Historical background
The foundation of the Faculty of Economics, Law and Political Sciences is quite recent. It originated from the merger of three faculties: the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Economics and the Faculty of Political Science. Below is the history of the faculties from which the new structure emerged.
The Faculty of Law was born with the constitution of the University itself. In 1626, when the University actually began to work, the jurist Giovanni Dexart drew up the «constitutions», at the invitation of the Municipality of Cagliari, which had, among other things, the right to appoint the Rector. Six chairs were set up for the Faculty of Law: two of Institutions (of civil law and canon law), two of Digest and another two of Decretals (i.e. still of canon law). Nevertheless, the University did not have an easy life, especially due to financial constraints, because of the political events of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. When Sardinia passed under the House of Savoy government, things did not go better, except under King Charles Emmanuel III, who regulated the systems of the schools and especially those of the universities. Indeed, with the constitutions of 28 June 1764, (Title VIII, of canon and civil laws), a new system was established in the Faculty of Law, with more modern programmes.
After 1848, the University of Cagliari, and consequently the Faculty of Law, followed the fate of the other universities of the Kingdom of Savoy. With Royal Decree of 16 August 1850, a special chair was established for «the teaching of aspiring notaries and causidicians». In the meantime, many new subjects were introduced into the Faculty of Law, although subjects such as Administrative Law (activated in 1871), International Law and Political Economics had not yet been activated. Only with the Royal Decree of 22 October 1885, which approved the new special regulations of the Faculty of Law, the teaching system reached 18 subjects.
In November 1902, the “Economic-legal Institute” was established at the Faculty of Law. Its library counted 900 volumes and 300 pamphlets. A resolution of the Faculty Council of 2 July 1909 established the periodical publication of an annual volume: “Economic-legal Studies”. The publication is still active.
The Faculty was granted its own seat in 1955 with the construction of the premises in Viale Frà Ignazio.
The academic year 2001/02 was characterised by the launch of the new two-tier system (Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree). In the academic year 2006/07, the first formulation of the 5-year Degree Programme in Law took place.
It is also important the launch of the Specialisation Degree for Legal Professions, whose activities began on 2 February 2002.
Approximately 385 years after the birth of the Faculty of Law, in the academic year 1953/1954, the Faculty of Economics and Business was founded, although it was already a degree programme since 1936.
With the new teaching system, it changed its name to the Faculty of Economics. It boasted a wide-ranging educational offer, that also expanded into the territory.
In December 2005, the Faculty of Economics celebrated its 50th anniversary, thus providing the Faculty with the opportunity to celebrate its past while looking ahead. The picture of enrolment increasing year after year, of students arriving earlier at graduation and the entrance into international circuits that guarantee greater spendability of degrees are the positive results of those years. The degree still pays off in the job market. It may also be because the Faculty has modernised in recent years. The strong points are the facilities, a state-of-the-art language lab, and a computer lab with 50 seats. In the meantime, the Faculty has been moving forward by trying to create a system in international circuits. Such as Edampa, a sort of body specialising in doctorates in Business Economics that boasts a circuit of 50 universities throughout Europe, from France to Austria to the Eastern countries.
Already in 1996-1997, in the Oristano area of the “Consorzio Uno”, the university diploma courses in Economics & Management of Tourist Destinations and in Economics and Business Administration were activated, in the form of courses of study “twinned” from the central Faculty. The academic year 2000-2001 saw the transformation of the university diploma courses into 3-year Bachelor’s degree programmes. The Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Economics & Management of Tourist Destinations was activated. In the same year, the University Diploma Course in Economics and Business Administration came to an end.
In 2012, the University of Cagliari approved the activation of a new Master’s degree programme called “International Management”, which is the first at the University to be taught entirely in English. In addition to helping students learn English, the course will also facilitate student mobility through the Erasmus programme, in which the Faculty has been participating for years. The Master’s Degree Programme is open to both Italian and foreign students.
The Political Sciences course was established in 1934 as a degree programme of the Faculty of Law, to become an autonomous Faculty in 1970.
Since then, the Faculty has grown, characterised by a considerable increase in the number of enrolled students and a profound renewal due to the reform processes.
An accurate, interdisciplinary, international training and a young environment, sensitive to the needs of the area, intellectually lively and stimulating are the strong points, that have been well received in national merit rankings.
An ancient Faculty, therefore, but modern in its organisation and structure. It is able of modelling itself around the thrusts of innovation and cultural evolution, of the globalisation of a society in which communication, flexibility, technology and interdisciplinary preparation have now become fundamental.
On 19 January 2011, the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Cagliari obtained the ISO 9001 quality certification for the design and provision of general services (secretariat, accounting and supplier management, international mobility) and of orientation and educational management services. The procedure implemented - in collaboration with Sgs and the University’s Quality Centre - lasted one year and involved the reorganisation of services by processes, the formalisation of procedures, and the verification and inspection by an external company.
By Rector’s Decree of 4 July 2008, the libraries of the faculties of Economics, Law and Political Sciences and the European Documentation Centre merged in the District Library of Social, Economic and Legal Sciences.
Faculty of Economics, Law and Political Sciences
