The Doctorate in Cultural and Social Anthropology (DACS) is the only programme of its kind in Italy exclusively dedicated to the anthropological sciences. It is designed to train researchers and professionals to examine the multifaceted cultural and social dimensions of human life through a comparative lens. By bridging cultures, societies, and spheres of human experience often viewed as distant or divergent, the programme fosters a vital dialogue between anthropology and the broader human and social sciences.

The DACS curriculum is grounded in five guiding principles:

1. Critical Insight - As a discipline capable of capturing the bottom-up perspective of subjects within historical macro-processes, anthropology offers essential tools for understanding contemporary societies and the challenges they face.
2. Comparative Reflexivity - Anthropological knowledge derives not only from the exploration of unfamiliar cultural contexts but also from critical reflection upon the societies to which we belong.
3. Interdisciplinarity - Active dialogue with other academic disciplines is a cornerstone of anthropological inquiry.
4. Global Collaboration - Advanced anthropological training must be cultivated within robust national and international research networks.
5. Scientific Contribution - The intellectual autonomy and analytical creativity of doctoral students are primary drivers of innovation within 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.