Once the Department of the History of Ideas, it has its current name since February 2004. Over the years, the Department has established itself as one of the main national references in teaching and research in the fields of Political Science and International Relations, and has successfully pursued a policy of internationalization of its faculty and students (in particular, at doctoral level).

Theoretical and methodological pluralism, openness to debate and critical thinking, the requirement of rigor and encouragement of innovation, and the enriching interaction with other disciplinary knowledge, enhancing the opportunities arising from institutional insertion in a College of Social and Human Sciences, are prominent traces of the academic profile of the courses offered by the Department of Political Studies.

In addition to the varied curriculum offer, it hosts, for a period of five years, an interdisciplinary course funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT): the PhD in Studies on Globalization.