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Free University of Bozen-Bolzano

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Master in

Computing for Data Science

Our master programme will provide you with the key competencies that you will need to develop next-generation information systems used to describe and manage data, discover new facts and relations in the data, make predictions, and give advice to decision makers.

Course description

We live in a digital society. Human and automated activities continuously generate data, storing them in digital format. These data come from everywhere: enterprise information systems, social media, wearable equipment, and many more.

Data are like crude oil: unrefined, they are useless.

In our programme, we teach you how to become a computational data scientist, i.e. a computer scientist specialised in the development of next-generation information systems.

Data science sits at the interface between computer science, mathematics, and application domains. Our study programme covers all these areas: computer science and IT methods for managing and engineering big and complex data, mathematical tools for data interpretation and analysis, artificial intelligence techniques to extract insights from data and support decision makers, and aspects of human-computer interaction. You will participate in cutting-edge research, and apply your skills to  real data from actual application domains, such as business information systems, travel and tourism, bioinformatics, healthcare, internet of things, industry 4.0, agriculture, and many more.

For your final thesis you will collaborate on research projects with major industries - such as IBM, Oracle, Siemens, and with leading research institutions, such as TU Wien, TU München and Politecnico di Milano.

Go to the admission information

Courses will definetely be starting

At a glance

Degree class: LM-18
ECTS credits: 120
Duration of the course: 2 years
Courses will be taught in English
Places available: 40 EU + 20 non-EU
Campus: NOI Techpark Bozen-Bolzano
Tuition fees: ca. € 1200 per year

Structure of the course

Students can choose between two curricula:

  • Machine Learning is oriented toward data-driven Artificial Intelligence methods and, in particular, Machine Learning methods for data analysis, including the principles and methods for data exploration, for interpretation and visualization of the results of such analysis, and more generally, for the extraction of knowledge from data to inform and guide decision-making processes. Students can customise their study plan by choosing five optional courses in addition to the compulsory ones.
  • Artificial Intelligence for Data Management is focused primarily on data management and on the techniques and methodologies specific to computer science and artificial intelligence for building IT architectures, infrastructures, on systems for maintaining, integrating, and curating complex and heterogeneous data, as well as for supporting the subsequent analysis for decision-making processes. Students can customise their study plan by choosing five optional courses in addition to the compulsory ones.

Students who prefer not to follow one of the two offered curricula can customise their studies by choosing eight optional courses in addition to the compulsory ones. At the end of their studies, however, they will not receive any curriculum indication in their Diploma Supplement.

People

Degree Course director: Prof. Giuseppe Di Fatta (photo)
Student Representative in the Course Council: Tedi Ibershimi

Exchange programmes and internships

Currently we offer exchange programmes with partner universities all over the world and we are part of a large network of collaboration with employers in Italy and abroad where you can undertake an optional internship with a maximum of 300 hours.

Career opportunities

Graduates enter the labour market as Machine Learning Engineers and Data Architects, key roles in the development of IT solutions for data science.

Machine Learning Engineers are sought after in all those business and organisational contexts, by no means limited to IT, where it is crucial to analyse, interpret and extract knowledge from big data and complex, heterogeneous datasets.

Data Architects hold technical and coordinating roles for data management within companies and organisations operating in the IT sector, or with a complex network of IT systems dependent on heterogeneous data sources.

Possible fields of employment include the sectors of finance, retail, e-commerce, marketing, Industry 4.0, public administration, but also applied sciences such as physics, biology, medicine, life sciences and environmental sciences.  This also extends to scientific institutes, laboratories and universities.

On the website of AlmaLaurea you can check our outstanding statistical data about the satisfaction of our graduates, and their employability.

Go to the Survey (in Italian)

Manuel Stuefer

Backend Software Engineer at Booking.com, Amsterdam

As a kid I loved solving puzzles in creative ways, then, as a young adult, I was searching for a career which allowed me to continue my passion in solving puzzles. Computer Science was the natural choice, and thanks to the courses I attended at unibz, with its excellent student/professor ratio, I got a lot of individual attention so that I could develop my full potential in the field.

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Application and Admission

You can find all you need to know in order to apply and gain admission to this study programme by browsing through the information below.

Early Bird Application

Application: 03/03 - 06/05/2025 (by noon local time)
Language exams (online): 17/03/2025 (registration: 03 – 09/03/2025) and 16 -17 - 22 - 23/04/2025 (registration: 24/03 – 08/04/2025)
Publication of ranking lists: by 27/05/2025
Payment of the 1st instalment of the tuition fees: by 05/06/2025 (by noon local time)
Enrolment: from 11/07 - 14/10/2025 (by noon local time) 

Late Application (only for EU citizens)

Application: 28/05 - 09/07/2025 (by noon local time)
Language exams (online): 23 - 27/06/2025 (registration: 28/05 – 15/06/2025)
Publication of ranking lists: by 29/07/2025
Payment of the 1st instalment of the tuition fees: by 05/08/2025 (by noon local time)
Enrolment: from publication of the ranking list until 14/10/2025 (by noon local time) 

Additional Application Session (only for EU citizens)

The faculty can open additional application sessions for single study programmes in August and in September if there are available places. More information on additional sessions will be published in due course.  

Preparatory courses and Freshers Days

Freshers Days: 29 - 30/09/2025

1st semester

Classes: 29/09 - 23/12/2025
Holidays: 24/12/2025 - 06/01/2026
Classes: 07/01 - 24/01/2026
Exams: 26/01 - 21/02/2026

2nd semester

Classes: 02/03 - 02/04/2026
Holidays: 03 - 06/04/2026
Classes: 07/04 - 13/06/2026
Exams: 15/06 - 11/07/2026

Autumn session

Exams: 24/08 - 26/09/2026

The Advisory Service provides support regarding your choice of study. In many cases a simple call or a short request is enough to get the relevant information (Tel. +39 0471 012100).