The Mission of the University for Foreigners of Perugia is stated in article 1, paragraph 1 of the University Statute, which establishes that:
it promotes and organizes training and scientific research activities aimed at the knowledge and dissemination of the Italian language, culture, and civilization, intercultural dialogue, communication, and international cooperation, in connection with the local area and the institutions that represent it, as well as with national and international institutions that pursue similar purposes
The reasons behind the founding of the University for Foreigners of Perugia in 1925, and the subsequent evolution of its structure in the 1990s with its equal status to state universities (Law 204 of 1992), represent fundamental milestones in defining its role and position within the Italian university system.
The university was established with the mission of promoting Italian culture. In 1921, the first two summer courses in Advanced Culture for Italians and foreigners were introduced, focusing on Franciscanism and Etruscology—fields strongly connected to the local area and its history. Only later were courses in the Italian language established. This led to the dual function of the university: on one hand, the international dimension of promoting Italy’s cultural heritage in all its forms, and on the other, the local dimension characterized by strong ties to the territory, which the University for Foreigners of Perugia has helped to foster and internationalize.
The university courses and postgraduate courses, in their current form and structure, still respond to the original aim of promoting, spreading, and teaching the Italian language, culture, and reality in all its expressions, while expanding their original core to related fields such as communication, international relations and development cooperation, translation and interpreting, as well as food and hospitality. This educational offer should be analyzed as a whole, assessing its sustainability, relevance, and attractiveness, as well as its alignment with the role and internal expertise of our university, making bold, coherent, and incisive choices where necessary.