The Centre for Social Studies (CES), founded in 1978, is a research institution in the area of the social sciences affiliated with the School of Economics of the University of Coimbra. It is directed by Professor Boaventura de Sousa Santos and has 80 researchers, as well as 19 associate researchers and 40 junior researchers. Several of its researchers are full-time researchers. All other researchers combine work at CES with teaching (mainly at the School of Economics and at the Faculty of Arts) or with other professional activities. The research team includes sociologists, economists, legal scholars, anthropologists, educators, literary and cultural studies scholars, architects, geographers, historians, and medical doctors.
