Bachelor's Degree Course in Sociology - Economic and Environmental Sociology curriculum (L-40) - Unicusano

Bachelor’s Degree Course in Sociology – Economic and Environmental Sociology curriculum (L-40)

Bachelor’s Degree Course in Sociology – Economic and Environmental Sociology Curriculum – the course in brief

The Economic and Environmental Sociology Curriculum trains experts to deal with specific issues related to the social context and socio-economic, cultural, territorial, tourism, social and institutional dynamics.

The course offers a solid training in the disciplinary field of sociology with an appropriate focus on the methodological dimension, which is useful for analysing contemporary social phenomena and the processes of change that characterise them.

The two aspects of the training are the theoretical skills of sociology but also the acquisition of the various techniques, both qualitative and quantitative, typical of social research, relating to methods of data collection, processing and interpretation.

Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology Online

The Economic and Environmental Sociology Curriculum is chosen by hundreds of freshmen for its adaptability to students’ different lifestyles. Unicusano provides students with an e-learning platform that can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, through which they can view lectures and study on the teaching material provided online.

In this way, the Economic and Environmental Sociology Curriculum becomes an accessible qualification for everyone: graduate students, student-workers and worker-students. Even those who for professional reasons or distance from the university would not normally be able to reconcile the rhythms of traditional study with their lives. Students will be able to study at their own pace, from the comfort of their own homes, and then take their exams at one of the many locations throughout Italy.

The ‘Sociology of Economics, Environment and Sustainability’ curriculum – an in-depth study of issues related to the sociology of the environment and territory – includes specific analysis of aspects relating to the economics of the environment and tourism, governance and public policy. The theoretical and methodological training is completed with the acquisition of methodological knowledge and training activities in the fields of statistics and political science, to the point of completing the theoretical and methodological training with knowledge of economics and the study of an English language.

Both curricula envisage other training activities, together with student-choice activities and a final examination to complete the course of study.

Professional profile and expected occupational and professional outlets for graduates in Sociology

Sociologist

Function in a work context:

The graduate in Sociology acquires the skills to hold the position of sociologist, to identify the variety of phenomena, needs and demands, in their specificity and in their interconnection, and to understand the risks and opportunities; to understand and describe the structures of social systems; to design interventions in the field of social policies and services; to carry out empirical investigations by applying tools and techniques of sociological analysis. The course provides the basic and specific skills to carry out analysis, interpretation and evaluation of social contexts in public administration, private enterprises and the private social sector.

Competences associated with the function

The graduate of the Sociology degree course (curriculum Economic and Environmental Sociology) can enter the world of work as a sociologist in private companies, local and national public bodies; non-profit associations and social cooperation organisations; public relations and communication offices; research offices; programming and planning of social services and public policies; personnel management and market research offices; opinion polling agencies; social research institutes with executive duties and with responsibilities in data collection and processing. The skills acquired form in any case the basis for possible specialisation through access to sociological master’s degrees. In order to perform the functions described above, the Degree Course is structured to provide knowledge and skills of a sociological nature as well as knowledge and skills of a historical, legal, economic and political nature, in an interdisciplinary perspective. Specific subjects of the degree course are dedicated to the acquisition of more specialised knowledge and skills of a socio-cultural, socio-economic, socio-political and socio-territorial nature.

Occupational outlets

  • public administrations;
  • private and cooperative enterprises and organisations;
  • agencies, centres and institutes (public and private) for research, study, documentation and training;
  • third-sector associations and organisations.

The three-year course in Sociology prepares for the profession of (ISTAT codes)

  • Information acquisition technicians – (3.3.1.3.1)
  • Professional interviewers and surveyors – (3.3.1.3.2)
  • Employment service technicians – (3.4.5.3.0)

Knowledge required for admission

In order to be admitted to the Degree Course in Sociology (Economic and Environmental Sociology curriculum) it is necessary to hold an upper secondary school diploma obtained in Italy, or an equivalent or recognised qualification in accordance with the regulations in force. The knowledge required for admission is that provided by the high school, regardless of the course followed. They are knowledge of general culture and current affairs, knowledge of mathematics and basic IT. The procedures for verifying possession of the requirements for access and for identifying any additional educational obligations to be fulfilled within the first year are defined in Article 2 (Admission) of the Study Course Regulations.

Specific educational objectives of the Three-year Degree Course in Sociology and description of the educational pathway

The Study Course in Sociology (curriculum Economic and Environmental Sociology) has the specific objective of training graduates capable of contributing to the analysis of problems relating to social events and processes, as well as to perform logical and operational tasks appropriate to the management and analysis of databases, without prejudice to the full adherence of the educational objectives of the course to the qualifying objectives of the class. The course of study in Sociology intends to train professionals with a theoretical, methodological and technical background capable of enabling the reading and analysis of social phenomena as well as the design and implementation of strategic actions or contextualised interventions capable of responding appropriately to the main problems of a social nature. These are training objectives that combine a solid generalist base with mainly transversal analytical and operational skills. Added to this basic training is a clearly recognisable orientation on specific areas of study and application, such as institutional, organisational, work, cultural, training and territorial processes. The proposed training pathway is structured as follows: the first two years are programmed on sociological disciplines (theoretical and methodological), aimed at guiding students’ choice in an informed and conscious manner. In particular, in the first year a basic sociological training is planned, supplemented by characterising disciplines of a historical and legal nature. In fact, in addition to General Sociology, Sociology of Economic and Labour Processes and Methodology of Social Research (in the scientific disciplinary sectors SPS/07, SPS/09), the teachings of Institutions of Public Law and Contemporary History (IUS/09, M-STO/04) have been included, aimed at providing further training tools useful for the teachings foreseen in the following years. The second year completes the sociological training with more specific teachings, for example, the Sociology of Cultural Processes and the Sociology of Political Phenomena (SPS/08 and SPS/11), and with in-depth methodological knowledge and characterising training activities in the areas of statistics (SECS-S/01), in the pedagogical area (M-PED/01 General and Social Pedagogy) and in the area of political science, so as to ensure a broad spectrum of competence in the various specific areas of sociology and related areas. The third year completes the theoretical and methodological training in the SPS/10 and SPS/12 sectors (with the teachings of Urban Sociology and Sociology of the Environment and Territory), supplemented by the study of a foreign language and the acquisition of skills in the economic area in the field of Business Organisation (SECS-P/10), in order to provide theoretical and operational skills specifically aimed at the study and intervention in the various work and professional fields. Students will have the opportunity to strengthen their profile with appropriate choices within the other activities specifically dedicated to this in the programme.

Students are urged to constantly interact with the lecturer through the interactive tools of telematics teaching, so that they learn to personally elaborate in both oral and written form, through short reports and term papers, interpretative schemes that demonstrate an interdisciplinary view of the problems. The “Training Model – Regulations for delivery, interactive and pathway guidance teaching activities. Formative and conclusive evaluation”, the “Study Course Regulations”, and the individual transparency sheets of each course define, in compliance with regulatory limits, the student’s overall hourly commitment for personal study or for other individual training activities, with the specific articulation in terms of hours/Credits of didactic delivery (DE), interactive didactic (DI) and self-study activities.

Expected learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

The graduate of the degree course in Sociology online (curriculum Economic and Environmental Sociology) develops the sensitivity and skills typical of sociological fields, acquiring the ability to use also the other competences present in the different disciplinary and professional fields. The knowledge and understanding of the principles and fundamentals of classical sociological theory and contemporary sociology is integrated with the knowledge of the scenario relating to all the areas of the sociological disciplinary specialisation, enriched with the set of other disciplines, including the principles and logical and epistemological foundations of sociological methodology; the qualitative and quantitative technical-operational procedures for the collection of social data; the statistical-informatics procedures and techniques for the organisation and quantitative analysis of social data. The verification of learning will be carried out mainly through examinations, oral and/or written, both in itinere and at the conclusion of the teaching courses.

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding

Graduates in Sociology (Economic and Environmental Sociology curriculum) will be able to apply the theoretical knowledge and the logical-procedural methodological knowledge acquired, using specifically sociological categories in the identification and analysis of problems formulated in study or work situations. They must be able to value interdisciplinarity in approaches to problem solving and in the performance of study and work activities; perform technical-operational tasks in the conduct of research projects and in the design and management of information databases.

The ability to apply knowledge and understanding within the teaching activity is verified through activities aimed at stimulating a critical and personal reworking of specific theoretical or research topics, in which comparisons and evaluations by the student are required (forums) and reports and/or projects (e-activities and wikis), as well as participation in seminars in virtual classrooms and practical experiences in small groups. The relative assessment is carried out through the various forms, written and/or oral, of verification of preparation for each individual teaching, and with the final examination.

Making judgement

Graduates will have full and autonomous awareness in collecting, analysing and interpreting, in a critical and theoretically supported manner, empirical data of different origin and nature concerning social phenomena; autonomously designing, constructing and managing informative and documentary databases on processes and events; and conducting bibliographical research on theoretical and empirical literature. The students’ autonomy of judgement is verified by the lecturers during video lectures, examinations and the final examination. In any case, the methods of verification are better defined in the Study Course Regulations.

Communication skills

Graduates will have acquired an in-depth knowledge of the communication techniques related to the most characteristic disciplines of their chosen field of study. They will acquire communication skills concerning the ability to report verbally and in writing on the study or work activity carried out, with appropriate use of the Italian language, and the ability to work in teams to solve problems requiring multidisciplinary skills. These skills will be tested in accordance with the methods defined in the Study Course Regulations.

Learning skills

Graduates in Sociology develop a capacity for autonomous learning of knowledge and skills inherent to their field of study, as well as the ability to independently tackle new fields of study both within academic paths of advanced training and within extra-academic paths. These skills will be acquired in all types of activity for which a critical approach to knowledge is required and will be verified in the forms appropriate to each type of activity, as defined in the Study Course Regulations.

Final Examination

The final examination envisaged for the degree in Sociology consists in the preparation and discussion of a written paper, following a theoretically grounded analysis supported by the use of an appropriate methodology.

The paper may be on any subject whose examination is included in the syllabus. The final thesis is assessed by a Committee composed of at least 3 members identified from among the Unicusano roles of Professor, Extraordinary Professor, Researcher or Researcher on fixed-term contracts ex art. 24 of law 240/2010, Contractors ex art. 23 law 240/2010, Structured Professors at foreign Universities chaired by the Dean or the Course Coordinator or by his/her delegate appointed by the Dean or the Course Coordinator among the only Professors or Extraordinary Professors of the same Course who, after the evaluation of the paper, will proceed to the proclamation of the candidate according to the Study Course Regulations.