Overview

The Executive Master in the Third Sector and Social Enterprise - EMTeSIS is the reference training course for developing advanced skills in the Third Sector. For over ten years, it has been helping people and organizations grow in their ability to generate new social value and assess its impact.

To achieve the great ideal aspirations that move them and drive social innovation, non-profit organizations are called upon to renew themselves in the planning, design, data analysis and, in general, in the managerial skills necessary to respond more effectively to new social needs.

For this reason, the Master's programme addresses in depth all the crucial issues to support the creative, lasting and sustainable development of established social enterprises or at the beginning of their journey.

OPEN LESSON - Financing Strategies Module

2026-03-19T00:00:00+01:00

The Master's Degree in the Third Sector and Social Enterprise is for you if you are:

an entrepreneur who intends to develop a social start-up idea or wants to acquire new skills for social innovation
a manager or professional who already works in profit or social enterprises looking for specific managerial training to cover a relevant role in the non-profit organization
a young person eager to build the foundations of a managerial career in view of subsequent generational transitions

Admission requirement: Bachelor's or Master's degree (or equivalent foreign qualification) from any faculty.

Non-graduate candidates may also be admitted, if they have gained professional experience in the Third Sector. At the end of the course, a certificate of participation as an auditor will be issued.

What Makes EMTeSIS Unique

A complete path, from the knowledge of the regulatory framework of the Third Sector, to the creation of fundraising and communication campaigns.
Personalization of the path: choose between a managerial address and an entrepreneurial address , depending on your training needs .
A window on the current events of the Third Sector, starting with the possibilities, challenges (and risks) of AI for non-profit professionals.
An exceptional faculty, which brings together university professors and qualified professionals from the Third Sector.
Support of an individual tutor in the development of the project work.

Program

Built with a practical and laboratory teaching approach, the course has a customizable structure that includes a series of common teachings for all participants and two specialization tracks: Social Entrepreneur and Third Sector Manager.

During the Master's course, each participant will have to apply the new skills acquired in an individual Project Work: a Business Plan on an existing startup idea or social enterprise (entrepreneurial track); or a Development Program for the improvement of an area of one's organization (managerial track).

The programme is developed over 12 months and is designed to be compatible with work: two days of face-to-face lessons per month in our classrooms in Milan (on Thursdays and Fridays), complemented by online sessions . The courses are focused on central issues for the Third Sector:

Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation

Among the core teachings

Data analysis, data visualization and impact measurement

Among the core teachings

Co-design, Euro-planning and funding strategies

Among the core teachings

Plans, communication strategies and Pitch Labs

Among the core teachings

Project management, leadership and human resources

Managerial track

Social Business Model Canvas, business planning and impact investing

Entrepreneurial track

Carica Altro

Faculty

Luca Pesenti

Associate Professor of General Sociology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart; Senior lecturer ALTIS

Carica Altro

University Professors

Mara Gorli - Italia | Full Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology
Luisa Lovisolo - Italia | Adjunct Professor and holder of the Euro-planning Laboratory
Andrea Mezzadri - Italia | ALTIS Researcher and Professor of Business Administration, referent of the entrepreneurial track of the Master
Patrizia Musso - Italia | Adjunct Professor in History and Languages of Advertising and Forms and Strategies of Digital Communication
Andrea Paolo Perrone - Italia | Full Professor of Commercial Law, Director of CESEN
Tommaso Saltini | Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurial Finance and Business Planning, Director of the Holy Land Association

Teachers from the Third Sector or working in it

Alberto Busnelli - Italia | Consultant in the field of human resources, organizational and leadership development
Stefano Cedrone | Social innovation designer at Human Foundation
Raffaella Colasurdo - Italia | Head of the Organization, Personnel and Evaluation Function, Fondo Italiano d'Investimento SGR SpA
Antonio Costantini | Director of the Services for Personal Care and the Fight against Urban Poverty of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia
Mattia Dell'Era | Chief digital officer, Fondazione Dynamo Camp Onlus
Christian Elevate | Expert Consultant, Co-Founder of ChangeLab and Founder of Mapping Change
Simona Ferrante - Italia | Project Manager at Human Foundation
Fabio Fraticelli | Chief Executive Officer of SocialTechno Impresa Sociale | TechSoup UK
Niccolò Gennaro | Director of the CSV of Padua Rovigo
Valentina Langella - Italia | PhD in Management; Head of the ALTIS Advisory impact area; ISVI President
Filippo Montesi - Italia | Senior Officer and head of the training & capacity building area at Human Foundation, contact person for the Master's managerial track
Elena Zanella | Sole Director Elena Zanella S.r.l. Fundraising Academy & Consulting

Partners

The Master's makes use of the contribution and collaboration of bodies and organizations active in the Third Sector and social innovation.

Main Partner
Partners
Patronage

Alumni

Would you like to talk to those who have already attended the Master?

Contact one of the Master's Ambassadors for an agile and direct exchange of views.

Nicoletta Arrivabene

Director of the Training and Research Centre of the Cottolengo Hospital

Write to Nicoletta

Daniela Bernacchi

Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network Italy

Write to Daniela

Giuseppe La Rocca

Director, Community Foundation of Agrigento and Trapani

Write to Giuseppe

Alessandro Zanardi

General Manager of an SME; General Manager La nuvola nel sacco Onlus

Write to Alessandro

Carica Altro

Useful info

Applications can be submitted via the admission portal, attaching the following documentation. Applications will be evaluated in order of arrival and, if eligible, candidates will be called for a motivational interview with the Master's Direction.

Application deadline: 11 May 2026

Log in to the admission portal

Self-certification* of the degree title with the list of exams taken. Download the form
Identity card and tax code
CV and passport-sized photo
Motivational letter, with a brief explanation of why you wish to attend the Master (max one A4 page)
Residence permit (only for non-EU citizens)

Log in to the admission portal

For more information on how to register on the portal, see the online application guide.

To participate in the program, you must graduate by April 2026.

The registration fee for the Master is €7,500, to be paid in four installments. The first instalment of €1,500 is required at the time of enrolment.

The benefits cannot be combined and apply upon completion of the Master's enrolment process.

Early bird: € 6,750 fee for those who register by 3 March 2026
Employees and children: € 6,375 fee for:
- Employees and children of employees of ALTIS' strategic partners.
- Employees and children of employees of clients of ALTIS Advisory Srl SB, E4Impact and Associates of Sustainability Makers.
ALTIS Alumni: fee of € 6,375 for ALTIS Alumni already registered in the LinkedIn group at the time of enrolment
UCSC Alumni: reduced fee to € 7,125 for Alumni enrolled in the premium services of the UCSC Alumni Community
Multiple Enrollments:
- Fee of € 6,000 for registrations by 2-5 individuals from the same organization or family unit
- Fee of € 5,625 for registrations by 6+ companies from the same company or family unit

On this page you can find all the other financial benefits and scholarships offered by Università Cattolica and other bodies and institutions.

Want to know more? Contact us for assistance and answers to your questions by writing to emtesis.altis@unicatt.it or calling 351.7886259.

Interprofessional Funds - Fon.Coop

The EMTeSIS Executive Master has been accredited by Fon.Coop and is published in the Fund's Course Showcase. Click here and type "EMTESIS" in the keyword search box.

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, as the training provider, provides an assistance service to organisations wishing to make use of interprofessional funds.
Visit the website to request information.

Please note: the disbursing body must be indicated as Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, to which the Graduate Schools system, such as ALTIS, belongs.

On merit. The loan that believes in your talent

Per Merito is dedicated to students who meet specific merit requirements. The Loan takes place in three distinct phases: the opening of credit on a current account, the "bridge period" or "moratorium" during which the student has the opportunity to decide how to repay the sums used with the credit opening and the financing, where chosen as the method of repayment of the Loan.
Go to the Banca Intesa website

Tuition fee deductions

Pursuant to the Ministerial Decree of 23 December 2021, tuition fees, for enrolment in all first and second level university Master's at the Milan, Brescia and Piacenza campuses, are deductible at 19% for a maximum amount of €3,700 (regardless of the specialising Master's subject area).

The deduction is granted on condition that you are in possession of receipts for payment of fees made by MAV, bank transfer or by credit card or other payment systems.

For information on the deductibility of education expenses, click here.

Workers with a VAT number who attend a master's degree can take advantage of a tax saving. As an alternative to the 19% deduction, they will have the possibility to deduct from their income the cost of attending the master, including any travel and accommodation expenses, up to a maximum of €10,000.

Tutor bag

ALTIS | 1 scholarship of € 1,875, to partially cover the registration fee. Selected candidates will be able to be involved by the teachers and referents of the program in activities to support the technical and relational dynamics of the classroom and will have the opportunity to participate with greater involvement in the planning of teaching activities.

Read the announcement

Scholarship Application Deadline: March 31, 2026

Partner Exchanges

Fondazione Asilo Mariuccia | 2 scholarships of € 2,500 each, to partially cover the registration fee. In particular:

1 "Women's Empowerment" contribution for a female candidate with sensitivity or experience on the issue of combating gender-based violence, linked to the development, within the Master's course, of a project work on the issues of female empowerment, the enhancement of skills and professional opportunities for women from disadvantaged backgrounds and/or victims of violence;
1 "NEET Project" contribution for candidates with sensitivity or experience on the job placement of fragile subjects, linked to the development, within the Master, of an entrepreneurship project work aimed at young NEETs.

Read the announcement for the 2 scholarships

Scholarship Application Deadline: March 31, 2026

Scholarships are assimilated to income from employment and as such subject to taxation. They are therefore to be considered gross of any withholding taxes.

Following admission, candidates will be notified by email and through the admission portal.
Admitted candidates, within 5 days of communication , must upload the payment data of the first instalment and the documents requested in the admission email through the admission portal.

Undergraduate candidates or candidates with a foreign university qualification must complete the pre-enrolment application through the admission portal: once the degree or the Declaration of Value/Diploma Supplement* are considered adequate by the Master's Secretariat, the candidate can proceed with enrolment.

* Candidates with a foreign degree must request the Declaration of Value at the Consular Offices of the country where the degree was obtained. If the degree was obtained in an EU country, candidates can apply for the Diploma Supplement directly from their home university; if the degree has been conferred by a faculty approved by the Holy See, it will be necessary to request authentication by the Holy See and subsequent legalization. Please note that the document must be delivered to the Master's Office in the original paper version. (For more information go to the FAQ).

The maximum number of admitted participants is set at 40.
The Management reserves the right to increase this number or, in the event of an insufficient number of applications, not to activate the Master's course.