History of the School of International Studies

The School of International Studies was born in June 2001 as the result of the effort to internationalize the University of Trento. It has an interdisciplinary structure, being constituted by different faculties and departments: the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Literature and the Faculty of Sociology, plus the respective Departments. 

The main task of the School is to plan, promote and contribute to the carrying out of study programs and teaching activities for students who achieved one of the internationally oriented Bachelor of Arts (Laurea Triennale) offered by the faculties mentioned above.
 
The process of European integration and the globalization considerably influence the national contexts. They both constitute a constraint (sometimes a threat), but at the same time an opportunity for any single country. This ambiguity represents an incredible challenge for the national elites as well as for the public opinions. Such challenge can be neither understood nor managed without integrated approaches that only a multidisciplinary context can guarantee. This is the challenge that the University of Trento is ready to face, by promoting studies and programs in the field of international relations.

In the first years, the School has been intellectually very interested in promoting profitable and culturally stimulating exchanges. Almost every week, the School organizes seminars and meetings with visiting professors from any part of the world. This type of offer requires a considerable effort in terms of resources and organization.
In this respect, from the beginning the School has promoted a series of Working papers on different subjects in the field of international studies. They are written either by members of the teaching staff or by visiting lecturers who have given conferences or seminars within the programs offered by the School.

During the first three years, the School has created a one year Master’s Program in International Studies, to which students and visiting professors from any part of the world have participated. The objective has been to provide an education aiming at producing skilled people capable of understanding the varied aspects of a global world. The program wanted to offer an education able to facilitate the access to the diplomatic carrier, to governmental and non-governmental organizations and to companies strongly related to foreign countries. The program has offered specialized courses in economics, law, sociology, politics and history, and it has given the opportunity for internships in Italy and abroad. Just to mention some of the collaborations, the School has created internships with “No Peace Without Justice”, with the United Nations, with the Provincia Autonoma of Trento-Department of Communitarian Relations, and also with Italian and foreign companies. After the first year of the Master (2001-2002), 22 students have achieved the diploma. After the second (2002-2003) and the third year (2203-2004), respectively 22 and 21 students have achieved the diploma.

In the academic year 2004-2005, the School has launched two new initiatives: the Two-Year Master’s Program in European and International Studies and the Phd in International Studies.

The Two-Year Master’s Program in European and International Studies has the following structure. During the first year, students attend a common program, in order to achieve the fundamental notions of Economics, Law, Politics, Sociology and History. In this year, classes are structured on different levels according to the varied curricula of provenance. At the same time, students are required to attend a language program in order to improve their knowledge of English and of a second foreign language. After that, during the second year, students are required to focus on one of the following areas: Economics, Law or Political and Social Science. As it can be noticed, even the Two-Year Master’s Program in European and International Studies is the outcome of the cooperation among the faculties of Economics, Law, Sociology and Literature. The final aim is to create graduate students with a multicultural background.

Furthermore, at the end of September 2004, the School has started a Phd program in International Studies. This Phd represents a novelty for the Italian context, being structured on different areas (Economics, Law, Social and Political Science) and being taught entirely in English. In addition, the Phd program in International Studies differs from other Phds in other respects. First of all, it is structured around 150 hours of lectures during the first three semesters. Second, it requires a period of research abroad for one or two semesters. Third, students have to write an original dissertation under the supervision of professors of the school and external experts. In this respect too, good results have been achieved. Every year, applications have been numerous and from almost all continents. At the beginning they have mostly come from countries of the European Union. However, from the second year on, the number of applications from Asia, Africa and North-America have considerably increased. Every year the School selects a maximum of 12 students, some of whom are funded with scholarships that are renewable for three years.

In the academic year 2006-2007, the School has established the Second Level Master in Peace-building and Conflict Resolution. The Master provides an advanced education for those who seek to work in the field of international and humanitarian  cooperation, especially in the context of operations, such as peace-building, stabilization and reconstruction, along the spectrum that goes from conflict prevention to institution building. Professional opportunities for students are in the governmental and non-governmental organizations and in those sectors of public administration and local governments, which are committed to cooperation and international solidarity. The main issues related to peace-building and conflict-resolution are approached in a multidisciplinary way, from economic, legal and socio-political perspectives. Teaching activities are conducted in the traditional form of lectures, but also as seminars, conferences and meetings with experts, practitioners and operators.
At the beginning of the first year, 86 students have applied for the Master, 20% of which from abroad. Every year 20 students are admitted.