Educational goals

The European Languages, Cultures, Societies in Contact master's degree course is an international study course based on a training path designed jointly by seven European universities (University of Coimbra, University of Iași, University of Jena, University of Poitiers, University of Salamanca , University of Turku) consortium members in the framework of the EC2U project (European Campus of City-Universities, Grant Agreement n. 101004065-EC2U, won in July 2020). EC2U is a pilot project of the European Universities Initiative of the European Union coordinated by the University of Poitiers aimed at promoting university education in Europe by establishing a European macro-campus. The consortium of seven universities is called the EC2U Alliance / EC2U Alliance. As part of this project, the activation of three international Master's Degrees with incoming selection is envisaged, in which mobility constitutes an essential element of the training path. The student chooses the university in which to spend each of the four semesters, guaranteeing at least two mobilities and with the constraint of being able to stay for a maximum of two semesters - even non-consecutive - in the same University. The student will develop and write the thesis in co-supervision at a university of his choice. The universities from which the student will acquire at least 30 CFU/ECTS in compliance with the minimum national accreditation requirements will issue the qualification (provided that the course of study has obtained national accreditation), therefore the student will obtain a minimum of two to a maximum of four qualifications (type of qualification issued: multiple qualification). The language(s) used during the training process are the seven languages of the partner universities, namely Finnish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, German and English. The European Languages, Cultures, Societies in Contact Master's Degree course aims to train experts in European languages, cultures and societies active in the field of intercultural communication and international relations, future professionals in the management of linguistic, cultural and social diversity in the environment European. The high linguistic competence of two European languages (C1) required upon entry allows the training path not to focus on language learning - which constitutes a prerequisite and not an objective - and to focus attention, as pertinent to the chosen degree class , on the deepening of knowledge and skills such as: linguistic-communicative competence oriented towards the understanding and production of written and oral texts used in international communication and in multilingual and multicultural contexts; the digital, technological and IT skills for managing such texts in various media; understanding the cultural and socio-economic panorama of the linguistic areas studied. The profile is completed by basic skills in the field of computational text processing for the understanding of linguistic, cultural and social phenomena. Overall, the training activities envisaged by the degree course are aimed at creating an interdisciplinary connection between humanities and social sciences (SSH) at a European level, starting from the linguistic areas studied. This training approach aims to lay the foundations for the creation of interlingual and intercultural skills at the same time for the purposes of international understanding, communication and mediation, particularly necessary in contexts of diversity and potential conflict with roots in the linguistic, cultural and social dimension. Graduates in European Languages, Cultures and Societies in Contact, using the knowledge and skills acquired, can aspire to professional roles as consultant, mediator, expert, multilingual project manager, diplomat at intermediate and high levels of organisations, both in the public sector (institutions local, regional, national and community institutions that manage international projects), both in the private sector (companies that operate at a supranational level, museums, foundations, publishing houses, etc.), having acquired essential training for intercultural communication in international relations and European. In the specific European context, the course prepares specialists who can contribute to the development and implementation of cultural, social and educational policies within national institutions, the European Union or other international organizations and the private sector. The different experiences possible for the student, depending on the universities chosen in the context of mobility, are harmonized in the training of a single professional figure, in light of the jointly designed training path. The training path developed in collaboration with the seven EC2U partner universities includes 120 CFU/ECTS divided into 30 CFU/ECTS per semester, for a total of four semesters. Each semester includes a compulsory course of 10 CFU/ECTS of a methodological nature, delivered online by all the Universities of the EC2U Alliance. The compulsory online courses, foreseen in the areas of the characterizing activities, focus on Discourses in Europe, on research methodologies in the field of European Languages and Literature, on research methodologies in the field of European Cultures and Societies. The fourth semester is dedicated to the research and writing of the degree thesis, which takes place in co-supervision. In addition to these compulsory courses taught collegially by all seven universities for a portion of the 10 CFU/ECTS, each semester (excluding the fourth dedicated to the thesis) includes courses offered by the partner universities organized around two macro-areas: European Modern Languages and Linguistics (for 10 CFU/ECTS) and European Modern Literatures, Cultures and Societies (for 10 CFU/ECTS). In the first and second semester, each University offers from 2 to 4 courses for each of these two macro-areas (characterizing and similar activities), from which the student can choose to reach the required 10 CFU/ECTS. In the third semester, however, the student can freely choose 10 CFU/ECTS from the set of courses offered globally by the various universities for the European Modern Literatures, Cultures and Societies Area, while for the European Modern Languages and Linguistics Area the student obtains 10 CFU/ECTS in courses that develop further linguistic knowledge/IT skills. The fourth semester is dedicated to research and writing the degree thesis in co-supervision of teachers from the EC2U consortium.

Career opportunities

Expert in European languages, cultures and societies in the field of intercultural communication and international relations. With the skills acquired, graduates in European Languages, Cultures and Societies in Contact will be in a position to contribute to the progress of the European cultural industry in any country in the 'EU. Possible careers include roles in administrative-organizational and public relations sectors in private companies operating at a supranational level (e.g. companies specializing in the organization of national and international events, industrial relations and publishing sectors); bodies, public institutions of the third sector and international organisations, in particular the European Union (in the sectors: public services, education, higher education, media); non-governmental organizations (in the field of international cooperation and development aid and social and cultural integration policies); research and analysis centres; public and private sectors of tourism promotion. After completing the international master's degree, graduates who show a keen interest in research will be in possession of theoretical-methodological knowledge and application skills that can also be used for access to research doctorate programs and/or second-level master's degrees focused on aspects of linguistic, cultural and social diversity in Europe. The doctoral training will be based on the collaboration between the European partner universities thanks to the Virtual Institute for Research in Quality Education, foreseen by the EC2U project, which has the role of conveying and converging the constant flow of innovation promoted by the existing research groups at the seven partner universities. The Virtual Institute will be supported within the EC2U consortium with targeted funding, encouraging the research of doctoral students and master's degree students interested in linguistic, cultural and social diversity and technologically innovative and interdisciplinary analysis methods.

Admission requirements

To be admitted to the Master's Degree course, the student must be in possession of a degree (including that obtained according to the regulations previously in force in Ministerial Decree 509/1999 and subsequent amendments and additions) or a three-year university diploma, or another qualification obtained abroad, issued by a higher education institution belonging to a member state of the European Higher Education Area which gives the right to access to Master's Degree courses in a specific partner country. Graduates from training systems outside the European Higher Education Area may also be admitted if they have an equivalent university qualification. Admission also requires the possession of curricular requirements and the adequacy of the student's initial preparation. The required curricular requirements are a three-year degree obtained in the classes: L-1; L-3; L-5; L-6; L-10, L-11; L-12; L-14; L-15; L-16, L-19, L-20, L-24, L-33, L-36, L-37, L-39, L-40, L-41, L-42, L-43, LMG- 1 (ex DM 270/04) and in the corresponding classes ex DM 509/99 and previous regulations. For candidates with a first level qualification obtained in foreign universities, the curricular requirements will be assessed on the basis of the educational contents of the study course of origin. As regards the initial preparation, the possession of an adequate basic culture in one or more areas relating to the Humanities and Social Sciences (SSH) is required (for example: linguistics, literature, culture, history, international relations). Furthermore, certified C1 level knowledge of at least two of the following languages (including mother tongue) is required: Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Finnish and English (only to attend the semester at the University of Turku) . It is necessary to have an adequate level of understanding of the English language as a "Lingua Franca". Admission involves a selection process whose contents and methods are described in the specific admission notice, in accordance with the provisions of the educational regulations of the course of study and Supplement no. 5 EC2U Consortium Agreement. For admission, the student must present the Transcript of records certificate (evaluable up to a maximum of 50 points), the language knowledge certificates (evaluable up to a maximum of 20 points), a motivational letter and the curriculum vitae ( assessable up to a maximum of 30 points).