The five master's programs presented this Wednesday by the Department of Mathematical Sciences involve variables, equations, theorems, and many calculations that challenge the brain – and there is also the possibility of going beyond the classrooms of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Ciências ULisboa) with the integration of students into companies, stays abroad through the Erasmus program, subjects taught by recognized experts in the job market, clinical decision support in hospitals, or even hikes and short surf courses that help discover ingenious solutions. Biostatistics, Statistics and Operations Research, Mathematics Education, Mathematics, and Applied Mathematics to Economics and Management are the names of the five master's programs that the Department has announced for the 2026/2027 academic year. If anyone still had doubts, they have certainly been cleared up: whether in academia or in business, the five courses are designed to address very real problems.
The Department of Mathematical Sciences presents five master's programs for the 2026/2027 academic year
The Department of Mathematical Sciences released all the details about five master's programs on Wednesday afternoon.
"These five master's programs have different perspectives. The target audience differs according to the program, and the presentations given this Wednesday served to help clarify doubts about this choice that students will have to make."There are master's programs more geared towards securing jobs in companies and others that enhance the academic aspect, but I don't believe that students from these five courses will complain about not finding employment after graduating," describes Luís Gouveia, president of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Ciências ULisboa.
In addition to the five master's programs presented at the event, the Department of Mathematical Sciences is also involved in the Master's in Data Science in collaboration with the Department of Informatics at Ciências ULisboa, and the Master's in Financial Mathematics in partnership with ISCTE.
At this Wednesday meeting, the possibility of "full employment" was always in the background, in an event that divided the presentation of curricula and career opportunities for the five master's programs between professors and recent graduates.
The master's programs presentation from the Department of Mathematical Sciences also included some time for interactions between students and professors.
While students predominated in the audience, professors occupied the central spot in the room during the descriptions of each course they coordinate: Helena Mouriño presented the Master's in Biostatistics, and Marília Antunes presented the Master's in Statistics and Operational Research; the presentation for the Master's in Mathematics Teaching was given by Carlos Albuquerque, and for the Master's in Mathematics it was Maria Manuel Torres who gave the description; for the Master's in Applied Mathematics to Economics and Management, the presentation was given by Teresa Alpuim.
The Master's program in Mathematics Education stands out among these five options because it is offered in partnership with the Instituto de Educação (IE).
“These master's programs have the particularity of being very close to society and, therefore, to companies,” emphasizes Tiago Dias Domingues, Vice-President and professor of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Ciências ULisboa. "The employability rate of our students reflects the success of our master's programs. Companies are looking for graduates in these areas... whether in pure mathematics or applied mathematics, which includes statistics and operations research." "Regarding the master's degree in Mathematics Education, it is fundamental for the training of new elementary and secondary school teachers," he adds.
“We had a very diverse target audience here. This is an advantage because it also confirms the importance of mathematical sciences in the lives and career paths of professionals from other fields.”
The professor from the Department of Mathematical Sciences gives the example of operational research, which ends up playing a cross-cutting role across the five master's programs – and can be an indispensable tool for designing a more efficient subway network, as well as helping to overcome some of the main challenges in the area of logistics or reducing waiting times in hospital emergency rooms, among many other challenges.
“We had a very diverse target audience here. This is an advantage because it also confirms the importance of mathematical sciences in the lives and career paths of professionals from other fields,” adds Tiago Dias Domingues. The choice now rests with the students.