PUBLIC COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA PROFESSIONS

The Study Programme aims to train first-level professional communicators, providing them with a broad and integrated set of knowledge, skills and core competencies necessary to manage communication content and tools. These foundational skills will enable graduates to pursue further professional specialisation at the second cycle level through formal, informal, or non-formal education pathways. In today’s society, given the evolving dynamics of the labour market, interdisciplinarity is essential. Education must therefore cover a broad thematic spectrum that includes various communication sectors: from journalism and information to the different areas of the cultural industry, as well as public, institutional and political communication, and corporate and organisational communication. Particular attention is also given to the development of new communication technologies, both from a theoretical perspective and in terms of their application in multimedia environments, especially those focused on enhancing human-machine interaction and new forms of communication enabled by digital environments. The two curricula – Political and Institutional Communication and Multimedia Communication and Journalism – are designed to emphasise, especially in the first year, the contribution of a wide range of disciplines such as linguistics and language theory, public law or media law, the sociology of cultural processes, social research methodology, and English language. The interdisciplinary conceptual framework is further developed in the second and third years through course units in economic and socio-political disciplines. From the second year onwards, the curriculum focuses on courses that are more closely aligned with the professional profiles envisaged by the degree class. These include technological subjects and the sociology of communication, delivered also through practical workshops, aimed at developing specific knowledge and skills related to the cultural industries and media production. The third year is dedicated to the development of personalised learning paths tailored to the interests, aspirations, and talents of each student, offering a variety of communication-related subjects, ranging from public communication to journalism, radio and television languages, and corporate communication. Alongside general critical thinking and the development of transversal skills, the programme also provides technical training opportunities through internships in both public and private organisations. These internships aim to support graduates in their transition to employment. Therefore, the programme strongly supports internships and placements in publishing companies, communication and advertising agencies, private enterprises, non-profit organisations, and public institutions, both in Italy and abroad. Teaching methods include lectures, practical exercises, workshops, case studies, and internships. The programme encourages active learning methods, which promote interaction and collaboration between students and faculty, fostering individual skills and teamwork. Students are encouraged to build and deepen their knowledge through discussion and exploration of emerging topics, including seminar-based learning and direct involvement in specific project activities, research tasks, and role-playing exercises. The programme also fully supports the Department’s strategic commitment to international student mobility for both study and internship purposes. It actively participates in European and non-European mobility programmes and considers studying or training abroad a key part of its educational offering. As such, it joins several inter-university cooperation agreements that facilitate international student exchange on a reciprocal basis. The academic calendar is divided into two semesters and ensures a balanced distribution of coursework based on students’ learning capacity and credit acquisition. Teaching methods aim to encourage interaction between students and lecturers and include seminars (sometimes with external professionals and visiting professors), exercises, laboratory work, project work, and self-assessment activities. Midterm assessments are also provided for some modules. Traditional assessment methods are complemented by the systematic use of the Department’s e-learning platform (Moodle), which offers a variety of evaluation tools and supports monitoring of students’ learning activities through dedicated reports. Working in synergy with the university’s student guidance services, a team of lecturers provides tutoring activities, particularly for first-year students. The goal is to monitor students’ progress, identify any difficulties encountered, and determine what actions can be taken to overcome them.