This 2nd cycle Degree Programme:
- fosters the development of in-depth,sophisticated skills in processing original and technically valid ideas inresearch contexts that are functional to the design of international and localdevelopment and cooperation programmes or projects, developing logical andinterpersonal skills;
- provides knowledge and practicalabilities for acquiring the competences needed to analyse and solve problemsrelating to economic, social and institutional development on a global andlocal scale, also in different geographical areas to those covered directly inthe programme;
- provides the necessary skills fordrafting, implementing and assessing development projects listed inmulti-disciplinary and complex programming documents, in particular those of aquantitative nature in political, institutional and economic fields;
- provides advanced training in socialsciences and the distinction between judgements of fact and judgements of valuewhich help to design rigorous and innovative development projects.
The degree programme aims to trainprofessional figures able to draft development policies autonomously or ingroups for both local, national and international public bodies, private bodiesand non-profit organisations. The programme also aims to train professionalfigures able to combine local, regional and global dimensions, as well as thetransnational dimension of political, economic and social phenomena, aware ofthe centrality of the local-global connection in analysing the complex problemsof the contemporary international environment.
In this regard, the degree programmeprovides a solid methodological basis for the advanced use of quantitativemethods. It therefore includes core course units in economics, statistics andmethodology, political science and sociology to provide the theoreticalfoundations of various forms of development, and in history and geography inorder to identify the problems and priorities of political and economicdevelopment, and the links between the two aspects.
The programme also aims to provide students withknowledge of the relationship between the public and private sectors, andcommunication and networking strategies for development purposes. All thecourse
units are specifically designed with theprogramme learning outcomes in mind.
Supplementary course units are functionalto completing the training, specialising in professional topics referring togeneral fields of study with the following approaches: economic, concerningdevelopment and cooperation, development policies (included in the fields ofstudy), development aid policies and migratory phenomena, always in referenceto social sciences generally as a guide to understanding the differentphenomena studied. The course units also include practical learning activitiesin the design, management, implementation and assessment of projects andprogrammes, encouraging students to draft documents in the main formats -reports, memoranda, concept papers - getting them used to the typical formalcommunication tools used in the development sector, also in the Englishlanguage.
The learning activities offered indifferent forms of internationalisation further enrich the quality of thecurriculum.
Specifically a consistent number of courseunits aim to integrate the traditional curriculum with professional subjectsuseful in the world of work. The wide choice of elective courses and creditsoffer students the opportunity to customise their study programme, withrecognition of the results obtained, also with a view to entering the jobmarket. Moreover, internships in national or international public and privateorganisations, as underlined by various social partners, and workshops/seminarsfurther enhance the students' vocational experience, along with the opportunityto learn a second foreign language in addition to English.
The learning outcomes are completed by thefinal examination, in which students are required to apply the knowledgeacquired during the programme and their autonomous research skills to theproduction and discussion of an original dissertation.
