The initiatives undertaken at the international and EU level over the last years clearly show that the reach for a sustainable development, i.e. for ensuring a development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (“Our Common Future”, World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987), has become a primary global concern.

In fact, such issue has been recently set out as an overarching objective by the international community in the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (“The future we want”, Rio+20, building a “post-2015” strategy). Within the framework of the European Union, the aim to mainstream and horizontally integrate sustainable development into a wide range of policies has been identified from 2001 and still constitutes a major concern.

In this context, it is generally recognized that strong links exist between the rule of law, economic development and poverty eradication: jurists therefore have a major role to play in building sustainable development. As the European Commission has highlighted, “sustainable development will not be brought about by policies only: it must be taken up by society at large as a principle guiding the many choices each citizen makes every day, as well as the big political and economic decisions that have to be taken. This requires profound changes in thinking, in economic and social structures and in consumption and production patterns” (European Commission’s website).

Taking into account such concerns and objectives, the new LL.M. in Sustainable Development at the University of Milan offers graduates with, in particular, a background of studies in Law, Economics, Political and Social Sciences, as well as International Relations, the opportunity to acquire a solid and in-depth knowledge of the issues relating to sustainable development, both from a local and an international perspective.

The two-years Programme, fully taught in English, aims at training a new generation of legal experts, equipping them with an interdisciplinary knowledge in the legal, economic and social areas. The advanced courses offered touch on a variety of different legal areas, such as (inter alia) International Law, European Union Law, Administrative Law, Environmental Law, as well as on economic and sociological disciplines, e.g. Sociology, Geo-political Geography, Applied Economics, etc.

Accordingly, during the first year of attendance, the Programme allows students to build a strong basis of primary skills, which are crucial to understand the complexity and the interdependencies of the notion and the dimensions of sustainable development. The second year offers a wide range of specialized courses and can be tailored to the students’ preferences and needs, with the possibility to choose within two main streams: “Human Rights and Social Development”, or “Development Economics, Trade, Finance, Investment, Competition”. Both curricula have a strong practical focus, in order to provide students with a hands-on understanding of the relevant issues through trainings, internships and other external activities.

Students will therefore achieve the necessary skills to elaborate, support and assess sustainable legal and economic policies and strategies both in the Public and Private Sectors.

Further information on the LL.M. Programme can be found at the following links:

http://www.llmsd.unimi.it/

http://www.llmsd.unimi.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/LLM_0703.pdf (flyer)

http://www.unimi.it/ENG/courses/78653.htm (guided application for international students)

For inquiries please e-mail llm@unimi.it

Please note that the deadline for applications is September 10, 2015.