ACADEMIC TRAINING, SPIRITUALITY, AND MEANING OF LIFE: REFLECTIONS FROM A PROFESSIONAL MASTER'S PROGRAM

Abstract

This article proposes a critical-reflective analysis of spirituality as a constitutive dimension of the formative experience at the stricto sensu graduate level, based on the lived experiences of professional master's students at Faculdades EST who regularly travel from Northern to Southern Brazil. The discussion links categories such as faith, care of the self, resilience, overcoming adversity, and the meaning of life, framing academic training as a shared existential project that goes beyond the mere technical and scientific acquisition of knowledge and involves the reorganization of the family unit. Drawing on authors such as Viktor Frankl, Michel Foucault, Erik Erikson, Leonardo Boff, and the evidence from Paula et al., the study shows that the geographic relocation of couples and their children also entails a symbolic, cultural, and existential crossing, where spirituality acts as an integrating element between personal, family, social, and academic life. The study concludes that the professional master's degree can be understood as a context for the integral and plural formation of individuals, in which academic knowledge engages in a direct dialogue with lived family experiences, promoting new meanings, intergenerational maturational development, and social commitment.