Programme Description
The Department of Political and Social Sciences (SPS) at the European University Institute (EUI) is launching the seventh edition of the SPS Summer Academy on Politics, Policies and Inequalities: Micro-foundations and Institutional Dynamics.
The Summer Academy offers a fresh perspective on the major challenges shaping contemporary European societies. What is the state of Europe’s democracy? Is it facing a crisis? To what extent are recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence reshaping political participation, civic engagement, and political polarization? Which policies and institutions can help mitigate social, gender, and ethnic inequalities in education and employment? And how is transnational solidarity and cooperation in Europe evolving in a changing world order? These and related questions will be explored and discussed by the SPS Summer Academy participants.
Date: 7-11 September 2026 at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy.
The EUI is an exceptionally vibrant hub of interdisciplinary academic activities, hosting a wide range of seminars, workshops, public lectures, book launches, thesis defences, and high-level events taking place every week throughout the academic year.
The SPS Summer Academy gives 27 selected Master’s students the opportunity to experience the EUI’s academic and social life first-hand. This one-week full immersion in the EUI’s world will allow the participants to take part in plenary lectures and discuss cutting-edge research currently undertaken at the Department of Political and Social Sciences. Participants will also be invited to present their research work or ideas and to discuss them with leading scholars in the field and equally enthusiastic peers.
The Summer Academy consists of lectures by the SPS professors across Sociology, Political Science and International Relations, a guided tour to visit the city of Florence, hands-on workshops held by postdoctoral fellows, as well as participation in the keynote lecture by full-time Assistant Professor Kevin Munger. See more details about lecturers on the people page.
Find out more about the programme page.
Participation in the SPS Summer Academy 2026 is limited to a maximum of 27 candidates. The Summer Academy is free of charge. In addition, selected participants with financial need, as well as all participants from Widening countries*, may receive financial support to cover travel and accommodation expenses.
If you are a Master’s student, or have recently completed your Master’s degree, and are interested in academic research, please consult the Application page for all information regarding eligibility criteria, deadlines, the application procedure, and available financial support.
The EUI Widening Europe Programme initiative, backed by contributions from the European Union and EUI Contracting States, is designed to strengthen internationalisation, competitiveness, and quality in research in Widening countries, and thus foster a more cohesive European Higher Education and Research area.
*Inside the European Union: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Outside the European Union: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo (1), Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine.
(1) This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244(1999) and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.