LUISS Guido Carli

The Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali "Guido Carli" (Italian for Free International University of Social Studies "Guido Carli"), known by the acronym "Luiss" or "Luiss Guido Carli", is an independent private university located in Rome, Italy, founded in 1974 by a group of entrepreneurs led by Umberto Agnelli, brother of Gianni Agnelli.

It provides undergraduate and post-graduate education, in addition to a range of Double Degree programs, in the fields of finance, business, management, law and political science. It is located near the historical center of the city, between the neighborhoods of Parioli and Trieste. The university is supported by Confindustria, the Italian confederation of industries. Luiss has four different campus: one in Viale Romania, one in Via Parenzo, one in Villa Blanc and the last one in Viale Pola. There is also a library in Via Santa Costanza.

History

In 1974 a group of entrepreneurs led by Umberto Agnelli (the brother of Gianni Agnelli, who at the time was president of Confindustria), launched a project investing economic and intellectual resources in the establishment of a university. This university would be designed to offer undergraduate and post-graduate education that is geared towards the needs of the market.

Luiss came out of a pre-existing university, (Pro Deo University, founded in 1966), which was redesigned and renamed Luiss (an acronym for Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali, which means "Free International University of Social Studies") in 1977. Eventually, other public and private industrial groups, as well as some banks, joined the founders.

The group of businessmen and bankers who had promoted and financed the birth of the project, as well as the transformation of the organization of the old Pro Deo University, into the more modern ones of Luiss University, as it is today, was established in 1985 in the current “Friends of Luiss”. This has had since its inception the Senator Umberto Agnelli as its president, who was then succeeded by Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone (still in office), and plays a vital role in the collection and distribution of economic resources to be allocated to provide scholarships for students who have enormous potential but a lack of economic resources, and to ensure that the most brilliant Luiss graduates have the possibility of earning PhDs to dedicate themselves to scientific research with a view to an academic career or advanced professional activities.

Guido Carli, former Governor of the Banca d'Italia, President of Confindustria and later Senator was President of Luiss from 1978 until his death in 1993. His work was so highly esteemed that in 1994 the university changed its name to Luiss Guido Carli.

Originally the university had only the faculties of Economics and Political Science, to which was added the faculty of Law in 1982. In 2011 an academic reorganization took place, which resulted in today's four Departments: Law, Business and Management, Economics and Finance, and Political Science. Today the University offers many courses entirely taught in English, such as 'Economics & Business' or 'Politics, Philosophy and Economics'.

Rankings

Luiss ranks among the top 100 European Business Schools, as stated by the Financial Times official ranking.

In 2013, the Censis annual university ranking done in conjunction with the newspaper la Repubblica, ranked Luiss Guido Carli first for Political Science and second for Law and Economics among private universities in Italy.

With regard to research output, according to the final report on research quality for 2004/2010 from ANVUR, the university ranked second (in Italy overall, for all disciplines) among small universities, tying with the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and behind the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies.

In 2015, Luiss ranked second in the parent Confindustria owned Il Sole 24 Ore annual national ranking.

In 2016, Luiss ranked first in the parent Confindustria owned Il Sole 24 Ore annual national ranking.

Admission

To attend a degree program at one of the four Departments at Luiss, candidates must pass an admission test. Each year a maximum number of places available is set and the admission test is done in two different sessions (one in spring and one in September), after which a ranking by session is drafted, where each student has a score made up of their final grade in secondary school and their test score. Admission is obviously based on the available slots and where selected students choose not to attend, other students are selected from the waiting list.

The admission test lasts 90 minutes and is made up of 100 multiple-choice questions measuring general culture (15%) and aptitude (85%). The subjects on the test are: logic and reading comprehension; logical and mathematical aptitude and financial mathematics; numerical and spatial logic; abstract reasoning and critical/verbal skills; knowledge of general math and general culture (current events, history, literature, philosophy); and English.

On average, candidates admitted to Luiss are high achievers: 68.1% of students have a final secondary school average of over 90/100, compared to the national average of 24.6%.

To be admitted to a master's degree, Luiss graduates with degree grades of 100 or above can be admitted to degree programs without having to take an admission test, until all the available slots are taken. Graduates from other universities (for a maximum of 250) must take a written test to apply for admission.

Organization

The University is divided into the following four departments:

Department of Law

The academic organization provides a single five-year cycle for the combined bachelor's and master's degree program in Law (Category: LGM/01).

Department of Business and Management

The Department of Business and Management offers the following degree programs:

Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Management (category L-18);

Bachelor's degree in Management and Computer Science (category L-18);

Master’s degree in Business Management (category LM-77);

Master’s degree in Management in English (category LM-77);

Master’s degree in Accounting, Finance and Control (category LM-77)

Master's degree in Marketing (category LM-77)

Master's degree in Corporate Finance (category LM-77);

Master's degree in Global Management and Politics (category LM-77);

Department of Economics and Finance

The Department of Economics and Finance offers the following degree programs:

Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business (category L-33);

Master’s degree in Economics and Finance (category LM-56)

Department of Political Science

The Department of Political Science offers the following degree programs:

Bachelor’s degree in Politics, philosophy and economics (category L-36);

Master’s degree in International Relations (category LM-62);

Master’s degree in Government and Policies (category LM-62)

Postgraduate degrees

The university has several autonomous postgraduate schools:

LUISS Business School, a school for professional management and a center of research and management consulting. It has its own MBA program, various types of master's degrees and ad hoc training courses for business customers;

LUISS School of Government which offers specific training, through the provision of four different master's degrees in the field of political processes and decision-making, both in the public and private sector;

The Specialized School for the Legal Professions offers two-year programs for the theoretical study of specific legal issues along with practice activities such as mock trials;

The Massimo Baldini School of Journalism offers two-year programs that require enrollment in the journalism trainee program. At the end of the course (taught by professional journalists, academics and technical specialists), the university confers a diploma.

Corporate placement and campus drive

LUISS provides vide network of corporate placement opportunities for it's students and recently collaborated internationally for exploring students dynamics for international experience. The first collaboration happened in December 2021 with TreeAndHumanKnot RisingIndia ThinkTank

Campuses

LUISS Guido Carli currently has five campuses in Rome.

The historic campus is situated at Viale Pola 12 (in the 1930s, this was the residence of Galeazzo Ciano and Edda Mussolini), which is referred to in most of the documents that mention the university. It continues to house the university's general management, administrative services, human resources and academic support services. Also at this location are master's degrees, the School of Journalism and the Specialized School for the Legal Professions, as well as the Luiss Business School and LUISS University Press.

The Viale Romania campus opened in October 2007 at Viale Romania 32, in the heart of the Parioli quarter in Rome. This campus has the largest number of buildings and students even though it has not yet been completed: in fact only the first 9,420 m² out of the 28,000 m² planned are currently being used.[31] This campus (converted from a former school entirely redesigned as a university campus) houses the Departments of Business and Management, Economics and Finance, and Political Science, the Student Office, the Orientation office, the Placement Office, Teaching and Research, International Relations and IT.

The Department of Law is located at Via Parenzo 11, which is not far from the historic campus of Viale Pola. The building was originally a hospital for blind war veterans (commemorated by a marble plaque inside the building). In the 1990s, Confindustria decided to take over the structure, restoring the original plan and shape of the building while completely renovating the interior. The building was designed by Pietro Aschieri in 1929-1931 and renovated by Studio Passarelli 1990-93. Substantial parts of the interior were renovated to their original design.

The newest Luiss campus is Villa Blanc, home to the LUISS Business School, at Via Nomentana 216. The campus was inaugurated in June 2018.

There is also the campus located at Via di S.Costanza, which houses a library that specializes in the economic, legal, political and social sciences.The Library has over 100,000 books, 1,800 journals and 80 databases.

Administration

Presidents

Félix Andrew Morlion, from the university's founding to October 31, 1975 ("Pro Deo" and "Luiss")

Carlo Ferrero, from November 1, 1975 to October 31, 1978 ("Luiss")

Guido Carli, from November 1, 1978 to April 23, 1993

Luigi Abete, from November 1, 1993 to July 18, 2001

Antonio D'Amato, from July 18, 2001 to December 20, 2004

Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, from December 20, 2004 to July 15, 2010

Emma Marcegaglia, from July 16, 2010

Vincenzo Boccia, from June 19, 2019