Why PISE

An interdisciplinary, international and global-facing degree programme

This Bachelor's degree programme in Philosophy, International and Economic Studies entirely taught in English offers a flexible, international and multidisciplinary education enabling you to analyze and interpret social, political and economic phenomena:

  • through logical-philosophical foundations, through familiarity with international reality and the cultures of various countries
  • through the instruments of economic sciences for the analysis of a macroeconomic context, market behaviours and of economic factors.

PISE students with Professor Joseph Grieco of Duke University in front of the Venice Arsenal

You will be able to develop a critical understanding of philosophical, political and economic texts as well as skills to communicate information on globalization, ideas and answers to current issues. Thanks to the skills you will have gained you will be able to carry out a professional career in such diverse occupations as consultant in international economics, or working in international relations focusing in particular on economic and political phenomena in international organizations and private companies.

PISE was patterned after the Oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) programme, which was first offered at the prestigious British University in the 1920s. PISE is an interdisciplinary programme that combines elements of three distinct subject areas providing a critical perspective while situating them in the broader social science context.

By choosing the appropriate courses, students can then continue on to the relevant Master degrees in

offered by Ca’ Foscari since they will have accumulated enough credits to gain access to each one of them.
The course has received a record high number of applications in recent years so that an admission test is now necessary.

In conjunction with dynamic student-led societies such as the Venice Diplomatic Society PISE students compete successfully in Model United Nations and Model European Union events, workshops and symposia are actively organized.

A web of Erasmus and Overseas student exchanges ensures that a plurality of students spend at least a semester outside of Italy while a selected few can study for a double degree with the University of Gröningen.

The PISE lecture series captures the spirit of this new programme: scholars such as Marc Lynch, who also advise leading practitioners and decision makers, demonstrate how academic knowledge can be applied in working towards the common good.

 

 

PISE students face the job market on the same footing as PPE graduates from other universities around the world on the strength of a solid interdisciplinary curriculum. Study abroad programs and a number of high profile visiting professors from top universities are the hallmark of the this particular degree course.

In this context professors such as Fred Lawson, Gregory Gause, III, Joseph Grieco, John Ikenberry, Gilles Kepel, Eugene Rogan, Avi Shlaim, Roger Goodman, Rosemary Foot, Megumi Uesuki, Gary Sick, Michael Willis, Helene von Bismarck, Patrick Cohrs, Michele Nicoletti and many others came to Venice for lectures, seminars and held research fellowships at Ca’ Foscari creating a bridge between PISE students and the world of international research.

Last update: 07/06/2023