Educational goals

In accordance with the educational objectives of the class in question, the Master's degree course in Law seeks to train legal experts to work in the many situations in which - in today's social and economic, domestic and international context - knowledge of the law is required. The course aims to provide students with the cultural and methodological tools needed to frame, address and solve legal issues, including complex issues, of national, European and international dimensions. Thanks to a thorough knowledge of positive law, also studying historical, economic, comparative and general law theory, the course of study will enable students to acquire: - the ability to reason, analyse and connect the various sources of law; - the ability to produce, also by means of IT tools, clear, relevant, well-reasoned and effective negotiating and procedural legal texts in the relative work setting; - the ability to understand legal issues and case studies, illustrate facts and assess circumstances in order to duly address issues of interpretation and application of the law, also in innovative and research-related settings; - basic tools, including language skills, needed to constantly improve one's professional knowledge. The course is five years in duration, during which, in addition to basic knowledge acquired in the first three years of the course, consistent with the objectives of the class type, the skills required in each of the various professional sectors to which the degree provides access are acquired. An advanced knowledge and mastery of all the fundamental areas of public and private law, as well as international and European law, is offered in five different subject areas (law in general, public administration law, economic and corporate law, international law, historical-legal), fostering approaches based on the comparison of legal systems and offering in-depth knowledge and skills on the historical development of positive law institutions, the common roots of European law, legal arguments and essential economic notions. The full mastery of knowledge in specific areas of law is also achieved through course subjects offering appropriate methodologies for the acquisition of adequate knowledge and awareness of the institutional and organisational aspects of judicial systems; professional deontology, legal and forensic logic and reasoning, legal sociology, IT applied to the law, legal terminology and at least one foreign language. Optional internships are available - at home and abroad via the Erasmus Traineeship programme - in law courts, public administration offices, legal departments of companies, and other internships, prior to graduating, are designed to facilitate access to the legal profession and to labour consultancy, in order to acquire practical skills and relational and organisational abilities, as well as the ability to work in teams in interdisciplinary contexts, including roles involving coordination and the taking of responsibility. Through legal clinics and practical workshops, helping students to apply the notions learned, and a final examination, in the form of a thesis, the result of independent research, the student's ability to use the knowledge acquired, also in terms of the communication skills needed in a professional setting, is developed and tested.

Career opportunities

Legal expert. A Master's degree in Law is essential for those wishing to work as lawyers or notaries or enter the judiciary, senior public management or the diplomatic career. It is also noted that a substantial proportion of recent law graduates spend the years immediately following their graduation preparing for State examinations to qualify for the professions of lawyer or notary or judiciary, senior public management or the diplomatic career. For the lawyer and notary professions, a period of professional practice in law firms is also required, before sitting the compulsory State examination. The Master's degree also permits the performance of professional and/or consultancy activities in a wide range of occupational and work situations, namely the management and administration of public and private companies, all areas of the administrative and judicial system, all areas of State administration, all areas of the administration of regions provinces and municipalities, in professional and consultancy firms, national and international economic, financial, banking and insurance institutions, public and private international organisations, national and international not-for-profit organisations, entities and organisations carrying out mediation activities, IT companies, social and healthcare companies, political and trade union organisations.

Admission requirements

Admission to the first year of the course requires an upper secondary school diploma or equivalent academic title obtained abroad and recognised as suitable by Law. Admission requires an adequate general knowledge, as well as good logical reasoning and linguistic comprehension skills. Students' preparation is verified in the manner laid down in the degree programme's Academic regulations. Any educational debts resulting from knowledge gaps must be remedied within the first year of the course in accordance with the procedures set out in said Regulations.