— Critical reasoning and acknowledgement of the plurality and diversity of social realities.

— Ability to formulate research questions or original hypotheses grounded in a relevant theoretical framework and to examine them empirically.

— Knowledge forming the basis of original thinking in the development or application of ideas, typically in a research context.

— Capacity to apply the acquired knowledge to problem-solving in new or relatively unknown environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the field of study.

— Capacity to integrate knowledge and tackle the complexity of formulating judgements based on incomplete or limited information, taking due consideration of the social and ethical responsibilities involved in applying knowledge and making judgements.

— Capacity to communicate conclusions, judgements and the grounds on which they have been reached to specialist and non-specialist audiences in a clear and unambiguous manner.

— Skills to enable lifelong self-directed and independent learning.

— Capacity to recognize, analyse and evaluate the complexity, mechanisms and core challenges of political-institutional development in the long term and to contribute to the resolution of problems arising in this field.

— Capacity to apply the appropriate knowledge and theoretical models to solve specific problems related to institutional development and political economy, possibly in new and multidisciplinary environments.

— Capacity to read and critically appraise research articles in political science, economics, economic history and related areas and to identify the key contributions to the literature and the current boundaries of the discipline.

— Capacity to produce scientific articles fit for publication in recognized social science journals and to present them at international scientific meetings.

— Capacity to apply theoretical reasoning to acquire a more detailed understanding of past and present political-institutional realities.

— Capacity to select and apply the most suitable methodologies, econometric techniques, information sources, databases and computer tools for the thorough, systematic analysis of political-institutional problems.

— Capacity to search for and analyse empirical data and to identify relevant sources of information for acquiring a solid understanding of the institutions and political economy of past and present societies.

— Capacity to critically appraise relevant sources of documentation for political and institutional analysis.

— Capacity to incorporate the gender perspective into political-institutional analysis, focusing on the gender bias in empirical data.

— Capacity to design, plan and carry out an original research study in the field of institutional analysis and political economy and to present and defend the study before an expert audience.