The Faculty of Political and Social Sciences has been at the heart of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore project since its foundation. The degree programme in Social Sciences, established in 1921, was one of the University's first two programmes, alongside the degree programme in Philosophical Sciences. This was followed in 1926 by the School of Political, Economic and Social Sciences (1926), which awarded degrees in Political and Social Sciences and in Economic Sciences and Father Agostino Gemelli envisaged its mission as educating "young people trained in the study of economic, political and social disciplines", thereby enabling them to contribute to addressing the major challenges of Italian society. The School was subsequently followed by the Faculty of Political Science (1931) and the Faculty of Sociology (2001).
Political and Social Sciences
Andrea Santini
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For the Faculty, safeguarding the cultural identity of Università Cattolica means placing the fundamental principles of the common good, human dignity, solidarity and subsidiarity at the centre of political and social sciences, both in research and teaching. These principles are expressed in the design of its academic programmes, in the awareness that the teaching staff have of their role as educators, and in the Faculty's response to the issues and challenges facing contemporary society.
Sergio Cigada, First Dean of the Faculty of Linguistic Sciences and Foreign Literatures
Tradition, Identity and Principles
The Faculty of Political and Social Sciences builds on a tradition spanning more than a century, while remaining committed to preserving the cultural identity of a Faculty within a Catholic university. This identity is expressed, with the greatest openness, in the design of its academic programmes, in lecturers’ awareness of their role as educators, and in the way the Faculty responds to the issues and challenges of the contemporary world. It is reflected in the commitment to placing the fundamental principles of the common good, human dignity, solidarity and subsidiarity at the heart of the political and social sciences, in both research and teaching.
Method: interpretative and open knowledge
The Faculty of Political and Social Sciences adopts an approach that combines a broad cultural education, aimed at understanding the complex systems of the contemporary world, with professional preparation, providing students with skills that can be readily applied in the workplace. This approach is multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, and it brings together a range of political and social science disciplines, including law, economics, political science, psychology, sociology and history. It is also reflected in interdisciplinary strategies to curricular teaching, particularly in Master’s degree programmes.
Multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity are aimed at enabling students to develop the ability to interpret phenomena and address problems by understanding their multiple dimensions, while giving graduates a flexible profile that is open to the continuous development of new skills. This flexibility is particularly valuable for their future careers in a rapidly and continuously changing economic and social environment.
Academic community
A university is a community of students and academics, and university life therefore reflects the distinctive features of a community, with particular emphasis on relationships and interaction. Within the Faculty, this dimension is fostered by its relatively small size and an excellent student-to-staff ratio, creating an environment in which personalised relationships can develop and students can receive guidance in shaping their individual academic pathways from among the many opportunities available.
Internationalisation
The Faculty places particular emphasis on internationalisation, continuing a tradition shared by both of the Faculties from which it originated and, in particular, by the former Faculty of Political Science. Among the distinguished international figures to have received honorary degrees from the Faculty are Jacques Delors, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Corazon C. Aquino, Shimon Peres, Michel Camdessus, Helmut Kohl, Romano Prodi, José María Aznar and Irina Bokova.
Today, this commitment to internationalisation is reflected first and foremost in the Faculty’s academic programmes. It can be seen both in the international dimension of course content, developed in accordance with standards shared by the international academic community, and in the contribution of visiting scholars, who, wherever possible, are involved in regular teaching activities or dedicated seminars. International student mobility is also actively promoted through the Erasmus programme and other similar programmes for countries outside Europe, in which many Faculty students participate each year.
Since the 2016/2017 academic year, the degree programme in Political Sciences and International Relations has offered the International Relations and Global Affairs (IRGA) curriculum, while since the 2020/2021 academic year, the degree programme in "Comunicazione e società" has offered the Communication Management. Fashion, Food and Material Cultures (COMMA) curriculum. Both are primarily aimed at international students and are taught entirely in English.
The graduate degree programme in European and International Politics also offers a double degree with the German University of Halle-Wittenberg, enabling students to obtain, alongside their Italian degree, the Master of Science in “Europäische Integration und Internationale Wirtschaft” awarded by the partner university. Further joint academic programmes with universities in other countries are currently being developed.
Academic programmes
The Faculty offers a broad and diverse range of academic programmes, with its undergraduate degree programmes providing a solid multidisciplinary foundation. This foundation also underpins the professionally oriented degree programme in "Scienze del servizio sociale" and is further developed through a range of graduate degree programmes, many of which focus primarily on different areas of policy, as reflected in their titles.
The Faculty’s approach is underpinned by the view that political, social and economic systems, at local, national and international level, are not self-regulating but require deliberate action aimed at achieving efficiency and social well-being. From a perspective informed by the principle of subsidiarity, the design, governance and implementation of the relevant policies involve not only public institutions, in the traditional sense, at different levels of government, but also private organisations, intermediary bodies and Third Sector organisations, which in many cases also perform public functions.
At undergraduate level, the Faculty’s academic programmes focus on the study of these different actors and the society in which they operate, with the aim of preparing professionals who can contribute to their design and management. Programmes cover public institutions, private and Third Sector organisations, the analysis of social phenomena and organisational processes, employment and social work, as well as the role of communication, which has an increasingly pervasive influence on the effectiveness of political and social action.
At graduate degree level, programmes address a broad range of policy areas, from European and international policies to policies concerning families, children and communities, and international development cooperation. Within the graduate degree programme in "Politiche Pubbliche", particular attention is also devoted to policies relating to welfare, sustainable development and security. Organisational and communication issues continue to be explored at this level through the graduate degree programme in "Gestione del lavoro e comunicazione per le organizzazioni".
The Faculty aims to prepare graduates for a wide range of roles in these fields, from leadership and managerial positions to professional and operational roles. Overall, graduates enjoy excellent employment prospects.
I believe that the contemporary university, while it has the duty to to contribute to the advancement of the sciences and to follow the methodology required by each of them, must never put in second place what is required for the recognition of its primacy, namely, man, the human person, the world of spirituality.
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seminars and initiatives dedicated to students.