Mission Statement
The commitment to being the best university in the world
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore is an academic institution that combines two complementary dimensions: on the one hand, it is an educating community, made up of professors, lecturers, students and technical-administrative staff; on the other, it is a research university, committed to the production and dissemination of knowledge.
These two souls – educational and scientific – intertwine and reinforce each other, giving shape to a university model capable of combining academic excellence, social responsibility, and attention to contemporary challenges.
This Mission Statement collects, organises and summarises the main results achieved during 2024.
At a glance
Download the 2024 Mission Statement
Identity and mission
Educational offer, teaching, research, dialogue with society are combined in this way:
Teaching and educational offer
12 Faculties, 50 Undergraduate Degree Programmes, 56 Graduate Degree Programmes, 196 University Specialising Master Programmes, Student Satisfaction Indices exceeding 90%
Research
304 research grants, 206 doctoral scholarships, 20 projects of interest to the University, €2,315,000 invested in equipment
In dialogue with society
Over 600 lifelong learning courses, relations with companies, public engagement, 8 archaeological excavation sites, 84,000 e-journals in the library system
The structure
GOVERNANCE
The central bodies include the Board of Directors, the Academic Senate, the Steering Committee and other supervisory and participatory bodies.
ORGANISATION
The administrative structure of the University is directed by the General Manager and supported by the technical-administrative staff. The University is organised into 12 Faculties spread over five campuses (the central administrative Campuses are four), Departments, Institutes, Research Centres, Graduate Schools and University Centres, as well as numerous Doctoral Schools and Postgraduate Diploma Programmes.
Academic staff and the academic community
The teaching staff is made up of over 7,000 tenured and contract professors. The academic community also includes students, technical-administrative staff and participatory bodies.
A real investment in the right to education
The right to education has been part of the identity of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore since its foundation. The University welcomes students of all income brackets: in 2024, the average annual investment by families for tuition fees and contributions was €6,570, but almost 20% of students come from households with an income of less than €35,000. Precisely to support access to study, the University has invested its own resources, for a total of €3.6 million in 2024, compared to €2.5 million in 2023.
The institutional network of the university
Economic resources at the service of the three missions
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore is a non-profit organisation and employs its resources in accordance with the principles of substantial economic balance, allocating them entirely to the University missions. In 2024, the University recorded total operating income of €546,584,709. Of this, most derives from own income (65.6%) or other revenues (15.8%) while contributions represent 18.6%. The net operating income was positive and, thanks to sound financial management, the year closed with a positive economic surplus of approximately €2 million.
Educational offer
The educational offer of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore puts the person at the centre and teaching takes advantage of the results of cutting-edge research.
The training offered aims at the acquisition of complex knowledge and skills that contribute to the integral education of the person.
Degree programmes
The educational offer is designed to prepare professionals capable of facing future challenges with intelligence and creativity. The offer (which includes 50 Undergraduate and 56 Graduate Degree Programmes) combines tradition and innovation. In 2024, 6 new programmes were activated, including the Undergraduate Degree Programme in Business and Finance (Brescia), the Undergraduate Degree Programme in Tourism management, sustainability and enhancement of the territory (Brescia) and two new Integrated Degree Programmes in the medical field.
Enrolled students
Student Services
Scholarships and financial aid, university residences and housing solutions, health care and psychological counselling, sports and wellness services, services for students with disabilities, SLD and SEN, Service Learning and Career Service projects, curricular and extracurricular internships, workshops with companies, Dual Career programme.
Teaching and technology
Teaching and Learing Lab
(TELE Lab)
Project
Metaversity
Didatec
Corner
Training pathway
AI in Higher Education
A world of opportunities
The University actively promotes the international dimension, ranking sixth in Europe for mobility according to the QS Ranking. The educational offer in English rose to 30 degree programmes in 2024. Mobility programmes include Semesters/Years abroad, internships, Double Degrees, Summer/Winter Programmes and international volunteering activities. There were 2,796 outbound students and 1,916 inbound students in the a.y. 2023-2024.
Graduates and alumni
Departments, Institutes and Research Centres
The research activity is carried out by Departments, Institutes and Research Centres belonging to 10 different scientific areas:
- Agricultural and veterinary sciences
- Biology
- Antiquity, philological-literary and art history sciences
- Economic and statistical sciences
- Physics
- Law
- Mathematics and computer science
- Medicine
- Political and social sciences
- Historical, philosophical, pedagogical, psychological sciences
Research Facilities
Research Portfolio
Doctoral programmes
The doctoral programme is the highest degree of academic training, aimed at developing scientific skills of excellence.
The offer includes 23 doctoral programmes. In 2024, the University allocated €11 million to fund doctoral scholarships.
International mobility is constantly growing, with 18 visiting students and 137 doctoral students from the University having carried out research periods abroad.
Capital adequacy
Scientific publications
In 2024, a total of 4,249 publications were produced. The University supports open access dissemination (1,271 publications in 2024, equal to almost 30% of total publications).
In dialogue with society
The synergy, developed thanks to the three missions, continues even outside the university classrooms. Over the years, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore has in fact developed knowledge-sharing paths for both professionals and businesses and community networks. Lifelong Learning, active on all five campuses, includes, for example, more than 600 specialisation courses, advanced training and executive courses, with 35,469 students enrolled in 2024. For technology and knowledge transfer, the University, despite not having a strong vocation in patent-intensive disciplines, is the holder of 29 patent families and maintained 12 active university spin-offs in 2024.
Specialising Master Programmes
The Specialising Masters Programmes (196 activated in the academic year 2023/2024) are a fundamental means for the transfer of knowledge to the professional world. They are organised around 11 macro-themes. In the 2023/2024 academic year there were 3,288 students enrolled in the University Specialising Master Programmes.
Innovation
Active coworking spaces
New startups established
at the end of the ConLab project
Laboratories with a highly innovative and technological vocation (HTLAB and TeleLab)
Observatories and bodies for transdisciplinary paths
Relations with companies
The University maintains a consolidated network of partner companies for skills development and career guidance. The companies and institutions registered on the portal dedicated to internships and job advertisements grew to 37,384 in 2024. There are 29,471 active internship agreements. The activity for third parties (research/consultancy contracts) has a total value of almost €11.5 million.
Other activities
Cultural heritage and cultural activities
Enhancement of historic buildings: urban recovery and regeneration
Historical and cultural archives
Library system (over 1.4 million monographs; 724,900 e-books; 84,000 e-journals in 2024)
Collaborations with the Italian Touring Club, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, PIME Foundation, JSTOR Labs
Archaeological excavations: 8 active sites in 2024, also abroad (Eritrea, Pakistan)
Studium Musicale (concerts, shows, workshops) and Arabic-language choir with public performances
Public engagement
Cultural and scientific activities aimed at the non-academic audience: 1,153 initiatives in 2024 across the five campuses.
Editorial production
Vita e Pensiero: Italy's oldest University Press with 110 publications in 2024, 515,000 Italian and foreign users reached, 430,000 people involved in its social media network
Cultural magazines: Vita e Pensiero (with VP Plus, over 20,000 subscribers) and La Rivista del Clero
Public Health and Community Services
Synergy between the Faculty of Medicine and the Policlino A. Gemelli
Interventional and non-interventional clinical trials
Patient empowerment
Presence of biobanks and research facilities