Course Presentation

The Master's Degree Course in ‘Economic Development and International Relations’ (SERI) is aimed at students interested in a multidisciplinary education in economics, law, political science and history, which is indispensable for the analysis and interpretation of global phenomena. The multidisciplinary approach of the Course provides a broad and in-depth view of the complex and dynamic international reality, also linking up with the tradition of internationalist studies that has long characterised the University of Pavia.

The main disciplines that contribute to the training of SERI graduates (economics, law, political and social sciences, history, languages) are fundamental for understanding the different dynamics interacting in the international system and provide a preparation based on different methodological approaches, through which globalisation and the transformation of international structures are studied and interpreted.

Among the topics to which particular attention is devoted in SERI are international cooperation and development economics, integration processes and mechanisms in the various regions of the globe, relations between industrialised and emerging countries, the role of international organisations, and the international policy of the various national and multilateral actors.

The course teaches data analysis methodologies and statistical techniques that are fundamental to understanding international reality, using quantitative and qualitative information. In several courses, workshops are held in which students learn how to use statistical packages such as STATA and R to analyse economic and political data.

There are also numerous opportunities to attend seminars organised by the Department, the University Colleges and the IUSS on international topics or to participate in intensive courses in Italy or abroad. Short thematic courses held by visiting professors from the best foreign universities are often offered as part of the courses in the curriculum.

For SERI students there are numerous opportunities to carry out part of their studies abroad through the Erasmus + programmes, the Cooperation and Knowledge Fund, the Giovanni Manera study awards and other initiatives promoted by the University of Pavia. More information at this link.

SERI was established in 2018 following a renewal process of the Master's Degree Course in Economics, Politics and International Institutions, from which it inherited - innovating them - its strengths. The Honorary Degree in Economics, Politics and International Institutions was awarded in 2005 to Prof. Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate in Economics, and in 2015 to President Emeritus Giorgio Napolitano.