Who are we

Identity, Mission and Project

The Salesian Pontifical University (UPS) is a University of Pontifical right affiliated dependent on the Holy See, based in Rome.

However, to understand what it is, it is necessary to look deeply into its life, and study its vision. The quality of the research and study of teachers and students marked by a passion for education, in a climate of strong internationality and interculturality with continuous and convinced pastoral action, trace and portray the face of UPS, thus making it more and more a Don Bosco University, after the heart of the founder of the Congregation and of the Salesian Family, "Educator, Father and Teacher of youth".

The UPS is made up of these five Faculties:

The Salesian Pontifical University is an member of these International Organisations:

The Salesian Pontifical University is a Signatory of the Magna Charta Universitatum (Bologna 1988, new 2020 edition) and supports the Observatory of Magna Carta.

The identity of the UPS, as the Preamble of its Statutes indicates, is the new humanism, integral and educational, inaugurated by Christ and proclaimed by the Church. It is rooted in three dimensions and is expressed in three objectives, which coexist mutual enrichment.

As University

A clear cultural proposal, of a high academic quality, which focuses on intense interdisciplinary work, an eminent capacity for research and a careful social and ecclesial outreach.

As Pontifical

UPS lives the life of the People of God by listening to the voice of his prophets, pastors and doctors and thinks about it through competent reflection on the theological, philosophical, pedagogical, humanistic and communicative planes.

As Salesian

It carries on a careful and up to date research on evangelization and the education of the world of the young, deepening the originality of the Salesian charism and mission.

UPS fulfills its function as a scientific and educational community becoming a cultural laboratory for a performative change of every personal and social reality, a place for planning and experimentation on the nodes and causes of personal experiences and cultural and social processes, suggesting innovative lines through the convergence and contribution of all its scientific and academic components, with a particular focus on the education of the young, keeping with the educational project of San Giovanni Bosco.

UPS, with its faculties and centers of specialization, provides a model of integral formation of students, to face the challenges of the contemporary world with humanity and competence.

The entire strategic project, and hence its mission, is guided by certain fundamental principles: the importance of integrating university reflection and action with the commitment to improving the quality of life and sustainability; the significance and effectiveness of the formative processes; the reference to the new and consolidated situations of the problems of the young; a growing encounter with the external and international world of universities; curiosity and openness, without losing a strong set of critical and analytical skills, towards the frontiers of technological and scientific innovation.

Project

The continuous transformation of the world of young people requires UPS to respond to the challenges they pose by way of a renewed commitment to ethical formation, respect for and the construction of the common home, an intercultural consolidation of dialogue and peace, fraternity among people, solidarity promoted by a sustainable and shared economy.

UPS offers particular attention to the crucial issue of quality of life, aware of its transversal and multidisciplinary dimension, which involves a wide variety of disciplines such as theology, philosophy, humanities, sociology, pedagogy, psychology. On some delicate aspects, such as the prevention of marginalization, digital education, simple and non-consumeristic lifestyle, the use of freedom in favour of the common good and universal access to education, UPS feels called to propose a new way of thinking and forming, suitable to the new exigencies of the contemporary world. This is how its contribution to the 'third mission' is outlined.

The Protagonist of the Project: a responsible "scientific" community

The protagonist and the one responsible for the development of the Project, its implementation and its continuous monitoring, is the University, as a organic and institutional whole. In other words, a real community made of, above all people and also of methods, structures and resources, capable of validating the skills and attitudes of each one, of nurturing mutual listening and collaboration, of settling any eventual limits and conflicts, in a continuous dialogue which makes UPS a "school of life" which helps to grow as persons and as Christians. It is a community that expresses itself mainly through the subjects and coordinates the participation of all its components through the governing bodies.

A special responsibility is invested on the Salesians, called to work and animate the life and activity of UPS, embodying the charism of Don Bosco. UPS is not an autoreferential community, but it grows through opening itself to every human experience, where it is always possible to retrace that indestructible positivity coming from the Creator's action. Hence the acceptance of non-Catholic religious and humanistic experiences, present through students and professors, with which UPS opens up and maintains a sincere and convinced dialogue for the promotion of common good, the good of one and all.

To help generate the spirit of community there are enough moments of conviviality, to grow in the spontaneous significance of human relationships and in the fraternal sharing of knowledge, of the mind, the heart and the hands.