English Version The Masters in Psychology program of Universidad del Norte responds to the necessity of scientific-theoretical formation of professionals from different disciplines with special interests in psychology. Its intentions are that the students, through their investigations, contribute valid scientific knowledge, stemming from a systematic psychological description of the individual and social world of the men and women of our context.
The formation of investigators in psychology promotes intellectual autonomy, understood as an exercise of social commitment. It allows the construction of proper knowledge and enriches the groups and research centers of our region by means of the incorporation of new investigators, contributing to its fortification and consolidation.
The investigative work will be carried out in an interdisciplinary atmosphere in order to recognize limits of their profession and at the same time the necessity of an interdisciplinary work to help solve human problems.
The Masters in Social Development is a postgraduate program of Universidad del Norte organized by the Human Development Research Center, CIDHUM, was created by means of a resolution issued on March 26, 1996. In agreement with the principles and objectives that guide the University, this Center contributes to the rational development of the Colombian society, with a special emphasis of the inhabitants of the Caribbean Coast. It is important to emphasize that CIDHUM is considered, by Colciencias, as one of the 13 main research centers of the country, which thus shows its excellence.
It is supported by means of agreements, with high level investigators, the University Paris XII Val de Marne, in France, the University of London, in England, the Independent University of Madrid, in Spain, the Interdisciplinary Program of investigations in Education, in Chile, and the Foundation Bernard Van Leer of Holland. The Masters in Social Development is a program that develops investigative abilities in the participants, forming professionals who are able to generate scientific knowledge; these professionals can accede to reality through critically and reflectively, an can develop tools based on the awareness of reality, think from a scientific point of view and build a contextualized theory of their reality.
The Masters in Social Development has an agreement with the University Paris XII Val de Marne, of France. The students in their academic processes have activities with Colombian and French professors. Once they receive the title of Master in Social Development granted by the government of Colombia, they can decide to obtain Maîtrise Sciences of L' Education after an internship in the Parisian University.
Specialization in Learning and Cognitive Disorders
In the last years, there have been many reforms in Colombia because of existing global changes and pressures. Neuropsychology is dedicated to the explaanation of cerebral operations and has also provided much scientific research to help explain the reason of many behaviors when alterations of the normal processes of the mind occur.
The Specialization in Learning and Cognitive Disorders is a program for any professional interested in the processes of detection, prevention and early intervention of high risk populations of learning and cognitive disorders thus being able to develop a deeper understanding of clinical, psychological, familiar and communitarian self-criticism.
Specialization in Forensic Psychology
Forensic Psychology is considered a combination of human behavior and law. Through it one looks for scientific discoveries and psychology is applied to the legal processes. Along with the understanding of the judicial and legal system operations, students look for scientific understanding based on psychology, on the daily actions of the justice administration and the underlying principles and effectiveness of such, with the purpose of having the State offer true justice to its citizens.
Every day psychology has a greater influence in the subject of law. The task of psychological sciences in the forensic field is to find determining causes and explanations about the conducts related to justice. This specialization provides the necessary tools for precocious detection, early handling and intervention in cognitive disorders, neurodevelopment and the learning of the individuals of the Atlantic Coast and Colombia.
Specialization in Economic and Consumer Psychology
Economic and consumer psychology is a promising field of study where the interdisciplinary application of economic and psychological studies could explain, and perhaps predict with greater exactitude, the economic behavior of the consumer and soial groups within a society.
Consumption, economic thought, styles of money handling, attitudes of individuals before social and economic change, explanations of inequality and social mobility, participation in strategies of consumer intervention, saving and indebtedness behavior patterns, strategies for the use of the resources, and payment and evasion of taxes are some of the general bases that an Economic Psychologist needs to worry about and must investigate for their relevance of their society and for Colombian society.
Having mentioned the previous, Universidad del Norte, Human Development Research Center, together with Chilean investigators, has designed the following specialization program as an answer to the challenging Economic and Psychological surroundings.
The specializations objectives are:
Specialization in Clinical Psychology
The Specialization program in Clinical Psychology has been offered since 1989 as a response to the need of individuals who can respond to the high levels of complexity that clinical psychology presents. The program focuses on widening knowledge and developing capacities and abilities to solve particular problems and the achievement of therapeutic skills through the tutoring and field investigation.
The program also intends to contribute to the formation of an individual who is in favor of integral health in individuals and the community and who can conceptualize and remain updated with contemporary clinical tendencies without neglecting the laws of mental health in our nation.
Specialization in Organizational Communication Management
The globalization and modernization bring new requirements to public as well to private companies. The world has become most competitive and the standard levels of exigency, service and quality are getting higher and higher. Organizational communication plays a transcendental roll in the handling of the corporative culture and the level of competition of the institutions. The professionals in the Organizational Communication Management program are the point of the spear so that the Caribbean companies can make the pertinent changes in their work culture, determine appropriate identifiers to their reason for being, clearly define their mission, enterprise vision and their public, obtain greater level of commitment of their personnel and more adapt interrelations with their surroundings. All this, coheres with the necessities and demands of the globalized world, the market and our region.
The objective of this specialization is to form specialists in organizational communication management with ability to manage and project the communication and information systems of a company or organization in an integral way; leading changes, establishing culture and corporative identity programs, strategically diagnosing and planning their communication according to the different public and surroundings.
Specialization in Contemporary Philosophy
Philosophy is the creation of concepts which generates reflection and understanding from a critical position before key issues that humanity confronts like establishing the difference between what is true and what is false, the good and the bad, important and insignificant things, what is beautiful and what is ugly.
The contemporary world gives sample of a renewed interest for these philosophical subjects due to the necessity that the individual has to understand the evermore complex logics that organize this world. The experience of contemporary subjectivity is essentially paradoxical since the individual feels subject to these complex logics but at the same time feels freer to interpret, express and construct its own individuality.
The current problems that citizens' face at a local level as well as global is they find their theoretical formulation in a series of problematic nuclei that the recent philosophical currents rise in clear and deep way.
The Contemporary Philosophy is the place where great diversity of the currents of thought intertwines which try to formulate the preoccupations of the contemporary subjectivity in a philosophical way. The philosophical perspective on contemporary times is not a limiting reflection of reality; rather it essentially consists of a dialogue between past and present in an attempt to outline possible futures. Thus, contemporary Philosophy gathers second readings, reinterpretations, transformations and recreations of that which constitutes us as humans from the most remote times to our historical present. The genealogy of our present allows us to advance in the search of different and new ways to thinking.
The specialization's purpose is to have its graduates know and discuss the fundamental problems that contemporary philosophy raises through the thought of some of the most significant authors of this field.
Specialization in Political and Economic Studies
The beginning of the millennium has presented a period of deep changes for political and economic organizations worldwide. In addition to the not yet solved problems of modernization, political inclusion and economic growth have been immersed into the complex and dynamic processes of globalization that are transforming all aspects of our lives. There is an urgency to analyze and find new solutions to the traditional conflicts, to create more just and equitable societies, as well as to find desirable insertions within the new global order.
Fundamental subjects like democracy and the development and notion of justice, must be redefined and analyzed with thoroughness within the new frameworks of globalization. We need to rethink the role of the national state, of local governments and the place that the new order occupies in civil society.
The general mission of the program is the advanced formation of the individual in the understanding, reflection and handling of the current public issues, developing its analytical and investigative ability of the processes, the institutions and the contemporary political-economic systems, leading to decision making from an integral perspective.
Specialization in Social Development
One of the subjects of great interest in Social Sciences is the one of the transformations and changes of the State, and within this ample spectrum the subject of Social Policy is of singular importance. Aspects like production, administration, and access policies to public goods and services (health, education, food, and shelter), the policies of use, the social public cost, pensions, childhood, youth, and women are just some of the subjects that social development worries about.
Universidad del Norte and the University Paris XII Val de Marne of France have established an alliance to develop an academic space to show how the application of the knowledge generated from the scientific research is the base to construct work proposals that are much more accurate and adapted to the necessities of development of the country and the region.
The Specialization in Social Development program is organized so that the professionals of the region propose and design new consequent solutions for the necessities of our Colombian population. It is important to emphasize the international character of this program that is presented here, since it has crossed frontiers which have lead the University to obtain the recognition of the University Paris XII, Val de Marne, with which it has celebrated an agreement with the objective to recognize the practical and theoretical experience of our graduates by means of knowledge exchange.
Specialization in Organizational and Human Processes Development
The XXI Century appears with a new vision of the world, which impacts the dynamics and the human structures of global society.
Between these new dynamics we can find:
