Master in
In this master students will acquire knowledge and skills that open extensive professional opportunities in the fields of social work. The programme emphasizes the development of research skills and competences for the innovative management of social services.
In South Tyrol, special attention has traditionally been paid to the welfare of citizens. At a time when the challenges for social services are growing faster than the resources available, innovative approaches are needed while resources must be used in an effective and sustainable way. The aim of this programme is to educate social work professionals who can plan, implement and evaluate the participatory and innovative development of social services. The master programme is aimed at graduates of bachelor programmes as well as at experienced professionals with an interest in further studies in social work.
Italian degree class: LM-87
ECTS credits: 120
Duration of the course: 2 years
Courses will be taught in: Italian, German and English (trilingual)
Places available: 20 EU + 2 non-EU
Campus: Brixen-Bressanone
Tuition fees: ca. € 1350 per year
In addition to the core areas of social work and social policy, the curriculum is enriched by courses in law, economics and administration as well as psychology, ethics, anthropology and pedagogy, which are tailored to the educational objectives of the programme. Its structure fosters the development of students’ own research projects and provides various skills needed for the innovative management of social services.
The programme offers a pedagogical and didactic perspective based on blended learning that allows an optimal integration between time and activities in the classroom and online as well as in active, collaborative and flexible environments, which focus on the students and their specific needs.
Degree Course director: Prof. Kolis Summerer
Student Representative in the Course Council: ---
At the moment we are partnered with universities all over the world and part of a large collaboration network with employers in Italy and abroad where you can undertake your compulsory internship of a minimum of 200 hours.
Graduates will work in management and advisory positions in public and private social services as well as in related areas of education and health care. They are particularly qualified for research-based planning, development and evaluation of innovative forms of service provision and organisation in all fields of social work. They have professional attitudes and skills for working with vulnerable people affected by social inequalities, exclusion and discrimination, as well as skills for innovative social planning and social policy making.
Living in South Tyrol, Housing, Scholarships, Single Subject Courses and more
Everything you need to know as a degree-seeking applicant or as an incoming exchange student
You can find all you need to know in order to apply and gain admission to this study programme by browsing through the information below.
Subject to accreditation of the Ministry.
Application: 01/03 - 28/04/2022 (by noon local time)
Language exams: 17 - 18/03/2022 (no places left) and 13 - 14 and 19 - 21/04/2022 (registrations 24/03 - 05/04/2022)
Admission exam: 11/05/2022
Admission procedure and publication of ranking lists: by 17/05/2022
Payment of the 1st instalment of the tuition fees: by 27/05/2022 (by noon local time)
Enrolment: 13/07 - 14/10/2022 (by noon local time)
Application: 19/05 - 07/07/2022 (by noon local time)
Language exams: 27/06 - 02/07/2022 (registrations 19/05 - 20/06/2022)
Admission exam: 20/07/2022
Admission procedure and publication of ranking lists: by 27/07/2022
Payment of the 1st instalment of the tuition fees: by 04/08/2022 (by noon local time)
Enrolment: 27/07 - 14/10/2022 (by noon local time)
Mathematics pre-course: 22/08 - 02/09/2022
Intensive language courses: 05 - 23/09/2022 (Monday to Friday, 8 h/day)
Freshers Days: 26 - 27/09/2022
Classes: 26/09 - 23/12/2022
Exams (extraordinary session): 15 - 23/12/2022
Holidays: 24/12/2022 - 08/01/2023
Classes: 09/01 - 21/01/2023
Exams: 23/01 - 18/02/2023
Classes: 27/02 - 06/04/2023
Holidays: 07/04 - 10/04/2023
Classes: 11/04 - 10/06/2023
Exams (extraordinary session): 17 - 27/05/2023
Exams: 12/06 - 08/07/2023
Exams: 28/08 - 30/09/2023
EU citizens and citizens given parity of treatment
Early Bird Application: 15
Late Application: 5
Non-EU citizens (living abroad)
Early Bird Application: 2
The programme will only be offered if a minimum of 12 newly enrolled students is reached.
To gain admission to this programme you need one of the following qualifications:
1. a Bachelor in one of the following subject areas:
class L-39 (Social Work) (D.M. 270/2004)
class 6 (Social Work) (D.M. 509/1999)
class L-19 (Education) (D.M. 270/2004)
class 18 (Education) (D.M. 509/1999)
class L-40(Sociology) (D.M. 270/2004)
2. an equivalent qualification awarded in Italy according to the old university system
Diploma Universitario in Servizio Sociale (DUSS) (University diploma in Social Work)
Diploma Universitario di Educatore Professionale/di Comunità (Community Educators)
Diploma di Scuola Diretta a Fini Speciali in Servizio Sociale (Specific Vocational Qualification in Social Work)
Convalida universitaria del diploma di Assistente Sociale ai sensi dell’articolo 5 del D.P.R. 14/1987 (University-recognised diploma in Social Work)
Laurea quadriennale in Scienze del Servizio Sociale (four-year degree in Social Work)
3. an equivalent qualification gained abroad
4. a degree from another class or an old Italian degree or any equivalent degree gained abroad and the achievement of at least 18 credits in:
SPS/02 History of political thought
SPS/04 Political science
SPS/07 General sociology
SPS/08 Sociology of culture and communication
SPS/09 Economic sociology of work and organisations
SPS/10 Urban and environmental sociology
SPS/12 Sociology of law, deviance and social change
at least 12 credits in:
M-PSI/01 General psychology
M-PSI/04 Developmental and educational psychology
M-PSI/05 Social psychology
M-PSI/06 Work and organizational psychology
M-PED/01 Theories and science of education and social education
M-PED/03 Methodologies of teaching and special education
M-PED/04 Educational research
The credit points referred to in point 4 must have been acquired before the interview.
If you have not yet graduated at the time of application: you can apply, but you will be admitted conditionally and you need to submit your diploma by the enrolment deadline.
If you graduate after the enrolment deadline: you cannot enrol and you will lose your place, which will be offered to the subsequent applicant in the ranking list. In this case you should not pay the tuition fees to secure your admission. You will be able to submit a late enrolment request and, only if there still are available places, you can enrol by 17 December 2021.
To be admitted you must fulfil the language requirements indicated in the section “Language requirements”.
Concurrent enrolment at several universities or in several study programmes at the same university is not allowed.
The official teaching languages are German, Italian and English. Therefore, the following language requirements apply, otherwise you will be excluded from the admission procedure:
Entry level (to gain admission)
1st language: C1
2nd language: B2
3rd language: no level required
From the 2nd semester of the first year
3rd language: a B1 level in the third language is the minimum requirement for taking curricular examinations in that specific language.
Exit level (to graduate)
1st language: C1
2nd language: C1
3rd language: B1
The levels of the Common European Framework of Reference apply.
Your first language is the language in which you have the highest level of proficiency (C1). Your third language is instead the language in which you are weaker (or in which you are an absolute beginner).
You can demonstrate your language proficiency in the application portal (in the section “upload language certificates” and/or “enrol for language exams”) after you have created an application in the section “create/manage applications”. The certification is mandatory for the first and second language, for the third language it is recommended (from B1 onwards).
You can demonstrate language proficiency through:
Information regarding the structure of the language proficiency exams, their duration, their administration, and typical processing time for the publication of the results can be found on the following webpage: https://www.unibz.it/en/services/language-centre/language-exams/.
Secondary schools in a foreign country/Bi- or multilingual schools
If the foreign language proficiency levels (for German, Italian, or English) are explicitly indicated on the diploma of graduation according to the Common European Framework of Reference (i.e., B1, B2 or C1), and if all four language abilities (reading, listening, speaking, writing) have been assessed, then the indicated levels will be accepted as a proof of proficiency for the second and/or third language.
Please upload your school-leaving certificate to the application portal in the section “upload language certificates” under the respective language. The Language Centre will decide on its recognition.
Third language/Intensive language courses in September
If you have already acquired a language certificate in the third teaching language, please upload it to the portal. If you are not able to certify your language competence in the third language and you are admitted to unibz, you will have to take a placement test. You will receive further information about the test by e-mail. Based on the result of the placement test, you will be assigned to a certain learning path so that you will be able to reach level B1 as soon as possible.
If you are an absolute beginner in the third language, or if you have a level below B1, you may attend a three-week intensive language course during the pre-semester session in September in order to start the learning path.
The dates of the extensive courses are indicated in the “Deadlines” section. Beginner courses (A1) will be offered exclusively during the pre-semester intensive course session in September will no longer be offered during the academic year. Therefore, absolute beginners should start their learning path for the third language by attending the intensive courses in September.
There will be extensive courses (4 hours per week) during the semesters and intensive courses (8 hours per week) during the time between semesters.
The language courses offered by the Language Centre are free of charge and aim to help the students reach the level B1 in the third language after the first study year.
Your application must be submitted online through the Application Portal. The deadlines are indicated in the “Deadlines” section.
Please note: Mendacious declarations will be criminally prosecuted and will result in the automatic exclusion from the ranking list.
You might apply for more than one study programme. If you are excluded in the first session, you might apply again in the second one.
Considered as equivalent are:
Only one application period is offered. After the deadline it is not possible to apply anymore. Application fee: € 30.
Once the ranking list has been published, if you have gained admission, secure it by paying the first instalment and then start your visa application on the Universitaly portal. The application on Universitaly is mandatory, otherwise you will not be allowed to enrol. On Universitaly you can apply for one study programme only.
The admission procedure is based on the following criteria:
In the event of equal scores, the younger applicant will have priority.
In the application portal, you shall:
Ranking lists
The Admission Committee will only evaluate the documents uploaded in the portal by the application deadline. The ranking lists with the admitted students will be published here and are only valid for the respective academic year.
If you have been admitted to more than one study programme, you can only secure your admission in one of them. Doing so you refrain from the admission to other programmes.
1. Choose the study programme and pay the fees (to secure your admission) in the application portal.
The deadlines are indicated in the “Deadlines” section.
If you do not meet this deadline, you will automatically be excluded and the next applicant in the ranking list will be admitted.
For EU citizens and citizens given parity of treatment only: any remaining places of the early bird application, will be offered in the late application.
Please note that you do not gain full student status by only paying the tuition fees. This status will only be acquired upon enrolment. If you have secured your admission, there will be no refund of the tuition fees unless you do not pass your secondary school final exam or, in the event of non-EU applicants living abroad, you do not receive the documents necessary for enrolment from the Italian authorities in your country.
2. Enrol online in the application portal.
The deadlines are indicated in the “Deadlines” section.
Enrolment is recommended as early as possible, so you have the possibility to upload incomplete documents before the deadline.
If you do not meet the enrolment deadline, you will be excluded and the next applicant in the ranking list will be admitted.
Admission with reservation:
If you do not have the required academic qualification, you will be given a conditional offer for a study place and you must submit your qualification upon enrolment. If you achieve your qualification after the enrolment deadline, you cannot enrol, and you will lose your place which will be offered to the subsequent applicant in the ranking list. Advice: If you achieve your qualification after the enrolment deadline, you should not pay the tuition fees to confirm the study place. You will be able to submit a late enrolment request and, only if there are study places still available, you can enrol by 16 December 2022.
If you have gained your qualification abroad, you must certify that at the universities in the country where you gained your qualification, you can access to a study programme similar to that chosen at unibz. Therefore you must upload (if not uploaded upon application):
and one of the following:
Please note that if you do not possess a valid admission qualification, you could be excluded with Rector’s decree even after enrolment.
If you are a non-EU citizen living abroad:
If you are eligible for admission (check the ranking lists) and have also applied on Universitaly, the Italian Authorities in your own country will issue you the entry visa for studies/university.
This will allow you to arrive in Italy to enrol for the study programme that you have applied for, after passing the admission procedure.
According to Italian law, within 8 working days of your arrival in Italy, you must have applied for the residence permit: as soon as you arrive, get in touch with the Advisory Service and you will be given the necessary information for starting the procedure.
Once you will obtain your residence permit (permesso di soggiorno), you have to hand it in at the Student Secretariat personally or via e-mail.
Students intending to transfer from another Italian University to unibz must submit to the Student Secretariat - at the beginning of the academic year - a copy of the transfer application presented at the university of provenance.
Fees amount to € 1351.50
Delayed payment of the second instalment will result in a fine being levied. If you have not paid the tuition fees, you will be unable to take exams and will not be able to transfer to other universities or other study programmes.
If you drop out of a programme, interrupt your studies or are excluded from studies, you are not entitled to reimbursement of the fees.
Exemption from the tuition fees (and the provincial tax) is granted to:
Students who benefit from a scholarship granted by the Autonomous Province of Bozen-Bolzano are entitled to receive a refund of the tuition fees.
Credit points from previous university studies can only be recognised after enrolment if the exams taken at the university of provenance are equivalent in content to those offered at unibz. You can fill out the application after enrolment at your Faculty Secretariat.
The Faculty organises appointments for the preliminary evaluation (Italian and German) of previous university careers.
The Advisory Service provides support regarding your choice of study. In many cases a simple call or a short request is enough to get the relevant information (Tel. +39 0471 012100).