In the 2013-2014 academic year, the A4U launched a joint bachelor’s degree programme in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. The cross-disciplinary programme is jointly taught at three of the four A4U universities: the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M) and Pompeu Fabra (UPF), the coordinating university.
The programme seeks to produce graduates with quality interdisciplinary training in political science and economics built on a foundation of critical and moral analysis originating in the humanities. This type of programme has a long-standing and successful tradition in the English-speaking academic arena and is currently offered by about 50 leading universities, including Duke, Bern, Hamburg, Manchester, Oxford, Pennsylvania and Yale.
The programme’s cross-disciplinary nature is its first distinctive trait. The A4U’s bachelor programme equips students with the tools they need to analyse an increasingly global, complex and connected world and broadens future graduates’ career prospects. The curriculum consists of basic subjects, compulsory subjects, case-study seminars, specialization tracks (Economics, Political Science and Law or Philosophy, Humanities and Communication), external internships, international mobility and a bachelor’s degree final project.
The programme’s second distinctive trait is the intense mobility it entails, as students must complete study periods in both Barcelona and Madrid, home to the A4U’s four universities. The curriculum moreover offers the option of spending the third and/or fourth year at a renowned foreign university.
Obra Social ”La Caixa” mobility grants
In July 2013, Obra Social ”La Caixa” approved its Mobility Grant Programme, fully funded by the organization itself, with a total budget of €600,000 and the aim of awarding between 100 and 200 grants over the first four years of the bachelor’s degree programme. In so doing, Obra Social ”La Caixa” sought to ensure that the expenses arising from the programme’s compulsory mobility periods would not act as a barrier to anyone interested in pursuing the degree.
The website for the bachelor’s degree programme at UPF includes all the information about it, including the curriculum. Registration can be done at any of the three participating universities (UPF, UAM and UC3M).