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The Third Mission (TM) is one of the university's fundamental objectives and includes all activities that involve direct interaction with society and the local area. The Department of Humanities' Third Mission initiatives, in line with its humanistic vocation, focus in particular on Public Engagement activities, interaction with schools, and continuing education.

The term ‘Public Engagement’ refers to all activities aimed at a non-academic audience, carried out on a non-profit basis, with educational, cultural and societal development value, through which each University communicates the benefits of education and research results. SUM's Public Engagement activities mainly consist of organising literary and philosophical festivals (Una Marina di libri, Festival delle Letterature migranti, Festival delle Filosofie), in collaboration with nationally renowned figures and with extensive public involvement, but also events, exhibitions, screenings, concerts, film festivals such as the Sicilia Queer Filmfest, shows, book presentations and public meetings aimed at a non-academic audience.

Activities involving interaction with schools and continuing education play a key role in organising refresher courses for teachers, summer and winter schools, master's and advanced courses, orientation courses, open distance learning initiatives such as MOOCs, and seminars involving the local area based on permanent agreements and collaborations with professional associations of school teachers and cultural institutions accredited by the MIUR.

Of particular note is the social impact of the activities carried out by the Italian Language School for Foreigners (ItaStra), which works in synergy with local institutions, supporting the world of immigration in its various components and entering into agreements and conventions with public bodies and associations. ItaStra promotes education, training and research in the field of teaching Italian as a second and foreign language and aims to encourage the full linguistic and cultural inclusion of migrant communities in the city through the literacy of foreign citizens, the linguistic integration of adult migrants, the training of teachers who teach in multilingual classrooms, and support for the dissemination of different migrant cultures and intercultural dialogue.