The National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA) and the University of Meaning / Universidad del Sentido, a public university of the Vatican State, launched the international master’s program “Global Leadership and Sustainable Development”. The main objective of the master’s program is to train moral, responsible leaders capable of contributing to building a fair and sustainable international community, oriented towards peace and sustainable development.
The master’s program will be developed by the Department of International Relations and European Integration and will operate in accordance with the quality standards established by the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS), which is recognised at the European and international levels.
The courses will be taught by Romanian and international teaching staff, as well as by specialists in fields such as economics, diplomacy, defence, public administration and international relations. The teaching activities will take place in both Bucharest and the Vatican, utilising modern teaching methods – including face-to-face, hybrid, and online formats – complemented by access to a digital library and interactive sessions.
The new master’s program promotes the principles enshrined in articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty on the European Union, offering a truly European and global education, anchored in moral responsibility and civic engagement. At the same time, the program reflects the fundamental values assumed by His Holiness, Pope Francis, the initiator of the University of Meaning / Universidad del Sentido – human dignity, solidarity, respect and care for people – values reaffirmed and further supported by His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, in the context of an educational vision centred on peace, social justice and the common good.
The mission assumed by the Department of International Relations and European Integration (DRIIE) through organising this master’s degree program is to train and develop professional skills in the analysis of global political, economic and social developments, covering a training deficit in a sector that has constantly evolved in recent years, becoming an emerging space increasingly necessary for actors in the international system. The program aims to train specialists for national and international structures, human resources capable of understanding the local specificity and the behaviour of regional actors in relation to international structures and events with global impact. The general objective of the master’s program is for each student to rediscover the meaning and purpose of public policies, ultimately their own at an individual level and at the same time as part of a community.
Graduates from this master can aspire at job positions within the European Union (for the European External Action Service, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council of the European Union, the European Social and Economic Committee, the Committee of Regions, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, the European Institute for Gender Equality just to name some opportunities), various governmental and local agencies (contributing to the elaboration and implementation of democratic, fair and inclusive public policies), regional organizations (such as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Mercosur, the Pacific Alliance, the Organization of American States, the Andean Community, the Latin American Integration Association, the Caribbean Community), multilateral organizations (like the World Bank – WB, the International Monetary Fund – IMF, the International Labor Organization – ILO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – UNESCO, the United Nations Development Programme – UNDP, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme – UN-HABITAT, the United Nations Environment Programme – UNEP, the United Nations Children’s Fund – UNICEF, the United Nations Population Fund – UNFPA, the World Food Programme – WFP, the Food and Agriculture Organization – FAO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization – UNIDO, The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – UNHCR, UN Women), international NGOs (for example Scholas Occurrentes, Oxfam, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Word Wide Fund for Nature), private entities (working on corporate sustainability, corporate social responsibility, consulting, etc) or academic structures (for research or teaching).
The program is addressed to graduates of university studies under the Bologna regime (3 years) or to graduates of long-term university studies (4 years or more). The form of education is presential, for a period of 2 years and a total of 120 ECTS. Through a series of subjects in the curriculum, the 2025-2027 generation will focus on the Latin America and Caribbean region, with future series focusing on Africa, and then Asia-Oceania.
DRIIE is organising an admission session in September 2025 during which candidates can opt for the GLSD master’s program for both tuition-free and fee-based enrolments. Registration is done online, through the admission platform, between September 5th-15th, and the interview will take place between September 16th-18th. Following the results being displayed on September 19th, candidates declared admitted must enrol at the university between September 22nd-24th.
To support the admission interview, candidates will choose a topic that they will address during the presentation, from those available here.
