Maria Stoicheva

Biography

Maria Stoicheva is professor of philosophy in the European Studies Department at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski and a Jean Monnet Chair in European Identity and Multilingualism. She served as the university’s vice rector for international relations and the graduate school from 2015 to 2024. Trained in philosophy, the history of philosophy, political philosophy, political science, and comparative education, she has also worked for more than two decades as an independent expert to the European Commission, the European Research Council, and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency.

Stoicheva is also the principal investigator of the research project European Values and Social Challenges, funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria to strengthen research universities and enhance national research capacity. She leads a multidisciplinary team working across three main areas: the resilience of democracy, European constitutionalism, and the relevance and value of universities.

At the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (CES), Stoicheva will continue working on this research project and examine academic freedom as a core value within the European Union, developing genealogical case studies with a focus on Bulgaria and other Eastern European countries. Her project investigates political transformations affecting academic freedom, identifies comparative patterns in its evolution, and maps key discourses within academia.

This information is accurate for the time period that the visiting scholar is affiliated with CES.

Affiliations

• Professor of Philosophy, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski
• Visiting Scholar 2025-2026, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University