The Doctorate in Cultural and Social Anthropology (DACS), the only one of its kind in Italy, is an SSD SDEA-01/A exclusive programme that trains researchers and professionals in demoethnoanthropological sciences, a body of knowledge that addresses the multiple cultural and social dimensions of human life from a comparative perspective, bringing together cultures, societies and human spheres that are considered distant and often antagonistic. DACS is characterised by dialogue between anthropological knowledge and the other human and social sciences.

DACS is founded on five principles:

1. Anthropology, as a knowledge capable of recovering the bottom-up perspective of human subjects involved in macro-processes of historical transformation, makes a fundamental contribution to the understanding of contemporary societies and the challenges they face;
2. Anthropological knowledge is built on the experience of unfamiliar cultural and social contexts as well as on the ability to critically reflect on the societies to which we belong;
3. Dialogue with other disciplines is a fundamental component of anthropological reflection;
4. Anthropological education must be built within national and international networks of scientific collaboration;
5. the autonomy and creative and analytical capacities of doctoral students contribute to the scientific innovation of the discipline.

CAPTED-NEXT is composed of research fellows and PhD students engaged in research topics fundamental to the mission of the CAPTED Departmental Research Center. The group is based on collaboration and intergenerational dialogue, exemplifying the Center's commitment to building an interdisciplinary scientific community based on peer-education processes, aimed at giving young researchers the opportunity to significantly contribute to the debate on the socio-educational and cultural implications of the digital transition.

The Department of Human Sciences for Education “Riccardo Massa” was established in 1999 by Riccardo Massa, a distinguished educator and philosopher of education. From its inception, the Department has been characterized by its multidisciplinary approach.

Education and training, in their many forms, constitute the core focus of the Department’s research, teaching, and third mission activities. These complex phenomena require a multidisciplinary lens to ensure a nuanced understanding that avoids oversimplification. This approach integrates different disciplines, scientific traditions, and epistemological perspectives.

This complexity is reflected in the diverse research areas within the Department, spanning traditional “educational sciences” – including pedagogy, psychology, philosophy, and sociology – as well as anthropology, geography, history, Italian literature, linguistics, Arabic and Oriental languages, organizational studies, and select artistic disciplines. Here the human sciences critically engage with educational and formative phenomena, exploring their cultural, social, historical, pedagogical, material, organizational, and expressive dimensions from multiple angles.

The aim is to foster not only a multidisciplinary context but also an interdisciplinary one, as highlighted by the Excellence project 2023–2027 of the Department. The Department’s long-term goal is to enhance and support dialogue among disciplines, constructing a knowledge base “for” education and training. This knowledge serves both the professional profiles developed through the Department's academic programs and the broader community, offering critically aware research and sophisticated tools for intervention across various sectors, including schools, the third sector (e.g., associations, educational, social, and healthcare services), and businesses, at both national and international levels.

The Department's complexity is also evident in its size (as of December 2023: 100 faculty members and researchers, 18 research fellows, and 110 doctoral scholarships) and in its mission areas:

• Teaching
• Research
• Third Mission

In addition, the Department offers three PhD programs:  

• Cultural and Social Anthropology  
• Education in Contemporary Society  
• Intangible Heritage in Socio-Cultural Innovation  

These are complemented by a range of other Postgraduate programmes and training activities.