Master in Sociology and Social Research
Trento, Italy
Master degree
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
04 Mar 2026*
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 4,500 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for non-EU citizens residing abroad: 4 March 2026 | for EU citizens and non-EU citizens regularly residing in Italy: from May to December 2026
** EU: 340€-3400€ (fee range based on personal income and merit) | non-EU: 1000€-4500€ (fee range based on merit only, i.e. score in the application evaluation).
Key Summary
This Master’s degree is a two-year program that provides advanced training for positions of the social researcher in private research institutes in the field of marketing and communication, customer satisfaction and opinion research, as well as in public research institutions (for instance, institutes and foundations involved in education research or in the analysis of labour market and welfare trends). This Master's also provides a strong background for students interested in doctoral studies in the field of sociology and social research.
Specifically, this Master's program equips students with an in-depth knowledge of statistical and qualitative techniques to analyse social trends. The methodology courses of the first year have a strong applied orientation, as they entail the active participation of students in laboratory activities and seminars (for example, learning how to design a questionnaire, building a web survey, learning how to use statistical software, carrying out in-depth interviews and focus groups).
The Master has a strong international orientation. The courses are taught in English, students are funded to spend study periods abroad in European and non-European countries and we have double degree agreements with the prestigious universities of Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain), Tilburg (the Netherlands), Bamberg (Germany), Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (Germany), Higher School of Economics National Research University St. Petersburg (Russia), as well as a double degree with the university of Karls-Franzens-Universität Graz (Austria).
The first year is entirely devoted to theoretical and methodology courses offered to all students that cover not only sociological methods, but also interdisciplinary methods for historical and political research.
The second year provides students with a sociological specialisation through elective courses, internship, thesis seminar and thesis drafting for the final dissertation.
This Master’s degree is a two-year program that provides advanced training for positions of the social researcher in private research institutes in the field of marketing and communication, customer satisfaction and opinion research, as well as in public research institutions (for instance, institutes and foundations involved in education research or in the analysis of labour market and welfare trends). This Master's also provides a strong background for students interested in doctoral studies in the field of sociology and social research.
The number of international exchange opportunities offered to students by the University of Trento is significant at all levels of study (Bachelor, Master, and Doctorate). The University management is strongly convinced that experience in two different institutions can do a lot to improve the skills of the students and to strengthen their curriculum for their occupational future at a national, European and international level.
Scholarships and tuition fees for Non-EU Citizens living abroad
Top-scored candidates will be entitled to receive a UniTrento scholarship assigned by the Evaluation Committee based on the application score. Tuition fees are waived for students who receive a UniTrento scholarship.
The amount of tuition fees for Non-EU applicants living abroad is related to the application score obtained during the selection. For more information, check the UniTrento scholarships web page.
Scholarships and tuition fees for EU Citizens and non-EU citizens regularly living in Italy
DSU (Diritto allo Studio Universitario) Scholarships are available for EU citizens and non-EU citizens living in Italy who meet the ISEE requirements based on the family income. Further information is available on Scholarships starting from June/July.
Details about tuition fees and ISEE are available on the Opera Universitaria web page.
We are the leading department in Italy in the field of sociological research, and we have international research collaborations with several prestigious universities, including Oxford, Yale, and Berkley.
The University of Trento is ranked first in the national ranking of Italian Universities published yearly by the Italian Ministry of Education. The University of Trento, despite its small size, if compared with the top universities, is steadily ranked among the 500 top universities in both the Times Higher Education and QS World University Rankings.
It has also been ranked among the best Italian Universities by the Times Higher Education (THE) international ranking.