Master in Economics and Development

The MSc in Economics and Development offers lessons and research projects in the heart of Florence. With its interdisciplinary approach to the teaching of economics and an excellent student to staff ratio, this MSc offers an international environment thanks to its students which come from all over the world, and its teaching staff from the Department of Economics and Management, the Department of Statistics, the Department of Law, and the Department of Political Science of the University of Florence together with visiting professors from other universities around the world.

The MSc in Economics and Development provides two curricula: a curriculum in Development Economics and a curriculum in Economics. Each curriculum prepares students for different careers, and it is a worthy experience which equips students with advanced tools to conduct theoretical and applied research in the fields of economics or economic development, to collect and analyse quantitative and qualitative information from local, national and international datasets, and to use economic and econometric methods to evaluate and formulate global and sectoral economic policies.

Both curricula provide students with a competitive advantage in any profession that requests a diversified spectrum of skills to analyse and possibly solve socio-economic problems within international organisations, companies or governments. Key competences acquired by graduates and which are highly valued by employers include solid economic knowledge, problem-solving skills, analytical thinking, and economic intuition. A sound background in economics and quantitative methods is matched with a multidisciplinary approach (legal, business, finance, historic, etc.) to allow students to develop other useful skills for the job market.

The University of Florence dates back to the Studium Generale set up by the Florentine Republic in 1321. It has had very famous scholars (Galileo Galilei) and professors as well as the two most recent Italian Prime Ministers (Giuseppe Conte and Mario Draghi). Only in 1923 however, the University acquired its actual name and was transformed into a modern comprehensive university, with its 21 Departments and 10 Schools.

The Unifi offers 127 Bachelor's Degrees 57 Masters's Degrees, 9 Long-cycle degrees, 24 PhD Programs and over 50 specialization schools. Amongst those programmes, over 40 are international: 10 taught in English and 31 with double or joint degrees. Within most degree programs, courses in English are offered.

Unifi is one of the most popular Universities for Erasmus students (over 900 incoming a year) and is part of EUniWell, a European Universities Alliance. The network has identified four key areas for research and teaching, closely linked to UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The University of Florence is one of the most important Italian public universities and has a strong international vocation. It fosters cooperation with academic and research institutions all over the world and welcomes foreign teaching staff, researchers and students to promote cultural and scientific internationalization. To this end, through its Departments and Schools, the University promotes the hospitality of highly qualified guests from all over the world.

Moreover, it traditionally devotes particular attention to the development of collaborative relationships with foreign universities and to the process of internationalization, which has become a strategic and dominant aspect of the life of the university in research, teaching, the organization of study programmes, mobility of teachers, researchers and students.

For these reasons, the University of Florence qualifies itself as one of the privileged destinations for international guests.

Welcome Service

The Welcome Service helps international students, PhD students, fellows, researchers and professors hosted by the University of Florence within specific European or International projects to find suitable accommodation in town.

The Welcome Service can book the guests in the university residences and other local accommodation facilities and provides information on online platforms for finding accommodation.

Studying in Florence

One hundred and forty-six degree courses (first and second level and single-cycle) of which 15 are in English, organised into 10 Schools, a total population of around fifty-one thousand enrolled, a quarter of whom come from outside the region. The University of Florence is a large university, with a very wide range of courses spanning all subject areas. There are over nine thousand graduates every year in Florence. Moreover, the percentage of Florentine graduates in work one year after graduating is above the national average, according to Almalaurea data.