Advanced Studies in Social Exclusion

Introduction

The master's degree in Advanced Studies in Social Exclusion reflects the importance of promoting specialized research and social practices to meet the needs and the basic rights of people in a welfare state.

The aims of the master's degree are: to train researchers who can take a global approach to identifying, analysing and proposing actions that strengthen rights in a welfare state; and to train experts in the design, assessment and management of institutional programmes and professional teams in the area of social exclusion.
The master's degree trains students to become highly qualified experts in the following areas:

• The design and development of multidisciplinary research to promote policies and professional practices addressing problems in the area of social exclusion.
  
• The analysis and evaluation of institutional and community programmes and projects designed to prevent social exclusion and to care for socially excluded and socially disadvantaged individuals and groups.
  
• The direction and management of multidisciplinary teams who work for the social integration of individuals, by reducing the causes or addressing the effects of situations of social exclusion.

The main objective of the master's degree is to provide knowledge, skills and aptitudes for research and for the management of institutions and professionals in different social contexts, using a comprehensive, multidisciplinary and multi-professional approach.
The master's degree provides training aimed at advancing knowledge of and research into contemporary processes of globalization and transnationalization. We live in the era of the network society, hypercommunication and flows of labour, cultures and identities (Castells, 1995). These processes have completely transformed the structures, shapes and forms of organization of societies today. They have also led to dramatic changes in our understanding and planning of economic, labour and cultural policies, given that we have gone beyond the limits of city and nation, to reach global dimensions. Changes have occurred in the nature of social, labour and educational relations, and in the challenges and problems that people face in their lives. The new factors introduced by the paradigm shift known as globalization must be understood in depth and examined before we can undertake research on the situation and make proposals on social action approaches.

Learning objectives

The master's degree in Advanced Studies in Social Exclusion aims to satisfy three main objectives:

• To provide training in the theoretical tools and research methods used in the social sciences to analyse social exclusion and inequality in the today's world.
  
• To provide training in the diagnosis and evaluation of complex social situations to inform decision-making at community, institutional and professional levels.
  
• To provide the knowledge and skills to design, manage and oversee social intervention teams and programmes in contexts of exclusion.