About the Program

Educational goals & programs

The Honors Master Program provides enriched educational opportunities to the most academically talented, promising, and motivated graduate students. The goal is to teach students the fundamentals of research. This is accomplished through additional “honors” courses, partially selected from the PhD program, and with personalized services such as honors orientation and academic advising. This program is specially aimed at students whose goal is to continue doing research and development, in a company or as part of a PhD program. The Honor program is transversal to the following masters of science:

• Master Degree in Computer Science
• Master Degree in Telecommunication Engineering

When signing up for the program the student also selects the MS degree he will concentrate on. The advantages for students pursuing the Honors Master Program are the following:

• The successful completion of the program is recognized with a special diploma associated to the Ms degree.
• Fellowships are granted to students participating in the Honors Master Program, depending on the fulfillment of a set of minimal requirements. The number of fellowships is decided year by year. These fellowships can be incrementally added on top of existing fellowships (for instance, Opera Universitaria Grant).

Language

English is the official language of the program.

Courses, written and oral examinations, as well the thesis are in English. English is the language of the Academic everyday life.

Educational activities

The city of Trento and the University, located very close to the Austrian border, are a bridge between Italy and the German world. They are a place where the meeting between cultures is part of the everyday experience. Within the university of Trento, students, teachers and visitors meet from all over the world.

The University life takes place within a strongly international context:

• Lecturers are from an international background, from top Institutions worldwide.
• Students are from an international background, from all over the world.

Tutoring

Each student admitted to the Honor Program is assigned to a Tutor selected among the members of the faculty. Tutorships are decided by the evaluation committee, based on the requests of the students and on the availability of Faculty members. The tasks of the tutor are to advise the student in the preparation of the study program, and the continuous monitoring of the performance. It is expected that students take courses in the area of interest of the (perspective) advisor and that they take the lab/hands on course under his/her supervision. Upon agreement of the two parts, the tutor role may evolve into an thesis' advisor role.

Admission Criteria and General Organization

Students enrolled in the Honor program are required to

• satisfy a set of additional requirements on the number and grades of exams
• take additional courses
• produce a thesis with a set of unique characteristics

Students that not fulfill these requirements are disqualified from the Honor Program. These students can still go on in their master studies.

For further specific details on the admission requirements, please see:

Computer Science

Telecommunications Engineering

Students

• enrolled in a double degree program, or
• awarded an Industrial Scholarship of any kind

cannot apply to the Honors Master Program.

Master thesis and Final Exam (Esame di Laurea)

The Honors Master Program thesis:

• is written in English and
• is composed in two parts:
  • The first part is a synthesis of the work and results of the thesis. It must contain a detailed description of the state of the art and possible directions for future research work (for instance as part of a PhD thesis work). It is organized and has the same structure as the paper which must be submitted to pass the ICT PhD School qualifying exam.
  • The second part concentrates on the details of the thesis work and results