The objectives of the cycle involve, mainly, the acquisition and application of fundamental
knowledge in the scientific domains of Political Science and the correlative fields of Philosophy, History, Law, Foreign Languages and Economy.
These domains are summoned with a view towards providing students competences that may lead them to understand the evolution, nature and functioning of the European Union, understood as a political community, and of the system of international relations – as well as their respective impact upon the national and regional political subsystems. In parallel, in a world marked by the disintegration of the traditional models of political order, we seek to form, in an Outermost Region of Europe, European citizens, identifying the Union and the system of international relations as being the new environments at our disposal to situate and develop our life projects, as European citizens, including a professional activity.
The fulfilment of these objectives is measured in a variety of moments encompassing the evaluation that takes place at the level of each curricular unit and that which is undertaken by the University as a whole, namely in terms of the assurance of quality. It is, in this respect, important to underline the evaluation developed in the Pedagogical Commission of the study cycle as well as the contributions of former students and of the professors and specialists
that visit us and collaborate with us. It is because of them that we have been able to improve the plan of study of the cycle.
This evaluation on the part of the former students was precious in the process of adaptation of the study plan of the cycle to Bologna. At the present moment, the support of visiting professors and specialists assumes particular importance. Given the impossibility of assuring, in Ponta Delgada, a specialized faculty appropriate to that task, they allow us, in brief intensive courses, to assure the fulfilment of the objectives proposed, namely in terms of the development of the competences and of the specialized and practical knowledge of the concrete functioning of the European Union.