Philosophy, a faculty on the move

Last autumn, unsurprisingly, considerable tension surrounded the possibility of a drop in enrolment as a result of the global health crisis. However, not only was there no collapse, but some academic departments recorded significant growth in enrolment, such as the first cycle of the Faculty of Philosophy. “This is a positive sign which supports our belief that we are offering students a solid preparation, marked by systematic content presentation and student guidance provided by dedicated professors,” said the newly appointed dean, Jesuit Fr. Gaetano Piccolo. “While most of our first cycle students come from seminaries and colleges in Rome, we are seeing an increasing number of lay young men and women motivated by a strong interest in philosophical studies. As in all academic institutions, there has been a slight decline in the number of students enrolled in our licentiate programme, mainly due to the fact that it is not possible for many international students to travel to Rome next September. By contrast, thanks to the selection process for admission in doctoral programmes – traditionally carried out in the previous academic year - our doctoral students are actually stable in number.”

 

How is this academic programme structured?

“Three criteria inspire our academic offering: a systematic approach, in-depth study and personalisation. Systematic courses that build on the original notion of great treatises, such as metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, etc, form the foundation of the syllabus. Moreover, each of these courses is complemented by a monographic section, referred to as Guided Reading, whereby a pivotal text on the subject is read and discussed in detail. The programme includes a range of optional courses and seminars. In the latter, students take a leading role in the critical analysis of a given text or theme.”

 

 

What are the career opportunities of the first cycle degree programme?

“The first two years of the Baccalaureate grant access to the three-year theology programme, or students may opt to complete a third year in Philosophy, enabling them to obtain a Baccalaureate degree. The third year is specifically designed to complete students’ philosophical education with subjects which, owing to time constraints, are not available in the two-year course, such as Philosophy of History or Aesthetics. Specific aspects of the third year of the Baccalaureate include scholarly monographs, i.e. the in-depth reading of two texts carried out through one-to-one meetings between the student and a tutor.”

 

The new Academic Year will also see the start of the new Licentiate programme. Which competences are students expected to acquire, and how?“

“We have been thinking about the second cycle for several years now. Reflections focused on determining the final objective of second cycle students, but also on knowing our students and how they have changed over the last decade.

With regard to competences, we took a set of clear criteria as our starting point. Most of our students will eventually work as teachers in their home countries, therefore learning to teach should be an objective of our academic programme. Secondly, the aim is to develop students’ research skills, especially those students who wish to pursue doctoral studies.

Systematic courses will provide with a comprehensive introduction to the fundamentals of philosophy, culminating in a synthesis exam that will take the form of a lecture before a board of examiners. Seminars, on the other hand, serve as a forum for learning how to read a classical text dating back to different historical periods, to conduct research and formulate a critical analysis.

The Licentiate programme comprises three different areas of specialisation (Theoretical, Practical, Philosophy of Religion) each with their own syllabus. A final written exam aims to help students develop their writing skills, leading to the presentation of the Licentiate thesis.”

 

This academic programme culminates in a doctoral degree, with the additional feature of a highly selective admission procedure. How come?

“The Faculty has been applying strict selection criteria for a number of years now, with a view to preventing that the context may not be relevant to the candidates’ doctoral research requirement. In fact, at least one interested and competent faculty member is required to guide the doctoral student in his/her research. Applications must be submitted by the end of April. Subsequently, a committee examines all applications, previous studies and motivations, and draws up a list of admitted candidates. The outcome of the assessment is communicated by June.” 

 

 

The Faculty of Philosophy has a unique feature consisting of Research Groups. What are they and how are they structured?

“We noticed that after completing the first year of the Doctoral course, during which students attend two seminars, some drop out, and above all experience a certain degree of loneliness. In order to counter this phenomenon, we decided to create research groups through which doctoral students can stay in touch with each other and with their professors based on a shared area of study.

We now have four Research Groups: the first focuses on social and political philosophy, the second on scientific thinking and questions about God, the third covers the subject of reality, language and interpretation. The fourth group is the newest and has one peculiarity: while it was set up in the Faculty of Philosophy, it has an interdisciplinary dimension and involves, for the time being, only lecturers from different academic departments.”

 

The Gregorian University Philosophical Society (SOFUG) is a new student programme virtually mirroring the research activity for faculty members.

“This initiative has been a reality in our Faculty for many years. It is a space independently managed by the students, allowing them to discuss and share their research in a less formal context. The group meets in University premises and has been consistently supported by each succeeding dean. The SOFUG initiatives are also posted on the Faculty’s Facebook page.”