F.A.Q.

A Specialist Master’s course is a "course of scientific specialisation and higher education, permanent and recurrent" and may be of 1st or 2nd level.

Please Note: Italian Specialist Master’s qualification is NOT equivalent to the Master's degrees of other countries which instead correspond to our master's degrees (Lauree Magistrali).

To access a first level Specialist master’s course, it is sufficient to have obtained at least a three-year university degree, to access a second level Specialist master’s course, however, it is necessary to have obtained a master 's degree or a Degree obtained according to the regulations in force prior to Ministerial Decree 509/ 1999.

In case of academic qualifications obtained abroad, the educational path must include 12 years of schooling and a three-year qualification to access a first level specialist master’s course; In order to compensate for any missing years of schooling, the duration of the university course completed must be at least 4 years in the case of an eleven-year local school system, or five years in the case of a ten-year local school system.

Our Specialist masters' courses offer is available on the dedicated page on the university website where, through the appropriate filters, it is possible to select each specialist master's course and open the presentation page.

Details of the courses whose official language is English offered by the DIGSPES department from the 2019/2020 academic year are available in the University studies/postgraduate study section. For courses offered in Italian, consult the page didattica/post laurea

Specialist master’s courses are not subject to the normal deadlines set for bachelor's and master 's degrees. In our department the activation decrees are published at the end of the summer or in the autumn but this cannot be considered a fixed rule. We therefore advise you to periodically check the University studies/postgraduate study section of our department website to be promptly informed of any new activations.

Generally, yes, but for some specialist master’s courses, registration as an auditor is also permitted for those who do not have the academic qualification required to access. This possibility must be expressly foreseen in the Rectoral Decree for the activation of the course. At the end of the specialist master’s course, auditors will be issued a certificate of participation.

These experiences are of particular importance in the evaluation of the curriculum vitae.

For some Specialist master's  courses it is also possible to recognize credits on the basis of these experiences.

University Credits (CFU) represent a measurement of the volume of learning, including individual study, required of a student to achieve an educational objective.

Conventionally, 1 credit corresponds to 25 hours of work.

A Specialist master’s course can last one year or more. In the first case, they require a total commitment of at least 1500 hours, distributed between educational activities (frontal/online lessons, workshops, seminars, etc.), internships/traineeships and individual study, which correspond to the acquisition by the students of at least 60 University credits. In the case of a two-year Specialist master 's course, the total amount of the commitment must be at least 3000 hours, distributed as above and corresponding to 120 credits. Attendance is required.

The study plan, the duration and the information relating to the costs and methods of payment of the enrolment fee for a Specialist master’s course are specified in the Rectoral Decree of activation (Call) and reported in the pages University studies/postgraduate study of the department website.

Specialist master 's courses are self-financed courses as the financial coverage of the expenses necessary to activate and carry out the course is ensured by the contributions paid by the students enrolled in the course for the year in which they are activated.

There is no fixed amount because it is calculated on the basis of the characteristics of the course and the training activities envisaged in the teaching plan.

The tuition fees for each edition are set by the Rector's Decree for the activation (Bando) of the course.

If you already have a valid qualification to access the specialist master 's course, you can enrol in it even if you are already enrolled in another university course as long as you are up to date with the fees of the older course (DM 33/2022). It is not possible to enrol in more than two university courses at the same time.

The conventional method of delivering lessons is in presence. There are Specialist master’s courses which provide for the dual delivery in presence and at a distance. This possibility must be expressly envisaged in the Rectoral Decree for the activation of the course

Specialist masters' courses usually require at least 75% attendance.

The schedule of the specialist master's lessons is published on the course page in the University studies/postgraduate study section of the department website and/or on the DIR which can be accessed with the same credentials used for the UPO mailbox.

The department's specialist master teachings are usually concentrated on weekends (Friday to Saturday) to meet everyone's needs. In many cases, online lessons are also provided.

Some Specialist master’s courses provide the possibility of enrolling in individual teachings. This possibility must be expressly envisaged in the activation Rectoral Decree (Call) which indicates the access requirements, the methods and deadline for sending the application for admission, the registration fee and any other details. The document can be found in the University studies/postgraduate study section of the relevant department.

No, university Specialist master’s courses are all with limited access. You are admitted through selection based on qualifications and/or exams.

The admission to a Specialist master’s course is governed by the activation Rectoral Decree (Call) which indicates the access requirements, the methods and deadline for sending the application for admission, the enrolment fees and any other detail relating to the course. The document can be found on the page of each Specialist master 's course.

The application for admission to the selective procedure must be presented accompanied by any attachments within the peremptory deadline established by the call, following the procedure described therein. Failure to comply with the provisions of the activation decree may be cause for exclusion.

All qualifications, documents and publications deemed useful for the purposes of the selection procedure must be attached exclusively in electronic format.

There is no payment of a fee for admission to the selective procedure..

Italian and foreign citizens in possession of a foreign academic qualification must submit the following documentation by the deadline set for enrolment, in compliance with the regulations in force regarding the admission of foreign students: academic qualification translated and legalized by the Italian Embassy or Consulate in the country in which it was obtained, "declaration of value in loco" to be requested from the same Representation or certificate of comparability and verification of qualifications issued by CIMEA. For further information, consult the website https://www.studiare-in-italia.it/studentistranieri/.

At the end of the selection procedure, each commission will draw up the final merit ranking or the list of those admitted if the applications do not exceed the number of spots available.

Candidates will be admitted to the courses according to the order of the final ranking and up to the number of spots advertised for each course.

The final rankings will be made public exclusively through:

- posting on the official notice board of the University;

- publication on the department's website

After having been placed in a useful position in the ranking or admitted to the course, it is necessary to present the enrolment application with the methods and by the deadlines indicated in the Rectoral Decree of activation (Call) of the course.

As the enrolment procedure ends with the payment of the first tuition fee instalment, until it is completed to access the Student Portal on which you registered you must use as user: name.surname@esterni.uniupo.it and the password created in the process of registration

When you receive your matriculation number by e-mail, you must immediately activate your e-mail account by following the instructions found here: Login details and use of University IT Services.

For problems relating to mailbox activation, write to postastudenti@uniupo.it

The email address of the scientific secretariat of the course is indicated on the page of the department website dedicated to each specialist master 's degree.

Normally, in order to attend the Specialist master’s course, the enrolment fee indicated in the activation Rectoral Decree (Bando) must be paid in full and it is not possible to have reductions in the contribution foreseen even for those who have a recognized disability.

However, scholarships, exemptions or reductions in the enrolment fee may be provided for in the calls for admission or subsequently through the publication of specific notices of calls for participation for the assignment of partial or total exemptions from the payment of the envisaged contributions.

Through the PagoPA system. You can make the payment from the student portal (online services) under "Payments" and you can choose whether to pay online or pay in person.

It is not possible to pay the PagoPA slip at Poste Italiane desks.

After each access, the system does not allow a second attempt in the following 60 minutes, after this time interval the procedure will be available again.

It is not necessary, PagoPA automatically transfers the information to our database.

In the event that, at the deadline set for the enrolment of admitted candidates, the minimum number of students required for activation has not been reached and the course is consequently deactivated, any contributions already paid will be reimbursed, net of the amount of tax stamps.

The deadline for the payment of the second instalment, if applicable, is indicated in the Rectoral Decree for the activation (Call) of each Course.

After the expiry of the fixed term, the Secretariat reserves the right to suspend the student's teaching until confirmation of payment.

In the Specialist Master’s Helpdesk section of the department website you can find all the information for the administrative management of your specialist master’s career.

The section Login details and use of University IT Services contains all the information on IT procedures including password recovery.

An internship/traineeship period may be foreseen in the Specialist master 's study plan (functional, in terms of duration and methods of implementation, to the educational objectives of the course). This activity is normally carried out at both public and private bodies and/or subjects, which in various ways collaborate for the development of the specialist master’s course, and constitutes a particularly important moment as it represents an opportunity to apply in the professional field what has been learned during the didactic lessons. The internship cannot in any way be considered as a subordinate employment relationship.

The achievement of credits, corresponding to the articulation of the various training activities, is subject to compliance with the attendance obligation including laboratories and any internships/traineeships, passing any intermediate profit checks and the final test to ascertain the overall skills acquired.

Yes, if you do not comply with the training and attendance obligations, do not take the tests and/or do not pass the final exam, your position will be closed without obtaining the qualification.

To obtain the qualification, it is necessary to have complied with the attendance obligations established by the activation Rectoral Decree (Call), to have successfully passed all the intermediate profit checks, to have completed any laboratories and internships/traineeships and passed the final exam. To be admitted to the final exam, it is necessary to be up-to-date with the payment of the tuition fees.

Yes, as for the Degree courses, the application for the final exam is also required for University Specialist masters' courses. You will have to complete the procedure following the steps indicated in the Specialist Master’s Helpdesk section by the scheduled deadline published online in the University studies/post-graduate study section of the department website in the page of the specialist master you attended.

All the information for requesting certificates is published in the Specialist Master’s Helpdesk section of the department's website.

You can request both the enrolment certificate and the qualification achievement certificate. The latter can also include the individual training activities that you have attended/passed and the title of the final thesis.

The University only issues certificates in Italian or English.

No, to obtain a translation of the certificate into another foreign language it is necessary to contact either sworn translators, registered in the appropriate register at the Courts, or diplomatic missions and consulates in the country of destination.

Certificates can only be used in relationships between individuals. In relations with the Italian public administration and with private managers of public services, certificates are replaced by substitutive declarations of certifications or by affidavits, signed by the interested party (Law 12 November 2011, n.183 - summary of the reference legislation); those pre-filled declarations can be downloaded independently from the student portal (online services).

All information to pick up the specialist master 's parchment is published on the department website