About MLS

The Msc in Management of Human Resources and Labour Studies (MLS) is an inspiring and challenging two-year programme that complements a business and management orientation with rigorous, interdisciplinary social science training, all from a comparative perspective.The distinctive nature of the programme lies in its comparative approach, strong orientation toward analytics, and the adoption of a learning-by-doing teaching approach which is enriched by laboratories, guest speakers, and events. The programme furnishes access to a network of practitioners, companies, and institutions to enlarge the breadth of learning by the students. The course encourages students to extend their learning at the international level by joining the European Master in Labour Studies, and it provides opportunities for internships and Erasmus exchange programs. The programme offers two curricula entirely taught in English and which represent two interconnected aspects of the area of Management of Human Resources and Labour Studies:

  1. The Human Resource Management and Employment Relations curriculum prepares students for a career in human resource management at the global level, with specific attention to a multidisciplinary set of competencies covering diverse topics like labour law, labour economics, industrial relations, organizational behaviour, as well as the different HR practices.
  2. The Comparative Social Policy and Employment Relations curriculum prepares students for careers as social and labour policy analysts, project officers or policymakers, in the private and public sector, in applied research, social research institutions, public administrations, European and international institutions, NGOs. Its graduates are qualified to start an academic career at international academic institutions in the social science field.

    Key features of the programme include:

    • helping students to recognize and master the social science basis and inter-disciplinary nature of employment and labour regulation at both the systemic (policy-related) and organizational (HRM) level
    • enabling students to analyse and evaluate decisions in the realm of employment and labour from different perspectives
    • providing methodological support for decision analysis and decision-making
    • by promoting critical and argumentative thinking
    • comparing contexts and decisions in a comparative and global perspective

    In addition, each of the two curricula has specific key features:

    • Human Resource Management and Employment Relations (HRMER): analysis and evaluation of HR policies and approaches, design of HR practices, and change management of HR practices by adopting advanced methodologies, analytical tools and quantitative and qualitative techniques
    • Comparative Social Policy and Employment Relations (CSPER): identification of socio-economic change at the domestic, European and global level, analysis of the interdependence between States and markets in advanced economies from a political economy, economic sociology and law perspective, a focus on social innovation and the welfare mix in contemporary policy responses.
      • Emphasis on multidisciplinarity and connected learning experiences across different courses
      • Problem-based learning, with examples, experiences, case studies, active learning techniques
      • Intense participation by practitioners and business organizations
      • Emphasis on evidence-based methods and HR metrics