Curriculum Structure

*Fundamentals of Ecology and Biodiversity

Syllabus: Fundamental concepts and levels of approach in Ecology and Biodiversity. Patterns of distribution and abundance in environmental gradients. Biodiversity and indicators of environmental quality. Causes of biodiversity depletion and loss. Ecological services of biodiversity and the impacts resulting from its reduction.

*Scientific Methodology

Syllabus: Science and society. Epistemology and the new paradigms of science. Ethical conduct in the process of building scientific knowledge. Research methods and techniques. The Research Project

*Ecological Restoration

Syllabus: Ecological Restoration: fundamentals. Main causes and consequences of environmental degradation processes. Reference ecosystems. Conceptual foundations: regulatory ecological processes in plant communities and ecological succession. Methods of Ecological Restoration. Environmental diagnosis and Recovery Plan for Degraded Areas (PRAD). Evaluation and Monitoring. Ecological Restoration and Society.

*Society, Environment and Development

Syllabus: Environmental epistemology. The concept of development from an environmental perspective. Economic development and social development. The current economic model and the planetary crisis. Environment and urban issues.

*Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory I

Syllabus: Interdisciplinary integration through themes and research in Environmental Sciences.

*Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory II

Exclusive to Doctorate

Syllabus: Interdisciplinary integration on socio-economic-environmental themes, enabling the development of doctoral students' expression skills through the presentation of their thesis pre-projects, previously reviewed with their respective advisors, for knowledge and discussion with other professors in the Program.

Integrated Environmental Quality Analysis

Syllabus: Fundamentals of environmental analysis and environmental impact assessment. Technical parameters for evaluating environmental quality in natural and built environments (physical, chemical, biotic, socio-economic). Global environmental impacts on continental and coastal ecosystems and on highly fragile terrestrial environments (dunes and beaches). Methods and techniques for integrated environmental quality assessment. Geoprocessing applied to environmental quality analysis.

Geological, Climatic, and Hydrological Aspects

Syllabus: Origin and formation of rocks. Geomorphology and environmental geology. Geodiversity and conservation of natural resources. Biogeochemistry applied to aquatic environments. Erosion, landslides, sedimentation, and flooding. Operation of the main meteorological processes and the dynamics of the atmosphere and its relationship with local and regional climate. Relationship between climate and vegetation. Climate elements and equipment used for measurement and monitoring. Main hydrological processes and methods of measurement and/or estimation. Impacts of climate change on water resources.

Conservation and Management of Protected Areas

Syllabus: Fundamentals of natural resource conservation in protected areas. Conservation Units. Management Plan: Methodologies for assessment and revision. Geographic Information Systems applied to the management of conservation units.

Wild Vertebrate Ecology in Urban Environments

Syllabus: Wild Vertebrate Ecology in Urban Environments: Diversity. Factors that promote or hinder occurrence. Ecological services provided. Conflicts associated with presence. Management of wild vertebrates.

Landscape Ecology

Syllabus: Landscape perception. Landscape ecology: history and schools. Structure and dynamics of landscapes. Habitat fragmentation. Influence of landscape structure on biotic flows. Introduction to geoprocessing. Geographic Information Systems, landscape metrics, and rapid environmental assessment methodologies applied to the study and management of landscapes.

Environmental Education

Syllabus: Socio-environmental crisis. Relationship between humans and nature. Ethics and citizenship. Interdisciplinarity and environmental education. Environmental education and sustainability.

Environmental Epistemology (in Spanish)

Syllabus: Evolution of modern scientific paradigms. Nature, society, and the environment within the natural and social sciences. Socio-environmental issues and sustainability in the works of some of the leading contemporary authors.

Applied Statistics

Syllabus: Descriptive statistics: measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion, measures of skewness and kurtosis, graphs. Elements of probability theory: axioms and theorems. Probability distributions: binomial, Poisson, normal. Sampling distributions: confidence interval. Hypothesis testing. t-test. Regression analysis: linear regression coefficient. Basic principles of experimentation, analysis of variance.

Preparatory Studies for Internationalization

Syllabus: Preparation for presenting scientific data in oral and poster formats at international events. Skills for debating scientific data in Spanish. Academic encouragement for conducting collaborations and internships in foreign laboratories through technical visits during the master's and doctoral programs.

Ethnobiology

Syllabus: Anthropology and ethnoscience. The sociocultural diversity of traditional communities and their relationships with the environment. Research methods in Ethnobiology, Ethnoecology, and Ethnopharmacology. Legal framework of biodiversity. Participatory management of natural resources.

Environmental Management

Syllabus: conflicts and resolutions by public agencies and civil society. Biodiversity management. Sustainable development. Urban sustainability indicators. Environmental management tools. The interdisciplinary approach to environmental management.

Watershed Management

Syllabus: Watershed and water resources. Classification and analysis of hydrographic systems for environmental management purposes. Definition of territorial unit for planning and management. Water governance and social participation in water resource management. Pollution of water resources and conflicts over water use. River revitalization and watershed restoration. Participatory methodologies and public policies in water resource management.

Environment and Urban Space

Exclusive Doctorate

Syllabus: The city from the perspective of socio-environmental sciences. Social actors shaping the city. Urban scenarios. Social representation of the environment by city inhabitants. Urban ecology. Urban spaces and biodiversity conservation. Urban vegetation. Components, structure, and dynamics of urban ecosystems. Ecosystem services and environmental services.

Environment and Health

Exclusive Doctorate

Syllabus: The socioeconomic variables that interfere in the health-disease process. The intra-urban burden regarding health. The identification of risk groups in relation to environmental conditions. Environmental conditions and public health policies. Public spaces and the person-environment interaction. The natural environment and its relationship with health practices. Health promotion practices through the appropriate use of the environment.

Higher Education Methodology

Syllabus: University: history and organization of higher education. Teaching concepts and learning theories. The university professor: professionalization, knowledge, and necessary competencies. Didactics and teaching methodologies. Objectives, planning, and assessment in higher education.

Preparatory studies for internationalization

Exclusive Doctorate

Syllabus: Preparation for presenting scientific data in oral and poster formats at international conferences. Training skills for discussing scientific data in English. Encouraging students to pursue collaborations and internships in foreign laboratories through technical visits and during their master's/doctorate period.

Topics in Qualitative Research

Exclusive to Doctorate

Syllabus: Science and scientific neutrality. The subject-object issue, researcher and researched, objectivity and subjectivity. Methodological perspectives in qualitative research. Data collection and analysis techniques in qualitative research.

Effluent Treatment and Waste Valorization

Exclusive Doctorate

Syllabus: Basic principles of effluent treatment processes. Bench and pilot scale treatment tests. The concept of waste from an environmental and modern societal perspective. Environmental management of waste. Characterization, classification, and disposal of solid waste. Minimization of industrial waste, reverse logistics, and cleaner production. Environmental legislation applied to effluent treatment and waste management.

Vegetation of Santa Catarina

Syllabus: Historical and ecological factors that determine the distribution of Tropical Forests. Threats, conservation strategies, and the importance of Tropical Forests. Vegetational characteristics of Brazil's biomes. Recognition of the main vegetational formations in the state of Santa Catarina and the main families and species of plants for their characterization. Historical aspects of the main vegetational formations in the state of Santa Catarina. Methods and approaches used for the study of vegetation: principles of data sampling; principles of sampling design; main methods used in the survey of herbaceous, shrub, and tree communities. Historical and ecological aspects of invasive exotic species. Approaches to Non-Timber Forest Products in Santa Catarina.