To train professors to meed the needs of the different Communication programs all over the country and produce researchers in order to provide deeper insights into the contemporary evolution of Communication, both technologically and critically.
PUCRS’ Graduate Program in Communication (Master’s degree) was created in 1994 in order to provide deeper insights into the issues of the era of the media. The Doctoral Program was first offered in 1999. The Graduate Program in Communication is primarily concerned with training professors to work in several areas of Communication, as well as with qualifying professional researchers and promoting research in Communication in the country.
Lastly, the Graduate Program meets the needs of professionals who want to get newer and fresher insights into the different aspects of their profession as a means to return to academic life. In this sense, the faculty comprises experienced professionals in the job market with outstanding qualifications for theoretical reflection. Because it relies on a multidisciplinary faculty with remarkable professional and educational experience, since most of its professors have done post-doctoral research, it meets the distinct goals of its students, as it addresses Social Communication in a broad way. It runs the journals Famecos – mídia, cultura e tecnologia, a nationally-recognized publication in the area (National Qualis A2) and Sessões do Imaginário (B1).
Since 1996, it has organized the International Seminar on Communication, which has relied on the participation of outstanding scholars and intellectuals in the area since its first editions, such as Edgar Morin, Jean Baudrillard, Michel Maffesoli, Régis Debray, Pierre Lévy, Dominique Wolton, Gilles Lipovetsky, Eric McLuhan, Néstor García Canclini, J. B. Thompson and many others. One of the highlights of the program is the internationalization of its activities, as it has active agreements for joint research, student and faculty exchange with renowned universities, including Sorbonne/Université Paris Descartes, Institut des Sciences de la Communication du CNRS/France, Université Montpellier III, MIT/USA, Universidade do Minho (Portugal), Universidade de Coimbra and Universidade de Santiago de Compostela.