European Joint Master Degree 

DIGISOC

DIGITAL SOCIETY, SOCIAL INNOVATION AND GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP

Shape The Future Of The Digital Society

The European Joint Master Degree Digital Society, Social Innovation and Global Citizenship (DIGISOC) is a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and international study programme designed to prepare students for leadership in digital transformation and social innovation.

Offered as part of the EURIDICE Project DIGISOC combines advanced digital competencies with in-depth social innovation knowledge, focusing particularly on three critical sectors of society: Education, Communication, Culture.

The DIGISOC Joint Master Degree Programme is an initiative of three Degree Awarding Universities, the University of Naples Federico II (Italy), the University of Innsbruck (Austria), and the Palacký University Olomouc (Czechia), supported by three Associated Universities, the Univerzita Pavla Jozefa Safarika V Kosiciach (Slovakia), the University Lusòfona (Portugal), and the University Paris-Est Créteil (France).

For each academic year, the DIGISOC is open to 90 well-motivated and qualified candidates, holding a Bachelor Degree in diverse fields.

Candidates who don't hold a Bachelor Degree can apply to DIGISOC on the condition to obtain it by the 31st July before the start of the academic year they are enrolling for. Candidates applying to DIGISOC must also prove English language skills at level B2 at the time of admission.

Students are enrolled at all three Awarding Universities, but primarily attend courses at one of them. Courses will be mainly held in hybrid mode.

Location of lectures for University of Naples Federico II: Department of Social Sciences, S. Giovanni a Teduccio University Campus.

Scientific Coordinator: Prof. Emiliano Grimaldi

What makes DIGISOC unique

1.    Interdisciplinary Education: DIGISOC is an excellence-oriented, research-based and highly interdisciplinary teaching programme.

2.    Summer Schools and International mobility: DIGISOC is based on a diverse learning environment, innovative teaching methods, and international mobility.

3.    European Joint Master: DIGISOC promotes a joint transnational education, resulting in a joint degree and joint micro-credentials.

4.    Collaboratorium and hybrid learning: DIGISOC combines hybrid, seamless, collaborative and challenge-based educational environment.

• Career perspectives

DIGISOC trains experts in socio-digital innovation, i.e. highly qualified graduates in the theories and techniques of digital communication for social innovation.

In particular, DIGISOC graduates will be highly qualified figures for the design, prototyping, implementation and promotion/diffusion of digital solutions for sustainable social innovation in three critical societal sectors:

·      Education

·      Social, political and public communication

·      Cultural industry

Graduates of this Joint Master will be able to:

·      Fostering socio-digital innovation in communication, culture and education through research-based creative design and development;

·      Designing socio-digital innovation in a human-centred perspective;

·      Promoting Sustainability Management in the field of socio-digital innovation.

Graduates acquire a comprehensive set of skills that blend specialized technical knowledge with the ability to think critically and act ethically.

This unique combination prepares professionals for a wide range of career paths in consulting, digital innovation and transformation, project and product management, research, as well as academic and leadership roles at a national and international level in public, private and third sector organizations:

●      Analysis, design, prototyping and creation of hybrid, integrated and sustainable applications and communication systems, with particular reference to digital and multimedia environments and contents;

●      Design, management and evaluation of sustainable socio-digital innovation projects;

●      Digital Innovation Management consultancy services, through design and creative development based on research;

●      Consultancy services for the design of socio-digital innovation from a User Experience perspective;

●      Consultancy services for Sustainability Management in the field of socio-digital innovation.

As a study programme grounded in academic excellence and practical relevance, DIGISOC allows its graduates to successfully apply for various post-graduate courses. These include international Doctorates or Masters on topics related to Digital Society and Digital Innovation, as well as professionalising internships in companies and/or in research and cultural institutes in the European context and beyond.

• Study Plan

The DIGISOC Joint Master Degree Programme consists of 120 ECTS credits, culminating in the writing of a Master's thesis. It incorporates both compulsory and elective modules, as well as short term mobility phases (Summer Schools), provisions for individual learning paths, internships and service learning, respecting the needs and interests of a diverse European student body.

DIGISOC is taught in English and mostly delivered in a hybrid mode.

Learning Objectives

The DIGISOC Joint Master has three learning objectives:

1. Enabling students to develop an advanced knowledge in:

●      theories on digital society, with a specific focus on information, culture, communication and education

●      global citizenship for sustainable development in the digital age

●      social innovation as a set of theories and methods to address pressing unmet societal needs through the value-oriented design, development and management of innovative socio-digital practices

2. Strengthen students' attitude towards scientific knowledge and research, involving them in a highly innovative, hybrid, laboratory-oriented learning environment (the Collaboratorium) and in a specialized interdisciplinary education in design approaches and methodologies.

3. Allow students to develop professional competences in:

●      the application of a theoretically-informed and critical multidisciplinary approach to the design, prototyping, implementation and promotion/dissemination of original, innovative and sustainable socio-digital solutions, content and approaches consistent with the peculiarities of three sectors of society that deal with digitalization and the impacts of information and communication technologies (ICTs): cultural industry, public, social and political communication and education, both at the national and international level;

●      the ability to apply digital design and communication skills in public, private and third sector organizations for the production of digitally-based multimedia communication prototypes and the related social, cultural, political and promotional content.

The DIGISOC Study Plan is structured in two years:

Year I – 60 ECTS: 5 compulsory Modules (52 ECTS credits) , 1 compulsory Summer School II (8 ECTS credits)

Year II – 60 ECTS: 1 Specializing Module (20 ECTS credits), Elective Modules (10 ECTS credits), International Service Learning or Internship (Social Innovation Project) (10 ECTS credits), Master's thesis and Defense of the thesis (20 ECTS credits).

• Notes to the Study Plan

a) Joint Summer School I is in person, it is held at the opening of the Year I and is offered jointly by all degree-awarding universities. Held in turn in one of the degree-awarding universities campuses, it serves as an introduction to the key themes of the study programme.

b) Year I Compulsory Modules and Year II Specializing and Elective Modules are held in hybrid mode (in presence and in blended/flipped mode) by teams of teachers belonging to the degree-awarding and associated universities.

c) At the end of Year I, students will have to choose between 1 of three Summer Schools II, dedicated to education, public, social and political communication or cultural industries. Summer Schools II are in person.

d) In Year II, students have the possibility to acquire 10 ECTS credits selecting between a vast choice of Elective Modules. DIGISOC provides a recommended list of Elective Modules offered by its Associated Universities. 

e) In Year II students will have the opportunity to carry out a Service Learning activity or, alternatively, an International Internship at one of the companies and organizations involved in the EURIDICE Project (which counts among its 27 partners various SMEs and Institutes of Research and cultural promotion with a high rate of digital innovation) or other affiliated international bodies.

• Admission procedure

DIGISOC is open to 90 students per academic year: 30 places will be available in each of the three degree-awarding universities (30 in Italy, 30 in Austria, 30 in Czechia).

Students are enrolled at all degree-awarding universities, but primarily they attend courses at one of them.

When applying to DIGISOC, through the dedicated Application Form , candidates can state their preferences (1st, 2nd and 3rd choice), indicating in which of the degree-awarding universities they prefer to attend onsite hybrid courses.

Fairness and equal opportunities of access for all qualified candidates will be ensured through a selection procedure based on an online supervised test.

The admission test will consist of 80 multiple choice questions in English, aimed at verifying students' critical thinking competences. A selection committee will review the results of the test to determine the eligibility of applicants.

Details on the test syllabus and how to get prepared to the test can be found in the DIGISOC Call for Participation .

• Admission Requirements

To apply to DIGISOC, candidates need:

1. to have a Bachelor Degree in one of the following fields of the European ISCED-F 2013 classification or another qualification recognized as equivalent:

●      011 Education

●      018 Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving education

●      021 Arts

●      022 Humanities (except languages)

●      023 Languages

●      028 Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving arts and humanities

●      031 Social and behavioral sciences

●      032 Journalism and information

●      038 Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving social sciences, journalism and information

●      041 Business and administration

●      042 Law

●      048 Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving business, administration and law

●      052 Environment

●      054 Mathematics and statistics

●      061 Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)

●      068 Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving Information and Communication Technologies

●      0714 Electronics and automation

●      073 Architecture and construction

●      092 Welfare

●      098 Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving health and welfare

●      101 Personal services

●      1022 Occupational health and safety

●      108 Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving services

Candidates who don't hold yet a Bachelor Degree can apply to DIGISOC on the condition to obtain it by the 31st July before the start of the academic year they are enrolling for. After meeting this condition, the candidates can be enrolled.

2. to be able to use the English language fluently, in written and oral form, also with reference to disciplinary lexicons with at least a B2 level of competence of the CEFR, providing appropriate certification.

Candidates who don't have a certification of English language proficiency within the application deadline, can apply to DIGISOC on the condition to obtain it by the date of enrollment.

• How to apply

To apply into the DIGISOC master, candidates will have to fill and send in relevant information through the DIGISOC Application Form (https://digitalsociety4innovation.eu).

The application process is facilitated by the University of Naples Federico II.

For any questions candidates can write to euridice@unina.it

Details on the Application procedure can be found in the DIGISOC Call for Participation 

• Costs and Scholarships

To enroll to DIGISOC, by no later than August 1, 2025, admitted candidates will receive, at the email address provided in their application, detailed instructions for completing the payment of the registration fees.

Specifically, candidates must pay per academic year:

●       a one-time application fee of €2,000.00;

●      a regional tax of €167.50;

●      a stamp duty of €16.00.

Candidates will have to pay the same tuition fees to the coordinating university, University of Naples Federico II, on a yearly basis.

• Preliminary time schedule and Application procedure

• In case of remaining places

• Contact and information

Coordinating University:

University of Naples Federico II, Department of Social Sciences

Address: Vico Monte della Pietà 1, 80138, Naples, Italy

E-mail: euridice@unina.it

Website: www.digitalsociety4innovation.eu/

For general questions write to or ask for: Antonella Lupoli, Rosanna Marino

(Phone: +39 0812535295)

For study related questions write to or ask for: Beatrice Fiore, Fabrizio Di Meo

(Phone: +39 0812535884)