2013-2014 academic year saw the launch of A.4U new joint degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, a 4-year cross-disciplinary study programme, which will be taught jointly by four universities of the Alliance: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, which will take part in delivering the degree in the future.
Students will follow their courses in Madrid and Barcelona where the four universities are located, and will be encouraged to go on international exchange programmes, which will mean increased travel and subsistence costs. To help students face these costs, A-4U and Welfare projects of “La Caixa” Foundation have signed a cooperation agreement, according to which “la Caixa” Foundation will provide between 100 and 200 scholarships for a total of 600.000 Euros, which will be allocated on the basis of students’ academic results and equal opportunities principles.
This agreement was recently signed by Jaume Casals, UPF Rector, on behalf of A-4U, and Jaime Lanaspa, Executive Director of Welfare Projects of “la Caixa” Foundation. According to the agreement, the following funding will be made available in the next four years: 60.000 Euros (amounting to 10-20 scholarships) during 2013-2014 academic year; 120.000 Euros (20-40 scholarships) during 2014-2015; 180.000 Euros (30-60 scholarships) during 2015-2016, and 240.000 Euros (40-80 scholarships) in 2016-2017.
According to the agreement, A-4U will contribute all human, material and technical resources that are necessary for delivering the new programme and managing the scholarships scheme. UPF, which acts as the overall coordinator of the new degree, will be responsible for the financial and administrative management of the scholarships.
A pioneering programme for the Spanish university system
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics programme consists of 240 ECTS credits and includes basic training courses, core subject, case study seminars, specialization pathways in Economics, Political Science, Philosophy and Law, Humanities and Communications, internships, international exchange programmes and completion of a final project.
Courses will be taught in Catalan, Spanish or English, depending on the sibject, and the tuition fee during the first year, taught at UPF, is 1.656 Euros.
During the registration period in June, 5,65 applications were received for each of 20 places available on the programme, with the cut-off mark of 11,93, the second highest at UPF. In addition to 20 places at UPF, 10 more places were offered through UC3M (with a 12,018 cut-off mark, the highest at the university) and another 10 at UAM (with a 10,718 cut-off mark).
During their second year, students will study in Madrid (one semester at UC3M and other at UAM), and during the third year they will be encouraged to do on international exchange programmes. During their fourth year, students will be undertaking their final project in one of participating A-4U universities or at an international exchange destination. Students will also follow optional courses and specialization pathways (in Spain or abroad), and will have the opportunity to undertake internships.
41 students from all over Spain
The profile of the 41 students registered registered for the first year is as follows: 90,2% are less than 18 y.o.; 7,3% are 19-20 y.o., 2,4% are more than 30 y.o. 46,3% are men and 53,7% are women. 39% reside permanently in Barcelona province, 7% in the rest of Catalonia, 27% live in Madrid province and 27% come from the rest of Spain.
