The program provides students with a solid training in Economics emphasizing rigorous analytical thinking and advanced quantitative methods. Faculty members are internationally recognized economists. Our aim is to train economists suited both for academic and non-academic careers
During the first year, students will study the foundations of economics and quantitative analysis, whereas the second year is devoted to field courses that will expose them to recent developments at the frontier of economic research in a variety of topics. At the end of the second year students will work on their final dissertation. The curriculum also offers an internship program with either economic research institutions located in the Milan area or within the University’s Department of Economics and Finance, where student are offered the opportunity to work as an applied economists on real world economic issues, as well as meeting prospective employers. The skills acquired through the M.Sc. in Economics prepare students to pursue their careers both in academia through further education at the Ph.D. level as well as in the labour market as applied economists in firms, banks and institutions.
The M.Sc. is now at its sixth edition and so far it has performed very well in terms of placement in the labour market (Eurizone, Deloitte, Oxford Policy Management, Intesa San Paolo) and in the academia (some of our student are now completing their Ph.D.s at Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, University of Nottingham, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, and include winners of prestigious scholarships granted by the Bank of Italy).
N.B.: All courses are at upper-intermediate level.
First year credits:
● Microeconomics (8 ECTS/CFU)
● Macroeconomics (8 ECTS/CFU)
● Mathematics for economic analysis (8 ECTS/CFU)
● Empirical economics (8 ECTS/CFU)
● Statistical modelling (8 ECTS/CFU)
● Two business courses among the following (16 ECTS/ CFU):
○ Public management
○ Supply chain management
○ Performance measurement
○ Corporate governance and social responsibility
○ Business communication
○ Change management
○ Cross cultural management
● One law course (8 ECTS/CFU) among:
○ Transnational commercial law
○ Principles of financial regulation
Second year credits:
● Three Economics courses (24 ECTS/CFU) among the following:
○ Monetary economics and asset pricing
○ International economics
○ Political and public economics
○ Industrial organization
○ Labor economics
○ Topics in economic theory
○ Political economy of the European Union
● One of the following (student’s choice subject to approval) (8 ECTS/CFU) A course in Economics, or Internship program, or a course among:
○ Corporate finance
○ International corporate finance
○ Project management
○ Quantitative methods for finance
○ Applied statistics and big data (Advanced) or
○ A course in Business, or
○ A course in Law
● Final dissertation (24 ECTS/CFU)
Cattolica takes great pride in preparing its students with the adequate knowledge, skills, and great motivation for starting the Economics profession as expert analysts in firms, financial institutions and think tanks, applied economists in research centers and international institutions, or academic economists conducting scientific research in university departments around the world.
In 2015 Università Cattolica was ranked among the world top 150 best Universities in the Economics and Econometrics subject area. Source: QS World University Subject Ranking.
You will experience an intensive teaching activity with active in-class participation, a direct interaction with the faculty mem- bers and visiting professors, and extensive laboratory sessions to get you acquainted with the latest computational techniques that are essential for a successful career in Economics.
Università Cattolica offers its students the opportunity to study abroad during the summer. Our summer programs allow students to earn credits while studying abroad at one of Cattolica’s prestigious partner institutions.
Cattolica’s Cremona campus (part of Piacenza-Cremona campus) boasts one of the world’s most renowned teams of Agriculture academics, scientists and researchers; a team at the forefront of food innovation and technology, whose expertise extends to developing tracking systems for any product transported across the European Union. If you would like to study for a graduate qualification in the world’s fastest growing industry, then a beautiful city in the heart of the Italian food valley will open your doors to the world.
The Agricultural and Food Economics program will prepare students to analyze the Agri-food system and to operate in the various functional areas of businesses and organizations. The program will develop your professional knowledge and skills with regards to:
● Analyzing traditional problems relating to agricultural markets and food, evaluating the implications of Agri-food and commercial policies
● Managing the liberalization processes and rules of free competition also within an international context
● Analyzing the behavior of final consumers with respect to agricultural and food products
● Understanding the different sectors of the Agri-food system, the vertical relations and the coordination of the various phases of the system (e.g. agriculture, food processing, and food retailing)
● Managing emerging issues in agricultural and food production, including the safety of foodstuffs and the environmental impact of agricultural activities, the role of quality, information and traceability, the management of technical innovations, in particular biotechnology, and of the industrialization of agriculture
● Dealing with corporate and logistical problems that affect business functions according to the peculiarities of agri- business companies.
Graduates from the Agricultural and Food Economics program have various professional openings in:
● Agri-food corporations (multinational food companies, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), retail chains)
● Professional associations of agricultural and food companies service and consultancy firms for agricultural and food companies
● Entrepreneurial activities
● Academic or applied research
● International organizations
First year credits
● Management basics (8 ECTS/CFU)
● Technology for food health and safety:
○ Principles of food protection (5 ECTS/CFU)
○ Principles of food hygiene (5 ECTS/CFU)
● Economic fundamentals of the Agri-food system:
○ Economics of the Agri-food system (6 ECTS/CFU)
○ Agricultural and food legislation (4 ECTS/CFU)
● Quantitative methods:
○ Applied statistics for the Agri-food system (6 ECTS/CFU)
○ Applied agricultural and food economics (6 ECTS/CFU)
● Industrial organization (8 ECTS/CFU)
● Financial accounting and business evaluation (6 ECTS/ CFU)
● Seminar on Theological issues
Second year credits:
● Agricultural and food market institutions (6 ECTS/CFU)
● Agricultural and food marketing (6 ECTS/CFU)
● Economics of agricultural and food markets (8 ECTS/CFU)
● Business planning and control (6 ECTS/CFU)
● Strategy and leadership (6 ECTS/CFU)
● Seminars
● Optional courses:Suggested optional courses:
● Topics in Agricultural and Food Economics I (4 ECTS/CFU)
● Topics in Agricultural and Food Economics II (4 ECTS/CFU)
● Cultura e Lingua Italiana (Italian Culture and Language) (only for non-Italian students) (2 ECTS/CFU)
● Thesis
Selected students can attend one or two semesters in the following partner universities:
● Technische Universität München
● University of California, Davis
● University of Connecticut
● North Dakota State University
● Iowa State University
● Wageningen University
Cremona is located in the Lombardy Region, which in itself has over 53,000 agricultural businesses and contributes €113 billion to the Agri-food industry revenue. It is also the most advanced region in Italy with regards to biotechnology, with 78 companies operating in the sector.
The course is organized by SMEA Postgraduate School at Università Cattolica. The School has almost 30 years of experience in graduate education, advanced scientific research and extension, in the field of agricultural and food economics and business.
Studying Agricultural and Food Econom- ics in Cremona will give you the precious opportunity to combine the high stan- dard education delivered by our faculty and the managerial approach developed during internships and seminars with distinguished agribusiness company managers. Graduates from the Agricultural and Food Economics program have various professional openings in:
Università Cattolica offers its students the opportunity to study abroad, both during regular terms and the summer. Our exchange and summer programs allow students to earn credits while studying abroad in one of Cattolica’s prestigious partner institutions.
The Master in Economics and Finance is a graduate program, that allows students to complete their training in economics providing them with a thorough understanding of the role and working of the state in modern economies.
The Master is a full-time, intensive course, with a maximum enrollment of 20 students. The Master offers courses taught in English and it is accessible to students of all countries. The diploma, issued by Università Cattolica, is recognized as a second level Master’s degree by the Italian Government.
The Master will allow students to acquire the needed knowledge and research experience in order to pursue further studies with a Ph.D. in Economics; allow them to integrate their academic experience with professional skills of theoretical and practical relevance.
Graduate students are invited to take part in the Seminar series, which is organized by the Department of Economics and Finance on a weekly basis. During the last two years, it has featured scholars from top European and U.S. Institutions, such as Northwestern University, University of Southern California, University of Maryland, European Central Bank, CEMFI-Madrid, Université de Toulouse, Tel Aviv University, Queen Mary College of London, and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Our research environment also benefits from many initiatives, such as the “Annual Lecture” in Political Economy, which, in recent years, has been delivered by prominent academics such as James Robinson (Harvard University), Peter Howitt (Brown University), Howard Rosenthal (Princeton University), and Daron Acemoglu (Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT).
Students will be able to integrate their academic experience with professional skills of theoretical practical relevance for building a professional career in the research departments of banks, governments, and international organizations such as IMF, World Bank, OECD and ILO.
1st term (November 2018 - December 2018)
● Mathematics (8 ECTS/CFU)
2nd term (January 2019 - April 2019)
● Econometrics (10 ECTS/CFU)
● Microeconomics - Advanced Course (10 ECTS/CFU)
3rd term (April 2019 - July 2019)
● Macroeconomics - Advanced Course (10 ECTS/CFU)
● Research methods (6 ECTS/CFU)
● Public economics \ Corporate finance (8 ECTS/CFU)
4th term (September 2019 - October 2019)
● Project work (8 ECTS/CFU)
The Master is granted upon the completion of all coursework and of a research project by which the candidate shows her/his ability to dominate the topics covered in the coursework undertaken in the first three terms. Typically the research project takes the form of a research paper written under the supervision of a faculty member or of a researcher approved by the Director of the Master. Under certain circumstances, a student may be given the opportunity to undertake an internship on a project that is evaluated by the Director of the Master being consistent with the Master goals. In these cases, the research paper can be substituted by an essay detailing the results achieved during the internship, to be written under the supervision of a faculty member and/or of the external tutor supervising the internship activity.
The emphasis on political/public economics provides an ideal starting point for careers in central banks, governments and international organization such as ILO, IMF, or the World Bank. At the same time, the emphasis on finance paves the way for a career in the private sector in fields such as corporate finance, as well as asset and wealth management.
The Master provides students with all the essential tools and concepts to become accomplished economists. All courses are taught at an advanced level and are designed to build the key competences for successfully dealing with the demands of the best Ph.D. programs in Economics, or for starting a career in leading research institutions.
All scholarships are assigned on a merit basis and will be mostly given to students who apply by the priority deadline. Some scholarships may also target specific geographic regions.
Scholarship value: yet to be determined
