Structure of the programme WOCC

Structure of the programme WOCC

To provide students with a solid foundation in labor and employment analysis, the first semester includes six core modules. The content was jointly designed by the partners and enables students to acquire the theoretical and methodological knowledge necessary to choose their specialization track in subsequent semesters.

Language Module

5 ECTS

  • Certification in English/Spanish for social sciences and labor relations - Strengthening academic and professional language skills in the chosen specialization language

Fundamental Knowledge Acquisition Modules

15 ECTS

Fundamentals of Social Sciences of Work (5 ECTS)

  • Sociological, economic, and anthropological approaches to work
  • Major theoretical currents and contemporary debates
  • Teaching provided by Clersé research faculty

Socio-history of Wage-earning Society and the Labor Market (5 ECTS)

  • Historical construction of wage labor and labor markets
  • Transformations of employment relations in comparative perspective
  • Teaching provided by Clersé research faculty

Labor Law and Employment Regulation (5 ECTS)

  • Mapping of labor and employment institutions
  • Actors and scales of regulation (national, European, international)
  • Interventions by professionals from institutions and organizations (ILO, EESC, unions, ministries, etc.)

Methodological Modules

10 ECTS

Quantifying Work and Employment (5 ECTS)

  • Understanding and critical analysis of quantitative data
  • Appropriation and processing of statistical data
  • Data processing and visualization tools
  • Surveys and indicators on work and employment

Investigating Work (5 ECTS)

  • Qualitative research methodologies in social sciences
  • Interviews, observations, documentary analyses
  • Presentation of multi-sited ethnographic work on labor
  • Collective fieldwork in the form of a one-week research stay in an industrial region (Dunkirk, Liège, Rotterdam, etc.)

Note: This first semester takes place entirely at the University of Lille and establishes the common foundations essential to the entire program, regardless of the subsequent specialization chosen.

The second semester gives students the opportunity to choose between three types of specialization: (1) Work and Health, (2) Collective Bargaining and Industrial Relations Systems, and (3) Labor Law and Sustainable Organization Management.

At Laval University (Work, Health, and Environment track)

Students choose 4 courses from the following (6 ECTS each):

  • International and Global Aspects of Employment Relations - Analysis of global labor relations dynamics
  • Wellbeing, Self-Management and Work - Health and autonomy issues in organizations
  • Work, Mental Health and Society - Links between working conditions and psychological health
  • Climate Transition and the Future of Work - Impact of the ecological crisis on employment and occupations
  • Mobilizing and Engaging Human Resources - Participatory management strategies

At the University of Buenos Aires (Global Value Chains, Production Models, and Industrial Relations)

Program structured in three mandatory blocks:

  • Labor Law and Social Security (10 ECTS) - Comparative legal frameworks for labor regulation
  • Labor Economics and Employment (10 ECTS) - Economic analyses of labor markets
  • Work Processes and Labor Relations (10 ECTS) - Work organization and social dialogue

At Sapienza University of Rome (Labor Regulation and Sustainable and Inclusive Organization Management track)

Mandatory program in five modules:

  • Analyzing the Diversity of Work Organizations (6 ECTS) - Typology and evolution of organizational forms
  • Intersectionality, Gender and Work Issues (6 ECTS) - Inequalities and discrimination at work
  • Economics of Sustainability and Business Innovation (6 ECTS) - Sustainable economic models
  • Sustainable Labor Markets and Welfare: Actors, Institutions, and Strategies (6 ECTS) - Social protection systems
  • Network Analysis for Sustainability Plans and Policies (6 ECTS) - Methods for analyzing stakeholder networks

Note: Each track provides specific expertise while benefiting from an international approach to work and employment issues.

The third semester takes place at a third partner university depending on the chosen track. Students complete 30 ECTS of advanced courses that consolidate their specialization and strengthen their methodological skills.

At the Libre University of Brussels (Work, Health, and Environment track)

Mandatory program in six modules:

  • Political Sociology of Trade Unionism (5 ECTS) - Analysis of trade union organizations and their political role
  • Social History, Working-Class Memory and Gender (5 ECTS) - Historical construction of labor identities
  • Investigating Work 2 (5 ECTS) - Deepening qualitative research methodologies
  • Organization and Health at Work (5 ECTS) - Organizational factors of psychosocial risks
  • Documenting Know-how and Industrial Relations (5 ECTS) - Methods for valorizing skills
  • Ecology and Labour (5 ECTS) - Links between ecological transition and the world of work

At Complutense University of Madrid (Global Value Chains, Production Models, and Industrial Relations)

Program structured with four mandatory modules and two elective modules (choose one):

Mandatory modules:

  • Advanced Aspects in Labour Law and Social Security (6 ECTS) - Comparative legal deepening
  • Comparative Labour Relations (6 ECTS) - Industrial relations systems in international perspective
  • Production Models and Work Conditions (6 ECTS) - Analysis of productive organization and its effects
  • Advanced Research Methodologies in Work, Employment and Industrial Relations (6 ECTS) - Specialized methodological tools

Elective modules (choose one):

  • Organizational Behaviour (6 ECTS) - Human dynamics in organizations
  • Work, Care and Gender Relations (6 ECTS) - Links between productive and reproductive work

At Laval University (Labor Regulation and Sustainable and Inclusive Organization Management track)

Students choose 4 courses from the following (6 ECTS each):

  • Handicap, Work and Employment - Professional inclusion of people with disabilities
  • Women, Gender and Work - Gender inequalities in the world of work
  • Life Trajectories, Work and Employment - Longitudinal analysis of professional careers
  • Work, Employment and Immigration - Labor market integration of migrant populations
  • Mobilizing and Engaging Human Resources - Organizational engagement strategies
  • Climate Transition and the Future of Work - Ecological transformations of employment
  • Transnational Dynamics of Work and Legal Issues - Globalization and labor regulation

Note: This semester consolidates the specialization initiated in semester 2 and prepares students for their research dissertation in semester 4.

 

 

The cohort reunites at the University of Lille for the final semester, which is organized in three phases and allows students to complete their training through research work and professional experience.

February - March: Sharing and Deepening

12 ECTS

The specialization areas chosen during the previous two semesters are brought together through several pedagogical approaches:

Four thematic workshop-courses (3 ECTS each) that bridge the three tracks:

  • Migrations and Circulation of Workers - International mobility and labor markets
  • Global Value Chains and Territorial Development - Links between global and local dynamics
  • Organizational Sustainability, Environmental Issues - Ecological transition and work transformations
  • Occupational Health Expertise - Prevention and analysis of occupational risks

Research Seminar (3 ECTS) - Meetings with researchers and presentation of ongoing work

Research Dissertation Writing Workshops - Methodological support for writing

Last Week of March: Study Trip

3 ECTS

The course period concludes with a study trip to Brussels, Paris, or Geneva, which provides an opportunity to meet with actors from international organizations (ILO, European Commission, OECD, international unions) around a collectively defined study topic.

Example themes:

  • Work and international migration
  • Fighting discrimination at work
  • New forms of employment and "alternative" work
  • International regulation of work and employment
  • Transnational social dialogue

April - September: Internship and Research Dissertation

15 ECTS

Professional or research internship (April-July)

  • Duration: approximately 2 months of fieldwork
  • Location: possibility to complete the internship in one of the consortium countries or elsewhere, depending on safety conditions
  • Supervision: two supervisors are assigned from the international team across the six universities

Research dissertation (80-100 pages)

  • Writing: in English, French, or Spanish according to co-supervisors' agreement
  • Supervision: two research co-supervisors from the consortium
  • For students pursuing research: choice of supervisors in agreement with the teaching team

Defense (second half of September)

  • Location: University of Lille
  • In the presence of the new cohort during the launch of the academic year

Note: This final semester allows students to put into practice all the skills acquired and to build a professional or research project consistent with their chosen pathway.

Co-funded by the European Union