Master in
This master programme opens extensive development opportunities in fields of action in social work, education, culture and health care and in third sector organisations. Special emphasis is placed on the development of research competences, as well as on the acquisition of operational professional competences for the innovative leadership of organisations in the aforementioned areas.
The current state of society requires social innovation, as well as the ability to mobilise resources and use them effectively for the goals of public and private organisations and enterprises in the social, educational, cultural and health sectors, as well as in the social economy, with a view to the sustainable development of welfare systems.
This master programme qualifies professionals who can design, implement and evaluate policy developments in these areas in a participatory and innovative way using qualitative and quantitative methods related to social impact assessment and accountability, participatory approaches and stakeholder engagement.
The programme is designed to be interdisciplinary. It is aimed at graduates of relevant bachelor programmes without previous professional experience as well as professionals with professional experience and interest in pursuing further studies.
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
The study programme is particularly suitable for people who want to further develop their own context of action through research and methods of social innovation. Interaction and exchange with experts and practitioners alternate with theoretical in-depth studies. Its favours the development of one's own research projects, which are scientifically accompanied by the lecturers.
The content includes sociological, socio-political, statistical, anthropological, legal, psychological and pedagogical basics, as well as research methods, methods of social planning and management of third sector organisations.
Innovative teaching approaches are adopted in the study programme, which are geared towards the students and their needs. The methods of blended learning enable a flexible learning environment and the optimal integration of on-site and online activities. Lectures are also recorded for a-synchronous use. Integrated digital education as a practice of social innovation offers a sustainable and participatory way of learning.
Degree Course director: Prof. Kolis Summerer
Student Representative in the Course Council: Hannah Gröll
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. Professionally supervised practical experience and a research internship are provided.
Our graduates work in managerial and advisory positions in public and private organisations in the social, educational, cultural and health sectors, as well as in social economy companies. They are qualified for research-based planning, development, and evaluation.
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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 - 27/04/2023 (by noon local time)
Language exams: 17/03/2023 (registration: 1-10/03/2023) and 13 - 14 and 17 - 18 - 19/04/2023 (registration: 23/03-03/04/2023)
Admission exam: 11/05/2023
Admission procedure and publication of ranking lists: by 16/05/2023
Payment of the 1st instalment of the tuition fees: by 25/05/2023 (by noon local time)
Enrolment: 12/07 - 13/10/2023 (by noon local time)
Application: 17/05 - 06/07/2023 (by noon local time)
Language exams: 26/06 - 01/07/2023 (registration: 17/05 - 18/06/2023)
Admission exam: 20/07/2023
Admission procedure and publication of ranking lists: by 27/07/2023
Payment of the 1st instalment of the tuition fees: by 03/08/2023 (by noon local time)
Enrolment: 27/07 - 13/10/2023 (by noon local time)
Intensive language courses: 04 - 22/09/2023 (Monday to Friday, 6 h/day)
Freshers Days:03/10/2023
Classes: 02/10 - 23/12/2023
Exams (extraordinary session): 14 - 22/12/2023
Holidays: 24/12/2023 - 07/01/2024
Classes: 08/01 - 27/01/2024
Exams: 29/01 - 24/02/2024
Classes: 04/03 - 28/03/2024
Holidays: 29/03 - 01/04/2024
Classes: 02/04 - 15/06/2024
Exams (extraordinary session): 15 - 25/05/2024
Exams: 17/06 - 13/07/2024
Exams: 26/08 - 28/09/2024
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 15 December 2023.
To be admitted you must fulfil the language requirements indicated in the section “Language requirements”.
According to national regulations, simultaneous enrolment in a maximum of 2 programmes is possible (however, the two programmes must not belong to the same class, e.g., LM-87/LM-87 and must differ for at least 2/3 of the course contents).
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:
Please note that you can only register for C1 and B2 level exams and only for one level per language (e.g. in the same exam session you can register for a C1 German and a B2 Italian exam, but not for a C1 and a B2 German exam).
For information on studying in three languages also visit the following page.
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: € 50.
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 secure your admission for a maximum of 2 programmes by paying the designated rate twice. By confirming your place, you renounce admission to the 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 15 December 2023.
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 € 1364
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).