National University of Political Studies and Public Administration

The National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (NUPSPA) (Romanian: Şcoala Naţională de Studii Politice şi Administrative, SNSPA) is a public University in Bucharest, Romania.

The National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (NUPSPA), established in 1991 as a school of governance and training of professionals for essential social areas, is a landmark in the Romanian academic setting.

Throughout its existence over more than two decades, NUPSPA has trained knowledgeable professionals who contribute to the design up and implementation of public policies in state institutions, to the development of the country’s international affairs, to business organization and management in private companies, to the improvement of communication and to the process of nation or company branding.

Known both nationally and internationally, NUPSPA is a state institution of higher education, scientific research and professional academic training offering undergraduate degrees, master’s degrees and doctoral studies. NUPSPA has proved to be a successful project, being one of the most popular institutions with high school graduates or professionals in different domains who wish to pursue a degree.

NUPSPA trains and develops professional competencies in Political Sciences, Sociology, Administrative Studies, International Relations, Diplomacy, European Studies, Communication Sciences, Psychology, Management, Human Resources, thus contributing to change at national and international level, a change based on democratic values and principles.

The University is organised into four established faculties: Political Science, Public Administration, Communication and Public Relations, Management and an academic department: the Department of International Relations and European Integration.^[1]

The duration of study is 3 years for undergraduate programmes, 2 years for M.A. / M.Sc. programmes, and 3 years for Ph.D – as full-time courses. The courses are offered both in the traditional format (on campus) as well as in the distance learning programmes for selected specialties.^[2]

In September 2012 the University of Sheffield and SNSPA launched a new master programme in Marketing, Advertising and PR, which offers its graduetes a double diploma issued by both institutions.^[3]

In December 2012, the rector of NUPSPA, Remus Pricopie, was appointed minister of education of Romania.

In October 2014, the new NUPSPA building was inaugurated.^[4]

History

In response to a social need that was felt in Romania after 1989, NUPSPA was established as a post-graduate school, following the model of the schools of governance in France, Belgium, Great Britain and USA. Its setting up was determined by the fact that in the early 90s Romania was faced with a need to create expertise in the area of public service through initial and in-service training of specialists in administrative and political sciences, while the country was undergoing a restructuring process and acceding to European and Euro-Atlantic structures.

Faculties

FACULTY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Professionalism, Innovation and Talent are the three key words that characterize the Faculty of Public Administration (FPA), an active faculty, which prides itself on the more than two decades of academic experience and research in governance studies and thousands of graduates dedicated to the public services for citizens. It is a faculty where each student becomes a dynamic member of a community that values competition but believes in teamwork. The main objective of the faculty is to train present and future public officials in central and local public administration. Our professors and associate professors make a major contribution to conducting scientific research and studies in the field of public and private administration, cooperating with similar national and international organizations. Website: administratiepublica.eu

FACULTY OF COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS The Faculty of Communication and Public Relations (FCPR) is a dynamic institution that has asserted itself as a prestigious school of communication. FCPR encourages and supports academic excellence in the field of communication and public relations, both through its programm and research activities in these areas. The Faculty promotes cooperation initiatives with communication and advertising organizations, conducts joint research projects and doctoral and master's degree programm with renowned universities abroad, which increases FCPR’s prestige and visibility in the academic circles and in the relevant industry. The faculty’s ongoing efforts focus on developing high quality academic programs, in which creative and innovative teaching methods are used to the students’ benefit. Website: comunicare.ro

FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT The Faculty of Management, the youngest structure within NUPSPA, undertakes the role of training young people who wish to build a career in the management layers of organizations, in the business and management practice and consultancy. The experience that teachers bring to class is not only that of excellent academics, but also that of professionals who are in permanent contact with the business environment, as practitioners or trainers. The knowledge and skills necessary for the rapid professional development of the faculty graduates are provided not only during courses and official internships, but also through dynamic student projects, quite unusual ones for the Romanian academic environment. The academic activity and the wide-scope projects conducted by the faculty and its students are endorsed by the business environment through partnerships with the faculty. Website: facultateademanagement.ro

FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCES The Faculty of Political Sciences is one of the largest faculties of political sciences in Romania. Through the academic programs and the research activity conducted here, the Faculty of Political Sciences intends to develop the political science field of study and other related subjects and also to promote the democratic and civic values of the Romanian society. The academic staff of the Faculty has multi-disciplinary expertise, thus ensuring high quality support for the programs. The graduates of the Faculty of Political Sciences are appreciated for their solid training and their professional and social skills and currently work both at home and abroad. Website: politice.ro

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND EUROPEAN INTEGRATION The Department of International Relations and European Integration (DIREI) is the founding domain of the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration. DIREI was designed to ensure a close link between the theoretical and the practical training in the area of foreign policy, security or defense policy, and to develop solutions capable of creating the connection between the academic and the expertise areas. DIREI organizes master's degree programs in the field of international relations, diplomacy, security studies and European studies, that enable employment in various domains both in the public and the private sectors. The teaching staff of DIREI has a rich expertise in the field of foreign relations, diplomacy, national security institutions, international nongovernmental organizations, their expertise stemming from the fact that they are renowned practitioners or personalities in the Romanian and European public life. Website: dri.snspa.ro

Academic Community

The Teaching Staff The teaching staff of the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, a source of prestige for the institution, includes nationally and internationally acknowledged experts, brilliant researchers, dedicated teachers and professionals who make learning challenging, useful and highly rewarding. NUPSPA professors’ voices are listened to and respected in the public space, being recognixzed for their objective perspective which relies on experience and professionalism. Reputed intellectuals, the NUPSPA professors stand out in the public area as diplomats, ministers, state secretaries, lawyers, political scientists and sociologists, experts in public relations and communication, managers.

Doctor Honoris Causa The NUPSPA academic community includes international personalities who have played a special role in promoting and developing research areas relevant for NUPSPA.

Among the honorary members of the academic community of our university are NUPSPA Doctor Honoris Causa holders: • Lord George Robertson of Port Ellen, NATO Secretary General (2003); • Vladimir Tismăneanu, Professor of Political Sciences at Maryland University, USA (2003); • Ion Iliescu, President of Romania (2004); • Peter Schieder, President of the European Council Parliament (2004); • Lord Anthony Giddens, Professor of Sociology at Cambridge University, Great Britain (2007); • Jonathan Scheele, Director of Trans-European Transport Networks in the General Directorate for Energy and Transport within the European Commission (2009); • Francisco Aldecoa Luzarraga, Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain (2009); • Geert Bouckert, Director of the Public Management Institute, Leuven, Belgium, (2010); • Jan Sadlak, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Academy of Social and Humanity Studies in Warsaw, Poland (2010); • Irina Bokova, UNESCO General Director (2011); • Mugur Isărescu, Governor of the National Bank of Romania (2011); • Jamie Shea, Deputy assistant to the NATO Secretary General for emerging security threats (2011); • Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament (2012); • Lee B. Becker, Cox International Centre Director, University of Georgia (2012); • Nicolae Manolescu, Romania’s Ambassador to UNESCO (2012); • Dominique Wolton, Director of the Institute of Communication Sciences from the Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Paris (2013). • Guy Verhofstadt, Leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) in the European Parliament (2013) • Florin Georgescu, Prime Vice-Governor of the National Bank of Romania (2013) • Mihai Tănăsescu, Vice-president of the European Investment Bank (EIB) (2013)

Research

NUPSPA is continuously developing and, through its activities in domains related to governance sciences, it intends to become one of the leading research centers in Romania, while also increasing the visibility of the research conducted in this institution at European and international level. Research centers

Facilities

Buildings

NUPSPA provides its students with modern facilities, adequate for an in-depth study of their chosen specialties. Headquarters Expoziţiei Building The new building is situated in the North-North-West of Bucharest, near the ROMEXPO Exhibition Centre, on Expoziţiei Boulevard no. 30 A, sector 1. Works started in February 2009. The 2Basement+Ground floor+8Floor building shelters the entire administrative staff of the institution, as well as the Deans’ offices. The NUPSPA students and teaching staff enjoy a modern area for educational activities, where various events such as congresses and workshops will be held. The building has 3 auditoriums with a capacity of 228 seats each, numerous lecture and seminar rooms, 3 IT laboratories, one library with a reading room and electronic library, areas for buying and books, copy center, kitchen and self-service lines, dining hall with 150 seats per series, parking lot for cars, bicycles and motorcycles. The building has two normal interior elevators and two fire-proof elevators, a book elevator and an exterior panoramic elevator.

• IT laboratories, with free internet access

Students are given the possibility to draft essays, projects, consult offline and online resources, etc.

• Multimedia laboratory

Equipped with state-of-the-art linear and digital equipment.

• Interdisciplinary laboratory

Equipped with a virtual class integrated system, it was created in cooperation with the Ministry of Education. It has six video conference systems, an interactive electronic board, interactive and video systems.

• Foreign language laboratories

Foreign language courses are held in a specially equipped laboratory, with modern teaching means: audio-video materials, interactive CDs, courses printed by famous publishing houses.

Povernei Building There is little information on the history of the building. It is dated back to the interwar period, between 1924-1929. In time, the building has had different functions related to the educational process. The NUPSPA headquarters, situated in Str. Povernei, nr. 6, sector 1, has 21 lecture and seminar rooms, 3 IT laboratories, a foreign language laboratory and a multimedia laboratory, a 120-seat auditorium equipped with video-projector, sound system with wireless microphones, large plasma screens, wireless internet, video conference equipment, simultaneous translation.

Batiștei International Conference Centre (ICC) Situated in Emanoil Bacaloglu Street, no. 2, sector 2, the International Conference Centre has one auditorium and two lecture and seminar rooms. The 90-seat auditorium is equipped with video projector, sound system, mobile and cable microphones, large screen plasmas, wireless internet, video conference and simultaneous translation facilities.

NUPSPA Library

The NUPSPA Library has a patrimony of approximately 14,000 book titles from the Romanian and foreign specialty literature, in a sufficiently large number of copies to cover all the subjects in the various curricula. At least 30% of the titles represent specialty books or courses published over the past 10 years by renowned national and international publishing houses.

The NUPSPA Library’s collections have grown year by year due to acquisitions and donations. Approximately 3,000 foreign and Romanian books published over the last 3 years will be added to the collection in 2013.

Electronic Data Bases Students have free access to the EBSCO and JSTOR databases and to the databases provided by ANELIS+ Programme implemented by UEFISCDI (The Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding).

Accommodation

The National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (NUPSPA) can accommodate a number of approximately 550 students in its own halls of residence.

External links

• www.snspa.ro

References

Coordinates: 44°26′59″N 26°05′38″E / 44.449835°N 26.093988°E / 44.449835; 26.093988