Policies and Social Services
Course Overview
The Master's Degree Program in Policies and Social Services aims to create a professional profile for experts in the field of the management and planning of social services, able to design, manage and evaluate intervention in the field of social policies and services for public structures, the third sector and social enterprises.
In addition to the profession of specialised Social Worker (section A of the professional register), the Master's degree offers academic training in the functions of coordinator of services in local authorities, health institutions, research institutions and non-profit companies.
Specifically, the graduate will be able to plan and manage social services in collaboration with the relative administrations, with public and private bodies operating in the territories in question; they will be able to promote institutional and social consultation, integration between policies and social intervention in the territories, and to activate the resources necessary to ensure effective monitoring and evaluation of social services and policies.
Educational Goals
The course of study devotes the first year to providing the sociological, statistical, political and juridical tools for the multidisciplinary analysis of social policies and services, and for an in-depth overview of the organizational dimension of service provision.
During the second year, the course of study concentrates on the acquisition of skills in two possible areas of specialization:
- An area that trains specialists able to manage and organize social welfare services in public structures, including social, judicial and socio-sanitary services. They will be experts in the analysis and programming of services, and able to collaborate with the range of professionals present in public institutions (pathway: Institutions and Public Services)
- An area that trains specialists working in the private social sector, able to perform organizational, management and consulting functions for persons and organizations that need to combine business efficiency and effectiveness with collective well-being and social integration (pathway : Third Sector and Social Enterprise).
A fundamental element of the training course, included in the process of verification of acquired knowledge, is constituted by the training experience during the second year. The course is concluded, in fact, by completion of the 12 CFU reserved for the training. Finally, during the second year, the student identifies a topic for a thesis to present in the final examination, for which 15 CFU are awarded. Because of the significant number of credits awarded, the final thesis constitutes a fundamental phase of the course of study and of specification of the individual pathway selected. It represents an opportunity for autonomous reflection on the part of the student, in which skills in research, elaboration and synthesis are put to the test.
Job Opportunities
- Management Specialists in Public Administration
- Control specialists in Public Administration
- Experts in the study, management and control of social phenomena
- Experts in training and curriculum design
