Globalization increases intercultural contact, creating a need for understanding that extends across cultural difference. In the Master's of Psychology of Intercultural Relations, hosted by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, students gain the tools to promote intercultural understanding in both social and professional settings, guided by a team of internationally recognized experts. Thr
ough the programme, students contribute to the realization of common ground among diverse groups, addressing a pressing issue in globalized societies. This Master aims to analyze and explain the differences in attitude and behavior that originate in cultural background through the frameworks of theoretical and applied social psychology, and document how these phenomena change as a result of intercultural contact. Students in this programme develop skills for working in intercultural contexts and knowledge of advanced research methods for examining intergroup and intercultural processes. This programme is therefore an excellent choice for individuals with a Bachelor’s in Psychology who wish to complete their training as psychologists, granting them an understanding of the psychological processes inherent to intercultural relations, as well as of more general social psychology. This Master’s is also appropriate for professionals with training in Psychology, as it offers them conceptual tools for mediating interactions across ethnicity, culture, gender, and religion, which are common challenges across organizations. In this regard, this programme responds to the growing need for professional training in the areas of society that require managing the complex interactions between people of different cultures, including the fields of health, justice, labor, education and social intervention. This training can help individuals facilitate the constant cultural negotiation that occurs in intercultural contexts, and is therefore valuable for psychologists that intervene as negotiators, mediators, communication manager, human resources managers, and in other areas that involve managing interactions between members of different social groups. The Master in Psychology of Intercultural Relations is furthermore suited to those who want a future in research. This degree involves a team of internationally recognized professors who conduct research on the central topics in this field. These scholars have published in prestigious international journals, and have strong research partnerships with colleagues at other universities in Portugal (University of Lisbon and University of Porto) and abroad (University of Kent, University of Sussex, University of Exeter, University of Würzburg, University of Amsterdam, University of Utrecht, University of Padua, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Oslo, University of California Los Angeles, Indiana University, University of Kansas, University of South Africa and Jagiellonian University). The curriculum includes courses related to interpersonal, intergroup and intercultural relations. It also makes available a diverse selection of internships at public and private institutions, providing a broad range of potential applications of the course content and promoting the employability of its students. Moreover, according to surveys of former students, the employment rate for new graduates from Iscte in the Social Sciences is about 87%, and 95% in Psychology. The Master's Degree will be conferred after the completion of all required courses and credits, as well as a thesis. Completing only the first year of courses (which corresponds to 60 ECTS) grants the student a Diploma of Postgraduate Studies in Psychology of Intercultural Relations. To practice as a professional psychologist in Portugal, one must complete both a Bachelor's and a Master’s degree, as well as a supervised professional internship after the conclusion of the Master’s. This programme fulfills the Master’s degree component of that training, as the curriculum follows the guidelines of the European Training Diploma in Psychology (EuroPsy - proposed by the European Federation of Psychologists' Associations). Accordingly, students may work as psychologists after completing this master programme.
