2027 Applications

Notice

1^st Call

Application submission: 12 February to 12 March 2026.
Interviews: 30 March to 2 April 2026.
Publication of results: until 6 April 2026.
Deadline for complaints (preliminary hearing): up to 10 working days after publication.
Registration period: 10 days after application approval.

2^nd Call

The 2^nd call of applications will only take place when the number of vacancies is not completed by the enrolment of applicants admitted in the 1^st call, and only for the vacancies that are have not yet been filled.

Application submission: 23 March to 27 April 2026.
Interviews: 11 to 15 May 2026.
Publication of results: until 29 May 2026.
Deadline for complaints (preliminary hearing): up to 10 working days after publication.
Registration period: 10 days after application approval.

3^rd Call

The 3^rd call of applications will only take place when the number of vacancies is not completed by the enrolment of applicants admitted in the 2^nd call, and only for the vacancies that are have not yet been filled.

Application submission: 11 May to 30 June 2026.
Interviews: 6 to 10 July 2026.
Publication of results: until 24 July 2026.
Deadline for complaints (preliminary hearing): up to 10 working days after publication.
Registration period: 10 days after application approval.

Applications through the ICS FenixEdu platform: https://fenix.ics.ulisboa.pt.
To create a registration, please access https://fenix.ics.ulisboa.pt/accountCreation.
In case you already have a registration, you can recover the access at https://fenix.ics.ulisboa.pt/passwordResetRequest.
In case you already have a student number at ICS, you should use your Campus account credentials. You may recover your access to this account at https://utilizador.ulisboa.pt.

The application fee is €50.00.

Requirements

The following may apply for admission to the study cycle:

Holders of a bachelor's degree or equivalent in Social Sciences and Humanities, Life Sciences, and Engineering, with a minimum final grade of Good (14/20) or equivalent;
Holders of a foreign higher academic degree, in the fields mentioned in 1.1., awarded following a first cycle of studies organized according to the principles of the Bologna Process by a State adhering to this Process;
Holders of a foreign higher academic degree in the fields mentioned in 1.1. that is recognised by the Selection Jury as satisfying the objectives of the bachelor's degree;
Holders of an academic, scientific, or professional curriculum that is recognised by the Selection Jury as attesting to the capacity to undertake this study cycle.

Students with incomplete diplomas may enrol conditionally, provided they meet the conditions for obtaining the degree before the start of the academic year.

The applications must be submitted with the following documents:

Certificate of bachelor’s or equivalent qualification, including academic records with grades obtained and respective grading scales from the institution that awarded the qualification. Under Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of 16 August, conjugated with Ordinance no. 33/2019, of 25 August, and Ordinance no. 43/2020, of 14 February, if the bachelor’s degree has been obtained abroad, the applicant will have to present one of the following documents:
- Document proving the award, by a Portuguese Institution, of the recognition or equivalence or registration of the academic degree; or
- Document proving that the request for recognition of the degree has already been made. This request must be submitted by the deadline for receiving applications, inclusive.
Curriculum vitae detailing the academic, scientific and/or professional background (in English);
Personal statement specifying the objectives that motivate the application to this study cycle (in English).

Admission

Places: The number of available places for this Master's is 20.

Candidates will be ranked according to the final classifications assigned to the applications by the Selection Jury and expressed on a scale of 0 to 20 points, taking into account the following criteria:

Holders of a bachelor's degree or equivalent in Social Sciences and Humanities, Life Sciences, and Engineering, with a minimum final grade of Good (14/20) or equivalent, holders of a foreign higher academic degree in the fields above awarded following a first cycle of studies organized according to the principles of the Bologna Process by a State adhering to this Process, and holders of a foreign higher academic degree in the fields above that is recognised by the Selection Jury as satisfying the objectives of the bachelor's degree:
1. Academic curriculum (55%);
2. Scientific and/or professional curriculum (15%);
3. Personal statement (15%);
4. Interview (15%).
Holders of an academic, scientific, or professional curriculum that is recognised by the Selection Jury as attesting to the capacity to undertake this study cycle:
1. Scientific and/or professional curriculum (55%);
2. Personal statement (20%);
3. Interview (25%).

The interviews will be conducted in English by, at least, two members of the Selection Jury via videoconference.
After evaluating the applications according to the criteria and weightings defined, the Selection Jury will proceed to rank the applications in descending order of their final classifications.
Candidates whose final application score is equal to or greater than 11 points and whose ranking number in the final ranking is less than or equal to the number of places set, in the first application call, or the remaining places from the previously completed calls in the 2^nd and 3^rd application calls, will be admitted.
Candidates whose final application grade is equal to or higher than 11 points and, cumulatively, whose order number in the final ranking is higher than the number of places available for each call will be placed on the reserve list.
Candidates placed on the reserve list will be admitted for any vacancies that may arise after the registration deadline, in ascending order of their ranking number in the final list.

Coordinator