Doctoral School

Dean’s Message

The University of Saint Joseph in Macau is a hub of multicultural innovation, inheriting centuries of Macau’s history in-between Asia, Europe and the Lusophone world, embracing more than 40 nationalities among professors, students and university staff. Our Doctoral Programme fosters a multi-disciplinary, inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary research environment, supported by an academic team with solid backgrounds in their specialist fields.

Transdisciplinarity aims at integrating the natural, social and health sciences in a humanities context and transcending their traditional boundaries to resolve real-world and complex problems by providing different perspectives on problems to reach holistic descriptive answers to comprehensive research questions.

Doctoral students, being an indispensable part of this inspiring environment, are thus, invited to come on board and take part in this extraordinary voyage of discovering the world through scientific questioning and systematic research while being fully aware that our success as a Doctoral Programme and Research Community can only be accomplished with your active participation and enthusiasm.

On behalf of the Doctoral Programme, we are looking to welcome you to USJ!

Mission

To promote multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research training, integrating the natural, social, and health sciences disciplines in a humanities context and transcending their traditional boundaries to resolve real-world and complex problems by providing different perspectives on problems, we aim to reach holistic descriptive answers to comprehensive research questions to serve the local, regional, and global community.

Vision

To be the leading provider of high-quality multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research training in Macau and the region and to promote societal, community and personal well-being.

Recent Publications by the Doctoral School

International Journals:

Pereira, S., & Fernandes-Marcos, A. (2025). From artisanal traditions to the digital experience: reimagining traditions through artistic creation and immersive technologies. Journal of Science and Technology of the Arts, 17(1), 19–37. https://doi.org/10.34632/jsta.2025.17643. Scopus (Q1).
Maneira, A., & Mendes, M. (2025). Developing Students’ Digital Literacy with Digital Storytelling Projects in Design and Media Arts. ROTURA Revista de Comunicação, Cultura e Artes, 53–66. https://doi.org/10.34623/2184-8661.2025.tell_me.393; Scopus (Q1).
Pereira S., Alexino Ferreira, R. & Fernandes-Marcos A. (2025). Santos Negros no Cinema Brasileiro: Representação, Espiritualidade e Identidade Cultural, AVANCA | CINEMA 2025 – International Conference, Portugal, 28 Julho a 2 Agosto de 2025. AVANCA CINEMA 2025 Journal, CAPÍTULO II _ CINEMA – CINEMA, n. 16, pp. 16-25, ISSN: 2184-0520. https://doi.org/10.37390/avancacinema.2025.a642; Web: https://publication.avanca.org/index.php/avancacinema/article/view/642/1274

Book Chapters:

Fernandes-Marcos, A., Alexino Ferreira, R. and Pereira, S. (2025) Na senda do cinema negro nas narrativas biográficas em Macau: uma perspetiva à luz da diversidade cultural In Cinema Negro e a contemporaneidade inclusiva, 21ª Mostra Internacional de Cinema Negro, Celso Prudente & Rogério de Almeida (Eds.). FEUSP, São Paulo, 2025. ISBN: 978-65-5013-023-7 (E-book), pp. 117-147. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11606/9786550130237 Web: https://www.livrosabertos.abcd.usp.br/portaldelivrosUSP/catalog/book/1758
Adérito Fernandes-Marcos, Selma Pereira, Projeto INVITRO: no caminho da democratização e da transdisciplinaridade entre artefactos, experiências e pensamento criativo in Book titled “Investigação em Arte, Ensino e Experiências Transcontinentais”, coleção “Práticas Educativas”, Mirian Tavares & José Albio (Org.). Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Brazil. ISBN: 978-85-7826-996-8 (E-book). pp.15-34. https://sapientia.ualg.pt/server/api/core/bitstreams/9f4d1133-361e-4838-b46d-71a688c739fd/content
Fernandes-Marcos, A., Alexino Ferreira, R. and Pereira, S. (2024) Os santos negros: reverberações históricas e da sua representação no cinema brasileiro como fator de promoção da espiritualidade negra In Cinema Negro – 20 anos de questionamentos e realizações – homenagem ao pensamento de Luiz Felipe de Alencastro, 20ª Mostra Internacional de Cinema Negro, Celso Prudente & Rogério de Almeida (Eds.). FEUSP, São Paulo, 2024. ISBN: 978-65-87047-78-2 (E-book), pp. 242-267. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11606/9786587047782; http://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/19696

Conference Proceedings:

Pereira, Selma; Fernandes-Marcos, Adérito & Maneira, António (2024) As narrativas digitais pessoais como instrumento de ensino e aprendizagem online culturalmente sustentável, In proceedings of 4th International Conference on Digital Creation in Arts, Media and Technology – Creative Digital Intelligence (ARTeFACTo 2024 Macao), 5-6 December 2024, Green Island Campus, University of Saint Joseph. Editor: University of Saint Joseph in Macau ISBN: 978-99981-138-2-4 (pp.100-111). handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/19990

USJ Doctoral Programme Student Handbook
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Doctoral Programmes

The USJ Doctoral School offers a doctoral programme that is a research-oriented degree aimed at developing advanced theoretical and practical research skills in a specific area of knowledge. Doctoral candidates complete main modules in research methods and foundation knowledge in their proposed research field (1 Year) and then work with a supervisor to complete their doctoral thesis (2 to 4 Years).

Doctoral candidates are expected to develop original scientific work that contributes to a significant theoretical advance in the field. The doctoral programme’s main objective is to prepare highly qualified professionals capable of developing R&D activities in private and public organisations or to develop an academic career.

The first cohort of the USJ doctoral programme at USJ started their journey in 2007, and since then, a focus on research excellence has been part of the University’s academic Life. The USJ doctoral programme has graduated more than 40 students, and all doctoral theses concluded since 2011 are publicly available on the Doctoral Thesis page.

USJ’s Doctoral School also offers a co-tutele programme with partner universities such as the University of Western São Paulo (UNOESTE) – Education, in Brazil. To find out more, please contact doctoral@usj.edu.mo.

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Faculty Members

Adérito Fernandes Marcos

Dean of the Doctoral School | Professor | Coordinator for the Doctoral Programme of the Doctoral School | Acting Research Coordinator for the Doctoral School

Born in Mozambique in 1968, graduated in Computer Engineering from the Nova University of Lisbon (1992); holds a PhD summa cum laude in Computer Graphics from the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany (1997); and Habilitation in Technology and Information Systems from the University of Minho (UM), Portugal (2008). In 2019, he was awarded the honorific professor honoris causa from UNIVEM, São Paulo, Brazil. He is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and Dean of the Doctoral School of the University of Saint Joseph, Macao, China. He started his university career in Germany as a guest assistant at the Technical University of Darmstadt (1992). He was Assist. Prof. at the University of Minho (2000-2009), where he was a mentor, co-founder and professor of the Master of Computer Graphics and Virtual Environments and Master of Technology and Digital Art (Director from 2007-2009). He has been the Executive Director of the Computer Graphics Centre (CCG), an Interface Institute for Applied Research (1997–2005) in close collaboration with the University of Minho. In this position, he coordinated more than 30 Research & Development projects totalling more than 6 million euros. Some of the project's results were pioneers in Portugal. They represented a step forward in the technology transfer of computer graphics and virtual reality (e.g. Virtual Oceanarium for the World Expo 1998). On behalf of CCG, he received the European IST Prize 2000: Grand Prize Winner for the TeleInViVo project and the LAVAL Virtual 2002 – "Science et education" and "GRAND PRIX DU JURY 2002", by the Laval Academy, Mayenne França, for the European project ARCHEOGUIDE. He was a Full Professor (Professor Catedrático) at Portuguese Open University, where he was the dean of the Department (faculty equivalent) of Sciences and Technology (2010-2012) and president of the Univ. Scientific Council (2015-2019) and founder and first director of the University Pole of the Research Centre for Arts and Communication (2014-2020). He designed several graduation, master's, and doctoral programs, conceived to run in open distance learning mode; as such, they were innovative programs, with particular emphasis on the Doctoral Program in Digital Media Arts, a joint project with the University of Algarve. He successfully supervised four post-doctoral, nine PhD and two dozen master's candidates. He is the president of Artech-International, an association for computer, digital, and media arts with activities worldwide. He is an ACM, IEEE, and SIGGRAPH member and a regular scientific consultant for several international boards in Europe, Latin America, and Russia.Professor Adérito Fernandes-Marcos is a member of the editorial boards of several scientific journals in areas such as computer graphics, arts, and design. He was the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Creative Interfaces and Computer Graphics (ISSN: 1947-3117) from 2010 to 2023.More information: CIENCIAVITAE

António Maneira

Assistant Professor

Born in Portugal in 1979, he graduated in Communication Design at the University of Lisbon (2003), has a master’s degree in Communication Sciences at the New University of Lisbon (UNL, 2008), and has a PhD Digital Media: Audiovisuals and Interactive Media in an international Doctoral Program with the University of Texas and UNL (2014).He is an Assistant Professor at the Doctoral School of the University of Saint Joseph, Macao, China.He was a professor at Beira Interior University (2014-2020), Lusíada University (2015-2022), and IADE—European University (2020-2024), where he coordinated the Graduation Course in Visual Design and the Master’s in Communication and Multimedia, both in open distance learning modality. He collaborated as a Visiting Academic at the University of Saint Joseph, teaching several modules in the School of Education and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (2017-2024).He designed a graduation program in Visual Design at IADE (Licenciatura em Design Visual), conceived to run in open distance learning mode and collaborated on several others. He successfully supervised 14 master's candidates.He participated in several projects related to digital technologies, multimedia, and audiovisuals in education, adding up to over 20 years of experience in e-learning. The most recent projects he collaborated on were the educational project to support learning mathematics using Khan Academy (2019 to 2021) and the digital literacy project PICCLE, developed with Plano Nacional de Leitura (Reading National Plan, 2021).His research interests are broad in media production, but he is particularly interested in the educational uses of social media, multimedia, interactive media, communication technology and audiovisuals in education.