The Department of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Milan (Italy) and the Political Communication Division of the International Communication Association (ICA) are co-organizing the 6^th edition of the International Summer School in Political Communication and Electoral Behaviour, to be held 9-14 July 2018 in Milan.

The “Milan Summer School” addresses theoretical and empirical questions in political communication, with a special focus on the relationship between political communication, media coverage, and political participation and democracy.   This year’s themes will include classic subjects such as public opinion and effects of election campaigns, but also some current ‘hot topics’ such as social media and populism.

The Faculty gathers internationally renowned academics. Confirmed speakers include Patricia Moy (University of Washington and President-elect of the ICA), Peter Van Aelst (University of Antwerp and Chair of the Pol Comm Division), Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck (Universität Mannheim), Frank Esser (University of Zurich), Cristian Vaccari (University of Loughborough), Hanspeter Kriesi (European University Institute), Lilach Nir (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Pablo Barberá (University of Southern California), Luigi Curini and Andrea Ceron (University of Milan), Kate Kenski (University of Arizona).

Participants of the previous editions came from around the world: USA, Canada, Colombia, Brazil, UK, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Russia, Poland, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Turkey, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, among others.

Building on the experience of the last 10 years, the 2018 Summer School offers another unique opportunity for 30 PhD candidates and early career academics in Communication, Sociology, Psychology and Political Science to attend an intensive, 6-day-long program that consists of lectures, master classes, paper presentations and discussions.  Workshops on big data research methods and on writing for scholarly journals will be offered during the week.

Participants will be selected on a competitive basis. Candidates interested in applying to the Milan Summer School should submit a 3-page research proposal or an extended abstract of a research paper on issues broadly related to political communication subfields.  Submissions should include the name, email address, institutional affiliation, a brief bio (max. 200 words) mentioning main research interests and ongoing projects, and a recommendation letter. An international selection committee will review the applications.

A certificate and 6 ECTS will be awarded to each participant successfully completing the program.

Application deadline:                  15 February 2018
Information on acceptance:      15 March 2018

Registration deadline:                16 April 2018

Enrollment fee: €650 (covers accommodation, lunches, welcome and farewell dinners). A number of travel grants are available.