Mission Statement
Faculty of Social and Political Science
of the University of Innsbruck is committed to the goal of Scientific Excellency in research and teaching and proceeds from a pluralist science understanding, which is committed to the universal human rights and democracy. Part of the faculty are the Department of Political Science, the Department of Sociology and the Department of Media, Society and Communication. The request for social science reflection expertise rises from year to year and offers numerous shaping possibilities to a research-active faculty. Apart from the participation in international research programs and qualitatively high-value research and publication achievements the faculty understands itself also as a reflection platform for social developments, as discussion platform for social discourses and as issues founder for social future-questions.
Teaching
In realization of the European-wide Bologna process we have started our bachelor programmes in 2007: a Bachelor of Political Science and a Bachelor of Sociology. In 2008 new master programmes have started and have been modified 2014 to address not only interested Austrian students, but also an international clientele: master programme "Political Science: European and international Politics" and master programme "Sociology: Social and Political Theory". With 2010 we have been started a new master programme "Gender, Culture and Social Change" in cooperation with six other faculties of the University of Innsbruck. Our two PhD programmes intensify our focus on internationalization: PhD Political Science and PhD Sociology. With our new Department of Media, Society and Communication we now offer a masters specialization in "Media Pedagogy".
Core themes in the curricula of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences range among others from Political Communication/Journalism/Public Relations, Italy, Contemporary Politics, International Politics and International Security Politics, Gender Studies, Sociology and Political and Social Theory. In addition there are accompanying Summer and Winter Schools with the Universities of Trento (Italy) and in the Asiatic area (China, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Viet Nam).
In future the area of Media/Journalism/Public Relations is to be institutionalized and be developed in co-operation with Italian and German universities to an international study program in an international compound. International Guest-Professors from around the world are regularly invited. There are numerous exchange programs with prestigious foreign universities.
Research
The Faculty of Social and Politcal Sciences stresses its leading international orientation particularly within the field of scientific research. So far our scientific staff used systematically international research contacts. The faculty’s main research centers "Spheres of Governance: Institutions and Agency" and "Social Theory" are structured trans-disciplinary. We also cooperate with the inter-faculty research platforms as "Gender-Identities-Discourses-Transformation" and "Organization and Society".
Regional, national and international cross-linking
Location-caused the faculty wants to make itself in particular useful for the region Tyrol/West-Austria/South Tyrol/Province of Trento. In the coming years the faculty will increasingly develop it’s regional, national and international co-operations. Already existing co-operations are to be further maintained and preferably strengthened, since they promote concrete chances for European oriented research and teachings in a border-crossing international network, which represent the core goals of the general principle of the Faculty of Social and Political Science.