Founded in 1989, the Institute of Sociology of the University of Porto (IS-UP) was created with the aim of promoting research in sociology, also drawing on the heritage of other social sciences. In 2002, it joined the network of scientific units of the National Scientific System of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), and since then, it has been on a path of growth and qualification.

Articulating its objectives and actions with those of the Department of Sociology of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto, IS-UP's activities are carried out by highly qualified and experienced specialists in the fields of sociology, economics, anthropology, history and linguistics, and is made up of more than forty integrated researchers, several FCT doctoral fellows and more than fifty collaborating researchers.

Focused on fundamental research and the provision of socially relevant services, IS-UP has embraced the challenge of open science and the transfer of knowledge, creating increasingly active dynamics of involvement with the community, along with the establishment of networks and partnerships with public institutions and organizations, and the national and international dissemination of the results of its research.

With one foot in the region and an antenna in the world, research at IS-UP is geared towards building sociological knowledge of reference on social reality, focusing on producing research on social processes of great regional and local significance, namely around socio-economic development and public policies, based on the different paradigmatic and theoretical proposals of sociology. The Unit's activity supports the promotion of research based on different methodological procedures, from the most quantitative to those organized by reference to qualitative approaches, including ethnographic field research and socio-historical research, which is a particularly valued area among the Unit's researchers.

In conjunction with the objectives of promoting innovative sociological knowledge, IS-UP also has a significant mission in the field of advanced scientific training, hosting doctoral projects with scholarships funded by the FCT, within the scope of various national and international doctoral programs in Sociology and/or other social sciences.

As a scientific infrastructure, IS-UP provides access to sociological information through its website and the Open Repository of the University of Porto. In addition to these activities, IS-UP is a driving force behind scientific debates and promotes the dissemination of the reference sociological production carried out at the Unit through, among other measures, the development of an editorial line that includes (i) a collection of monographs, (ii) the journal Revista Sociologia - published by the Department of Sociology at FLUP -, (iii) the journal Cadernos IS-UP, with a knowledge transfer character, and (iv) a series of Working Papers. IS-UP also supports and promotes a number of other scientific publications.

Under the guidance of the coordinator and with the support of the Unit’s Executive Committee, the IS-UP’s scientific policy is defined by the Scientific Board  (elected body of 21 integrated researchers), taking into account the opinion of the Researchers Assembly and of the External Scientific and Advisory Committee (formed by researchers outside the Research Unit). Based on a culture that encourages group dynamics and collective work, while always respecting individual freedom and choices, IS-UP is proud to offer all its researchers a research environment in which intellectual freedom and sociological innovation are fundamental tenets.