Course presentation | POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Why Political Science and International Relations?

Because of the multidisciplinary approach of the course, with historical, political, legal, economic and sociological subjects, which will enable you to understand, interpret and manage current problems in their complexity, considered from an international perspective.

Because of the focus on the quality of teaching, which is highly appreciated by the students and tends increasingly towards a workshop-based approach.

Because of the direct relationship with the teaching staff, supported by an optimal numerical ratio of professors/instructors to students.

During your studies, you can rely on an education manager, a project coordinator for the Erasmus + program, a contact person for internships, professor/instructor tutors and a career guidance delegate to help you choose your future profession.

Because of the vitality and resourcefulness of the political science students, who - starting from the stimuli of the lectures - organise initiatives on topical issues, independently and in cooperation with the professors/instructors.

Presentation of the Degree Course

The course in brief

The Degree Course in Political Science and International Relations aims to train graduates with solid and articulate professional skills, interested in an agile and multidisciplinary education that provides the necessary skills to enter working areas that require a dynamic attitude.

The basic knowledge offered by the legal, economic, historical, political and sociological course units serves to develop skills both in the specific fields of study and in relation to the national and international (starting with European) scenarios of today's political reality.

The training, which is strictly multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, is geared towards the acquisition of the method, notions and critical tools required to understand, interpret and manage current problems in their complexity, considered from an international perspective.

The degree course lasts three years. In the first year there are five compulsory course units, plus two language course units (English and French). The following two years, in addition to the compulsory course units, six in each of the two years, include activities of the student's choice, totalling 12 ECTS credits, i.e. 6 ECTS credits per year. At the end of the course, there is a final examination consisting of the writing and discussion of a paper on a topic related to a course unit on the degree course.

Students who have obtained at least 90 ECTS credits and are enrolled in the second or subsequent years of the course may undertake a curricular internship.
The curricular internship must last at least 150 hours. The curricular internship is worth a maximum of 6 ECTS credits. These credits do not affect the average mark and are considered free-choice activities.

Regarding the possibility of carrying out activities abroad within the framework of international mobility programmes such as Erasmus+ Study, Erasmus+ Internship and Overworld, please refer in particular to the Guidelines for International Mobility in the Department of Law, Politics and International Studies.

Awards and distinctions for students of the Degree Course in Political Science and International Relations

Miriana Nacci and Lucia Tria

In 2019, the University of Parma participated in the 11th edition of the International Aviation Law mock trial, organised by the University of Leiden (Netherlands) and the Sarin Foundation (India).
The team consisted of: Miriana Nacci, Lucia Tria (then a student on the Degree Course in Political Science and International Relations) and Noemi Bertolini (then a student on the Degree Course in Law).

Following the evaluation of the written briefs, the team from the University of Parma came in joint second place (out of 24 teams representing universities from all over the world), just one point behind the first ranked team.

The excellent result is the fruit of teamwork, led by Elena Carpanelli and Marco Inglese (professors in International Law and European Union Law at the Department of Law, Politics and International Studies), which also involved Luca Romano (a student on the Second-Cycle Degree Course in International and European Relations), already a finalist, together with Noemi Bertolini, in the Sperduti 2019 mock trial.

Each year, the mock trial focuses on a fictitious case, submitted to the International Court of Justice, involving multiple aspects of public international law and aviation law. The current issue deals with a dispute between the Republic of Carpania and the Kingdom of Gondour, concerning the shooting down of a civil flight and the closure of the airspace above the territory of Gondour, following the discovery of rare dodo birds in the Pom Pom nature reserve.

The competition takes place in two stages: a written stage, in which competing teams from all over the world produce defence briefs, in English, for both the plaintiff state and the defendant state; and an oral stage, during which students present their arguments before a panel of judges.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the oral phase of the mock trial, which was supposed to be held in Shanghai from 17 to 19 April, was first moved to Saint Petersburg and later postponed to October 2020.

On that occasion, the two teams with the highest score in the presentation of their arguments, for the plaintiff and defendant states respectively, will go through to the final. The winning team will be given the opportunity to do an internship at the International Civil Aviation Organization, a specialised UN agency based in Montreal.

The participation of the University of Parma team in the mock trial was made possible thanks to a generous financial contribution from the Verona law firm Efficient Outcomes.