Il Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche e Sociali

The Department of Political and Social Science (SPOL) of the University of Cagliari is located in the historic district of Stampace, directly opposite the Roman Amphitheatre. It was established in 2012 (under the name of Department of Social Science and Institutions) and is part of the Faculty of Economics, Law and Political Science.

Building on a tradition of interdisciplinary studies and research, it is fully engaged with the social, economic and institutional life at regional, national and international level. SPOL promotes and coordinates research and teaching in various spheres: social, communicative, economic-statistical, historical-political-international, and legal.

Its multidisciplinary approach and its focus on local development dynamics is reflected in some of the main research fields it has promoted since its foundation:

• Analysing and evaluating public policies in the following fields: labour market, entrepreneurship, school and university education, social inclusion and innovation, and rural development;
• Assessing the impact of public and private projects on civil society, the territory and the environment;
• Studying the role of knowledge, social media and communication as factors of social development and widespread empowerment;
• Evolution of civil, political and social rights;
• Studying globalisation and international relations, and their consequences at a local territorial scale.

The Department offers two Bachelor’s degree programmes (Political Science, class L-36, and Administration and Organisations, class L-16) and three Master’s degree programmes (International Relations, class LM-52, Public Administration, class LM-56, and Social Innovation and Communication (interclass LM-62 and LM-59).

Mission

The department’s multidisciplinary competences currently converge towards a common focus on the strategic topics of the NRRP, the European Agenda and the UN2030 Agenda. The Department of Political and Social Science specifically aims to contribute to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and to the cultural, social and economic development of the Region of Sardinia. This is accomplished through the quality of its educational and research offer in the field of Political and Social Science. For this purpose, its research strategies focus on critical analysis, the production and dissemination of cultures, sustainable development, and the promotion of equal opportunities, inclusion and integration.

Vision

The Department strives to establish itself as a centre for the dissemination of knowledge in political and social science that is scientifically competitive and innovative, also at international scale. It hinges on its strong interdisciplinary nature, focusing on qualified recruitment strategies that place research quality and innovation at the centre.

Values

The Department of Political and Social Science embraces the principles of evaluation and merit from a critical perspective, not an impersonally bureaucratic one. It places the values of inclusion, equal opportunities, sustainability, transparency, quality assurance and effectiveness, efficiency, and simplification at the heart of its organisational actions (in the fields of teaching, research, third mission). As part of UniCA’s Gender Equality Plan, (GEP) the Department of Political and Social Science has been identified as a Pilot Department for testing the guidelines on gender-sensitive communication.