The Master in Science Education and Communication aims at providing students with training enhancements around fundamental and current science topics, not only with the goal of strengthening Science Education, within a lifelong learning perspective, but also with the goal of developing the capacity to reflect analytically and critically on Science Communication to a wide variety of publics and by different means, with the goal to promote scientific culture.

Employment Prospects

The Master  opens the door to successful careers in:

• Science Education in: 
• school environment (Basic and Secondary Education) 
• academic environment (Higher Education)

• Science Communication in contexts such as:
• Museums and Science Centers
• Universities
• Offices of Communication of R&D Units

Admissions Requirements

• Holding a first cycle degree in the fields of Natural or Exact Sciences, Teaching of Natural or Exact Sciences, Engineering or Technology.
• Holding a higher education degree obtained in a foreign institution, in one of the fields listed above.
• Holding a first cycle degree in other areas, if the syllabus demonstrates an adequate basic scientific background for the study cycle.
• Holding an academic, scientific or professional curriculum considered by the scientific board as attesting the capacity to carry out this study cycle.

Candidates that do not hold their first cycle degree at the time of application, but are able to do so before the deadline for registration in the study cycle, must provide evidence on their weighted average grade by the time of application, as well as a list of the curricular units still to be completed in order to obtain the first cycle degree. Candidates that do not demonstrate having completed their degree until the deadline for registration will be excluded.

Selection Criteria and Results

The ranking of eligible candidates will be made according to the following criteria and subcriteria:

• Academic curriculum (scientific field of the first cycle degree and grade obtained) (40%)
  • Subcriterion 1: scientific field of the first cycle degree (10%)
    • maximum score for Sciences (Exact or Natural) or its teaching;
    • case-by-case scores for other areas, based on the degree of Science coverage (Exact or Natural)
  • Subcriterion 2: grade obtained (30%)
• Scientific curriculum and professional experience (35%)
  • Subcriterion 1: publications in journals and communications at conferences, participation in research projects (10%)
  • Subcriterion 2: relevant professional experience or participation in undergraduate courses in the area of the of the master's degree (15%)
  • Subcriterion 3: training actions in the scientific area of the master's degree (10%)
• Master Thesis Proposal / Research theme (15%)
  • The candidate must present a preliminary research proposal to be developed in the Master's Thesis, stating the objectives, a brief description of how he intends to develop it and what skills he/she already has and intends to develop within the scope of this Master. The proposal must be succinct (max. 5 pages).
    • Subcriterion 1: reasoned relevance of the object of study (5%)
    • Subcriterion 2: scientific quality and feasibility of the proposal (10%)
• Motivation Letter (10%)
  • The candidate must explain the motivation for applying for the Master and the expectations regarding the course (max. 1 page) (10%)
    • Subcriterion 1: clarity in identifying the reasons and expectations underlying the application (5%)
    • Subcriterion 2: maturity with which it envisages carrying out the proposed research work and obtaining a master's degree (5%)

Candidates who do not yet have a bachelor's degree and / or have an academic, scientific or professional curriculum, which is recognized as attesting the capacity to carry out this cycle of studies by the statutory competent scientific body, will be ranked according to the criteria and sub-criteria above indicated, but replacing the final average degree with the weighted average of the curricular units completed. However, they are conditioned to the need to complete the degree by the time of registration. In addition, the final average degree cannot be lower than the average of other non-serial candidates.

Candidate tiebreaker

• Grade of academic curriculum
• Grade of scientific curriculum and professional experience

Candidates may be subject to an individual interview, to be carried out by the Scientific Committee of the Study Cycle, to clarify relevant aspects for the selection and ranking process.

Information

• Application Dates 2023-2024
• Access to FCUP’s Academic Exams

Contacts

Course Director:	m.edc.diretor@fc.up.pt
Postgraduate Section:	pos.graduacao@fc.up.pt
Students:	m.edc@fc.up.pt

General information

Study Plan

Certificates

Predominant Scientific Areas