As the university as Humboldt described it basically divided into two tasks: On the one hand,
promoting the maximum development of science, on the other, producing the content responsible
for the intellectual and moral formation” of the nation (p. 79), it is evident that a space as
important and as transformative as the university is; it becomes crucial that it does not constitute
a space accessed only by a privileged portion of the social strata, but that it provides opportunities
for students with less financial resources to be part of it as well. Therefore, the present
investigation aimed to address the relevance of policies and programs that constitute important
tools for inclusion and permanence and that act as transforming agents in the lives of those who
need it most. As a general objective, the research analyzed the costs of higher education and
living costs for students of Medicine and Visual Arts courses at the Federal University of Amapá
- UNIFAP, considering their different social conditions. We start from the idea that, although
they are in a public university, academics bear the necessary expenses to stay in the course,
however, different socioeconomic contexts make up the university space and a large portion of
students need assistance so that they can stay and complete their course. For this reason, it is
necessary to understand the socioeconomic profile and the costs of living and education of
students, considering the specificities of each course and the context of Amapá. To reach the
objectives, the investigation was based on the qualitative-quantitative approach, whose type of
research was the case study. The methodological course was divided into three stages, the first
of which was a bibliographic survey, the second stage was data collection, through two
instruments: application of questionnaires to students regularly enrolled in the Medicine and
Visual Arts courses and, semi-structured interviews with the coordinator of each course and with
the Pro-Rectory of Extension and Community Actions (PROEAC), courses with different
characteristics regarding the cost of education were chosen. The third stage consisted in the
systematization and analysis of data using the technique of content analysis. The results show
that many advances are necessary for a broader understanding of the democratization of higher
education, because despite the number of low-income students having increased in Brazilian
universities and UNIFAP in recent years, different conditions need to be created to guarantee
their permanence. of students, since the predominant socioeconomic profile among students of
both courses is low-income. As the research showed us, the family income for most medical
students, 56.25% of them, is up to a minimum wage and a half; and for the academics of the arts,
this percentage was even higher, because for 80% of these students, their family income reaches
a maximum of one thousand five hundred reais; they are still configured as the majority, among
those surveyed, who say they live without income; and regarding the education of the parents of
the students of both courses, the parents of the medical students had a higher level of study and
qualification, as well as having a greater amount of consumer goods, whatever they are/; cards,
internet and car compared to art students. Costs were evidenced for students of both graduations,
and as reported by the coordinator of the arts course, there are simple expenses that some students
of this graduation cannot afford.
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