Master in Food Communication & Marketing

Quality Law: GIs, intellectual property, novel food issues

• Law and Legislation
• International Law and Geographical Indications

High Quality products: cured meat, chocolate, coffee

History of Quality Food

Quality Wine: knowledge and tastings

• Burgundy and Etna
• Champagne
• VDP, Porto, Cava

Seminars

• Taste Science
• Sensory Analisys
• Quality Beer: Knowledge and Tasting

Marketing

• Marketing
• High-Quality Products Marketing

Trade Marketing

Sociology of Taste: Tools and techniques for social research & digital media

Designing Sustainability

Psychology of Consumers (Consumers' behavior and economic consequences)

• Digital & Social Media Marketing: techniques, cases, practices
• FOOD Entrepreneurship LAB

Seminars

• Innovative marketing Case Studies: Mieli Thun
• Innovative marketing Case Studies: Parla come mangi
• Innovative marketing Case Studies: Acetaia San Giacomo
• Innovative marketing Case Studies: Wakuli

Communication

• Food Communication
• Wine Communication

Case studies: Project Localize: Portraying Sustainability

Sustainable Food Systems

Branded Entertainment - theory and cases

Cook and Release: Designing, Writing and Editing a Cookery Book

Seminars

• Food and Wine Journalism in Italy
• Editing Gastronomic News
• Food Writing for Business
• Cheese Tasting and communicating
• Food Documentary

Every year some of the main experts of the food sector are invited to Pollenzo to teach and share their knowledge. Here below some of most renowned professors and professionals of food, food production, communication and business in the world, which have confirmed their presence at this master program:

Colin Sage (Food and Sustainability)
He retired as a senior lecturer in the UCC Department of Geography and now works as an independent scholar based in Portugal. He continues to develop research in food systems, environmental policy and civic initiatives for social change. He is the author of Environment and Food (Routledge, 2012) and co-editor of Food System Transformations (Routledge 2021), Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Transitions to Sustainability (Routledge, 2017), Food Transgressions: Making Sense of Contemporary Food Policies (Routledge, 2014) and Strategies for Sustainable Development (Wiley, 1994); published 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and delivered more than 100 key lectures and conference papers.

Laura Colm (Marketing)
Laura Colm is a lecturer of Marketing and Sales at SDA Bocconi School of Management. At SDA Bocconi, she began working on research and consultancy projects related to industrial and B2B marketing, focusing on Italy and Germany in 2020.

Douglas Gayeton (Visual Communication)
An American multimedia artist, director, writer and photographer, he splits his time between a farm near Petaluma, California, and Pistoia, a medieval Tuscan town. Together with his wife, Laura Howard, he directs The Lexicon Project. He is the author of Slow: Life in a Tuscan Town and LOCAL: The New Face of Food and Farming in America. His latest film productions include Know Your Food, an award-winning series of short films about food and agriculture produced for PBS; Growing Organic, a series of short films on organic farming for USDA and a series of short films on the pollution of the Mississippi River. Gayeton is also the creator of Delta State and Molotov Alva and His Search for the Creator: A Second Life Odyssey.

Armando Castagno (French terroir)
Born in Rome in 1969, he has a degree in Law and one in Historical-Artistic Studies and wrote about sport from 1986 to 2013. He has been in the world of wine for over twenty years. Speaker, taster, creator and director of in-depth courses throughout Italy for the Italian Sommelier Association, he was the regional referent for the association guide for eleven years.

Juliet Hartbutt (Cheese pairing)
Juliet Harbutt, the author of The World Cheese Book, is the most respected cheese expert in the world. Born in New Zealand, she moved to Britain in 1984 and founded the Jeroboams wine and cheese shop, allegedly one of Britain's best cheese shops, offering more than 250 kinds of French and British artisan cheese. She has also designed and conducted seminars for retailers, wholesalers and many Relais & Châteaux hotels across Great Britain. Her experience was recognized by the French, who made her a member of the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers, Confrérie de Saint-Uguzon. In July 1991, she sold her stake in Jeroboams to focus on writing, consulting and lecturing.

Vincenzo Russo (Neuromarketing)
A professor of Consumer Psychology and Neuromarketing at the IULM Free University of Languages ​​and Communication in Milan. Scientific Director of the Research Center of Neuromarketing Behavior and Brain Lab IULM.

Fulvio Zendrini (Communication )
A consultant for large Italian companies, he is passionate about art, literature, food and music - he even graduated in piano at the Pollini Conservatory of Padua. He is a professor at the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, the University of Friuli in Udine and of Marketing and Communication at the University of Genoa.

Bernard O’Connor (Law and Legislation WTO)
He practices EU and WTO law and manages the Brussels office of Nctm (international law firm). He teaches at the State University of Milan and has written extensively on the legal aspects of trade and commercial remedies, procurement, intellectual property and agriculture. Bernard has participated in many disputes over aspects of EU law in EU and national courts and has acted both for and against the Council and the Commission before the General Court and the Court of Justice. He has appeared before the courts of the WTO, in commercial arbitration and at the European Court of Human Rights. He advises governments, international institutions, trade associations, public and private companies in the fields of trade, trade defence, state aid, procurement, intellectual property and agriculture. He is recognized in Chambers and Legal 500 as a leading lawyer in Brussels.

Carmine Garzia (Strategy)
Carmine Garzia is Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Italian-speaking Switzerland and Head of Research at the Department of Business, Health and Social Economics (DEASS). He is the lecturer in charge of the Entrepreneurial Strategy course at the Bocconi University of Milan and the Business Economics and Competitive Intelligence courses at the University of Italian Switzerland (USI). He carries out applied research activities for companies and institutions in the context of strategic analysis and innovation processes.

Andrea Ordanini (Trade Marketing)
He graduated in Business Administration from Bocconi University (1993), worked as a visiting researcher at the London School of Economics in Political Sciences (1997), did his doctorate in Business Administration at the University of Pavia (1999) and took summer courses in MSc Social Science Data Analysis at the University of Essex (2003 and 2005). He was a visiting professor at the University of California at Irvine (2003 and 2006), an associate professor of Marketing at Bocconi University (2004-2011), a full professor of Marketing at Bocconi University (2012) and Department Director (2013-2019). BNP Paribas Endowed Chair in Marketing and Service Analytics (2018).

UNISG Study Trips are a unique opportunity for our students to investigate the complexity of current food systems in the world by integrating theoretical concepts from the classroom with direct and practical experience in the field.

An integral part of each master program are the three territorial study trips (one in Italy, and two abroad), designed to allow our students to discover a wide variety of local products and reflect on how they connect to their environmental, economic, and social context.

This is the 360° learning experience: gastronomy defined not only by the flavour, nutritional value, and molecular composition of food, but also an understanding from a socio-cultural, anthropological, and economic perspective derived from their experience in the field.  These trips focus on the various phases of food production, from the raw material to the final distribution and communication strategies, of both artisanal and industrial products.

The organization of and planning of the didactic content and travel logistics is managed by the staff of the Tutor Office, who also accompany the students during the trip.

More information >

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have developed new strategies that allow us to adjust our study trip offer according to present and potential future measures, always staying true to our experiential study approach.

The Career Center supports UNISG students during the delicate transition into the professional world. While the students are here in Pollenzo, the Career Center provides constant support to develop their own unique career design through the “Cultivating your Career” program, which consists of collective workshops and individual coaching sessions.

Through the Career Fair and the Career Center website, the office helps students in gaining a better understanding of different professional sectors to start or continue their career.

Upon graduation, the Career Center continues monitoring the Alumni career, fostering a strong and active professional network that puts together new and experienced gastronomes worldwide.

Read some Gastronomes’ stories >

Discover the fields in which Gastronomes work > 

The university fee for the Master program in Food Communication & Marketing is €16,500.
The fee includes:

• all academic activities, including conferences, tastings, and seminars;
• study material (in digital format);
• all study trip expenses as programmed, including travel, food and lodging;
• participation in many UNISG and Slow Food events as included in the Master program;
• private insurance policy covering urgent healthcare for non-European students;
• access to Career Center services (food sector job placement);
• enrollment certificates, official transcripts, receipts of payment and international legalization of diploma for non-Italian students, including mailing fees.

Note: Fees do not include  accommodation and the cost of obtaining an Italian permit of stay (“permesso di soggiorno”, around €150). Non-EU citizens must apply for a permesso di soggiorno at the post office, ideally with the assistance of the Al Elka Foreigner Services Center, within 8 working days after arriving in Italy. For more information, please see the International Student Start Point page on our website.

Further information about fee payment regulations >

Financial Aid & Scholarships >

1. A three-year undergraduate "first-level" degree (or equivalent):
   • Applicants not in possession of a three-year university degree equivalent to a Bachelor’s may still apply and be admitted to the Master under auditor status, obtaining a Certificate of Attendance upon successful completion of the program;
   • Degrees accredited outside of Italy must be submitted together with a legalization document attesting to both the equivalency and authenticity of the diploma.
2. Proficiency in written and spoken English:
   • Certifications of English proficiency are not required.

Important Information

• Students from all countries are eligible to apply.
•  In order to obtain a study visa, non-EU students must obtain a consular appointment, generally through the Prenot@mi website, prior to admission or as early as possible, as dates are limited, as well as complete a consular pre-enrollment process through the Universitaly portal.
• For more information, please see "Apply for a study visa and legalize academic titles" on the "International Student Start Point" page of our website. Here is the link.

Learn more about admission process >