University of Parma

Master in Global Food Law: Sustainability Challenges and Innovation

First-year

• Italian and comparative constitutional law on food “in-security” - 12 CFU
• Agenda 2030 as global constitutional law
• Comparative food law between security and innovation
  • Agenda 2030 as global constitutional law
  • Comparative food law between security and innovation
• Food law and agriculture EU policy - 6 CFU
• EU law for food safety, sustainability and climate change - 6 CFU
• Food business operators and private law: liability, contracts, competition - 6 CFU
• Global trade law and food design - 12 CFU
• Global trade law, international commerce and corporate innovation
• Food design and intellectual property rights
  • Global trade law, international commerce and corporate innovation
  • Food design and intellectual property rights
• Cultural and legal history of food - 6 CFU
• Fundamentals of food sciences or Economics of innovation and sustainability - 6 CFU

Second Year

• Food employment law - 6 CFU
• Food and criminal justice - 12 CFU
• Food, crime and law
• Investigative Power and Defensive Rights in Food-related Criminal Proceedings
  • Food, crime and law
  • Investigative Power and Defensive Rights in Food-related Criminal Proceedings

Two elective courses from one of the following lists: 12 CFU

Innovation in the agri-food sector

• Food, communication and fake news - 6 CFU
• Animal welfare - 6 CFU
• Administrative law and sustainable energy in the agri-food sector - 6 CFU
• Risk assessment at the EU level: the role of EFSA - 6 CFU
• The economy of the value chain - 6 CFU
• Sociology of critical food consumption - 6 CFU
• Nudging, behavioural insights and food policy - 6 CFU
• Management accounting - 6 CFU
• Climate change, food and taxation - 6 CFU
• Novel food law in a comparative perspective: cultured meat and beyond - 6 CFU
• Biotechnology and food safety: constitutional principles from GMO to CRISPR - 6 CFU
• Law of the wine sector - 6 CFU
• Consumer behaviour - 6 CFU

or

Sustainability and food systems

• Food, communication and fake news - 6 CFU
• Economic history of Europe and European food - 6 CFU
• Food rituality and cultural justice - 6 CFU
• Food regimes and international security - 6 CFU
• Food law and health protection: a comparative perspective - 6 CFU
• Administrative law and sustainable energy in the agri-food sector - 6 CFU
• Circular economy, materials and waste - 6 CFU
• The economy of the value chain - 6 CFU
• Sociology of critical food consumption - 6 CFU
• Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the agri-food sector - 6 CFU
• Trade union relations in the food industry - 6 CFU
• Management accounting - 6 CFU
• Climate change, food and taxation - 6 CFU
• Food sustainability, international security and human rights - 6 CFU
• Food advertising and labelling regulation - 6 CFU
• Cibus, food in Roman law and society - 6 CFU
• Elective activities2 - 12 CFU
• Visits to organisations and companies/seminars or (only for foreign students) Italian language for foreigners3 - 3 CFU
• Final dissertation - 21

To fulfil TAF C requirements, students must choose two courses (for a total of 12 ECTS) within one of the two groups: Innovation in the Agri-Food Sector and Sustainability and Food Systems.

As for the elective activities/options, students can attain a total of 12 ECTS by combining one or more of the following options:

1. Courses offered within the TAF C modules (in addition to those previously selected); courses delivered in English by the other Degree Programs in the Department or the University; cross-curricular courses in English, as specified year by year by the University and the Course Council; curricular internship activities for 6 ECTS;
2. Professional Skills course (6 ECTS);
3. Instead of a single elective course (TAF D), students may include in their study plan the activities listed below. The earned ECTS must be at least 6 and can be attributed to more than one of the listed activities. Any additional ECTS, beyond the 6 acquired through the listed activities, will still be certified in the student’s academic record.

• “Free participation activities” (sports, cultural, artistic or social activities certified according to the provisions established by the “Regulation for Free Participation Activities”;
• Universal Civil Service: students who have completed national civil service, and expressly require it to be recognized, can be granted 6 ECTS as an elective activity instead of free participation activity recognition established in the point above. To receive credits for Universal Civil Service, the interested student should submit a specific request, fill out the appropriate form and attach the relevant certification. The Course Council will automatically recognize the activity without reviewing the service undertaken by the student. If the student is unwilling or unable to request recognition of the abovementioned activities, the student can request the recognition of 6 ECTS for training internship. In this case, however, the activities undertaken must be consistent with the student’s study plan and the educational programme of the degree course. The activity will be evaluated through the same procedure used – on the didactic level – to determine the equivalence between external activities independently carried out by the student and training internships.

N.B: for courses worth more than 6 ECTS, the credits obtained by passing the exam will still be counted in the student’s academic record as additional credits beyond those required to obtain the degree.

The Italian language proficiency exam is only required for foreign students. Students must however participate in organisations and companies visits and/or seminars. In this case, the 3 ECTS obtained will still be counted in the student’s academic record as additional credits beyond the 120 ECTS required to obtain the degree.

The Course “Global Food Law: Sustainability Challenges and Innovation” will provide interdisciplinary knowledge capable of shaping professional figures acting thoroughly in national and international scenarios - starting with the European one - in which the challenge of sustainability is decided, with particular attention to the agri-food sector and technological innovation.

Job opportunities range from the public to the private sector, in particular, in the positions of Legal Officer and Legal Advisor expert in Food Law, sustainable development and innovation in Public Administration, for-profit and non-profit undertakings and the broader field of liberal professions. Considering a solid legal background coupled with an interdisciplinary methodology, a fresh graduate of the Course “Global Food Law: Sustainability, Challenges and Innovation” could be involved in roles such as but not limited to:

• Management and control specialist in public administrations;
• Management, development and control specialist in private undertakings;
• Legal expert in companies;
• Legal expert in public bodies.

The possibility to carry out training placements in Italy and abroad through the Erasmus+ Internship programme will allow me to face working experiences already during the study period.