Teaching methodology
Lectures are both in frontal and laboratory form. The laboratories also include training in the use of dedicated software for the analysis of data applied to policies. The presence of foreign professors is expected as visiting professors. In addition, for students who need to acquire basic statistical, economic and legal knowledge, there are pre-courses that take place before the start of classes.
The format
Lessons tend to be concentrated on three days a week for better management of study time. The second semester of the second year is mainly dedicated to promoting the student's integration into the working world through a curricular internship.
The internship can be carried out in public, private and third sector bodies. Students can also choose to study abroad through universities affiliated with Università Cattolica as part of the Erasmus programme or other international projects.
Study plans
At least 120 university credits must be acquired to obtain the graduate degree.
Each exam is awarded a certain number of credits, the same for all students, and a grade (expressed in thirtieths) that varies according to the level of preparation.
The mark awarded to the final examination is expressed in one hundred and ten.
The graduate degree programme in Public Policy offers the possibility to choose between two different curricula.
This curriculum focuses on the design, management, analysis and evaluation of policies and interventions to promote personal and collective well-being (for social inclusion and cohesion, health protection and promotion, human capital development, growth and protection of the territory and artistic-cultural heritage, sustainable development). The relevance of the topics covered in the curriculum is given by the profound reconsideration underway with respect to the meaning and methods of public and private intervention in the economy and society, both internationally and in Italy. For example, while the need to contain the size, and above all, the deficits of public budgets has increased, the number of people in need of some form of support from the community has grown. The two needs can only become compatible by spending resources better, making policies increasingly pluralistic and imagining how the "common good" can also be pursued by private subjects.
This curriculum therefore aims to teach the methodologies and operational tools that make it possible to devise policies and interventions capable of addressing collective problems in an innovative way, increasing the degree of autonomy of people and communities, so as to make the former freer and the latter more sustainable. The course of study also focuses on technical tools, which make it possible to precisely measure the effectiveness of the interventions carried out.
Possible career opportunities include executives and managers in the public administration (municipalities, regions, the state, the European Union, non-territorial public bodies), for-profit companies and non-profit organisations operating in the fields of welfare and collective well-being.
In public contexts, the professional profile lends itself to carrying out support functions for the planning, management and evaluation of interventions in the welfare sectors. In private contexts (profit and non-profit), the skills acquired also allow you to cover functions of design and management of tools for corporate welfare, as well as facilitating public-private partnerships.
In addition, the figure of the Operator for environmental management and strategies is worth mentioning. In this case, within private sector companies, the trained person can work in the 'environment and safety' functions/offices for the interpretation and application of environmental regulations and any voluntary corporate strategies (Corporate Social Responsibility, environmental and corporate social reporting). In the context of European and international public institutions, the person can work in policy making processes and in supporting them, for example through research support and knowledge management, interaction with stakeholders, evaluation of implementation processes. Within local institutions, he/she can operate in the implementation processes of environmental regulations, in the formulation of sustainable local development strategies (e.g. land management plans), in communication functions with local stakeholders, in the application of Local Agenda 21, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).
CrimeSec provides training to understand and address crime and security issues in public and private institutions. These skills require interdisciplinary knowledge (criminology, sociology, economics, law, research methodology, statistics, security technologies) and application skills (learning how to use different data analysis software).
To provide a high-profile analytical and professional preparation, CrimeSec focuses on innovative teaching (some courses in English, drafting of papers, modular courses, empirical analysis with dedicated software, ongoing evaluation) and on the experience of teachers who come from research, business and public administration.
CrimeSec graduates are in high demand to fill various roles in private and public organizations. In these realities they analyze and identify the risks of crime and security; identify and develop tools for monitoring, evaluation, prevention and harm reduction; they contribute to the development of initiatives, measures and security plans of the organization and to the performance of operational activities related to the prevention and management of harmful events (e.g. crimes, natural disasters, etc.).
The internship experience offers an important opportunity to enter the world of work. Thanks to the educational support of the Transcrime Center, CrimeSec students receive internship offers in the field of crime and security from companies and institutions every year. Internships often evolve into employment contracts at the end of studies.