The Institute of Social and Political Studies (IESP) of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), since 2010 successor of the former IUPERJ, is a leading research and graduate studies of Political Science and Sociology institute in Latin America. It was here that the first master’s degree in Political Science in Brazil emerged, with the first dissertation defended in 1971. Until the year 2018, 281 doctoral theses in Political Science and 212 in Sociology, 361 master’s dissertations in Political Science and 271 in Sociology were submited. Generation after generation, the social scientists formed by the institution joined the teaching staff of prestigious universities across the country and abroad, or pursued careers in public and private institutions.
IESP-UERJ played a decisive role in the foundation of the National Association of Graduate Studies and Research in Social Sciences (Anpocs), in the 1970s, and of the Brazilian Association of Political Science (ABCP), in the following decade. IESP-UERJ also edits Dados – Revista de Ciências Sociais. Published since 1966, Dados is a journal indexed by the Institute for Scientific Information – ISI (Thomson Co), with a high impact on the social sciences in Brazil and wide projection in Latin America.
The faculty of the Sociology and Political Science Programs at IESP-UERJ is composed of permanent professors formed by universities in Brazil, Europe and the United States, in addition to numerous associate scholars, collaborators and visitors. The excellence of the teaching is closely linked to the quality of the research carried out in the Institute, whether by individual researchers or in the 18 research groups based at the institution.
In addition to the annual selections for admission to master’s and doctoral courses in Political Science and Sociology, IESP-UERJ provides several other courses. The Specialization in Politics & Society course provides a more focused training, at the crossing of the disciplinary boundaries of Sociology, Political Science and Economics, for graduates and recent graduates with prospects of work in private and public companies, foundations, public service or civil society organizations. Furthermore, several extension courses are regularly offered every year.
All year long, The Institute hosts a series of national and international events, all recorded and made available for free on our YouTube channel. This and other information is regularly posted on our social networks on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, in addition to our newsletter that can be subscribed to on our website.