Master in
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.
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.
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
Students can choose between two curricula:
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.
Degree Course director: Prof. Giuseppe Di Fatta (photo)
Student Representative in the Course Council: Tedi Ibershimi
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.
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.
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.
Find out more about our international study programmes and ask all the questions to lecturers and students who have chosen unibz for their studies.
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Everything you need to know as a degree-seeking applicant or as an incoming exchange student
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.
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)
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)
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.
Freshers Days: 29 - 30/09/2025
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
Classes: 02/03 - 02/04/2026
Holidays: 03 - 06/04/2026
Classes: 07/04 - 13/06/2026
Exams: 15/06 - 11/07/2026
Exams: 24/08 - 26/09/2026
EU citizens and citizens given parity of treatment
Early Bird Application: 30
Late Application: 10
Non-EU citizens (living abroad)
Early Bird Application: 20
The programme will only be offered if a minimum of 12 newly enrolled students is reached.
In order to gain admission you need:
For candidates with a qualification obtained abroad the verification of the curricular requirements is based on the specific contents of the educational activities.
If you have not yet graduated at the time of application:
You can apply if you have acquired at least 120 credit points (ECTS). In this case you will be admitted conditionally submitting your diploma by the enrolment deadline.
If you graduate after the enrolment deadline:
You cannot enrol and you will lose your place, which will be offered to the subsequent applicant in the ranking list. In this case you should not pay the tuition fees to secure your admission. You will be able to submit a late enrolment request and, only if there still are available places, you can enrol by 13 December 2024.
To be admitted you must fulfil the language requirements indicated in the section “Language requirements”.
According to national regulations, simultaneous enrolment in a maximum of 2 programmes is possible (however, the two programmes must not belong to the same class, e.g., LM-18/LM-18 and must differ for at least 2/3 of the course contents).
The official teaching language is English. Therefore, the following language requirements apply, otherwise you will be excluded from the admission procedure:
Entry level (to gain admission)
English: B2
The levels of the Common European Framework of Reference apply.
You can demonstrate your language proficiency in the application portal (in the section “upload language certificates” and/or “enrol for language exams”) after you have created an application in the section “create/manage applications”.
You can demonstrate language proficiency through:
For information on studying in three languages also visit the following page.
Your application must be submitted online through the Application Portal. The deadlines are indicated in the “Deadlines” section.
Please note: Mendacious declarations will be criminally prosecuted and will result in the automatic exclusion from the ranking list.
You might apply for more than one study programme. If you are excluded in the first session, you might apply again in the second one.
Considered as equivalent are:
Only one application period is offered. After the deadline it is not possible to apply anymore. Application fee: € 50.
Once the ranking list has been published, if you have gained admission, secure it by paying the first instalment and then start your visa application on the Universitaly portal. The application on Universitaly is mandatory, otherwise you will not be allowed to enrol. On Universitaly you can apply for one study programme only.
The admission procedure is based on the evaluation of your study career.
Information on your study career:
Please note: mendacious declarations will be sanctioned by criminal law and will result in your automatic exclusion.
The evaluation criteria are:
The Admission Committee will only evaluate the documents uploaded in the portal by the application deadline. The ranking lists will be published here and are only valid for the respective academic year.
If you have been admitted to more than one study programme, you can secure your admission for a maximum of 2 programmes by paying the designated rate twice. By confirming your place, you renounce admission to the other programmes.
1. Choose the study programme and pay the fees (to secure your admission) in the application portal.
The deadlines are indicated in the “Deadlines” section.
If you do not meet this deadline, you will automatically be excluded and the next applicant in the ranking list will be admitted.
For EU citizens and citizens given parity of treatment only: any remaining places of the early bird application, will be offered in the late application.
Please note that you do not gain full student status by only paying the tuition fees. This status will only be acquired upon enrolment. If you have secured your admission, there will be no refund of the tuition fees unless you do not pass your Bachelor final exam or, in the event of non-EU applicants living abroad, you do not receive the documents necessary for enrolment from the Italian authorities in your country.
2. Enrol online in the application portal.
The deadlines are indicated in the “Deadlines” section.
Enrolment is recommended as early as possible, so you have the possibility to upload incomplete documents before the deadline.
If you do not meet the enrolment deadline, you will be excluded and the next applicant in the ranking list will be admitted.
Admission with reservation:
If you do not have the required academic qualification, you will be given a conditional offer for a study place and you must submit your qualification upon enrolment. If you achieve your qualification after the enrolment deadline, you cannot enrol, and you will lose your place which will be offered to the subsequent applicant in the ranking list. Advice: If you achieve your qualification after the enrolment deadline, you should not pay the tuition fees to confirm the study place. You will be able to submit a late enrolment request and, only if there are study places still available, you can enrol by 13 December 2024.
If you have gained your qualification abroad, you must upload:
If you have gained your qualification abroad in one of the Countries that are signatory to the Lisbon Convention you must also upload:
If you have gained your qualification abroad in a country that is not a signatory to the Lisbon Convention, you must also upload:
unibz performs the necessary checks on your foreign qualification and in case of doubt reserves the right to request additional documents.
Please note that if you do not possess a valid admission qualification, you can be excluded with Rector’s decree even after enrolment.
If you are a non-EU citizen living abroad:
If you are eligible for admission (check the ranking lists) and have also applied on Universitaly, the Italian Authorities in your own country will issue you the entry visa for studies/university.
This will allow you to arrive in Italy to enrol for the study programme that you have applied for, after passing the admission procedure.
According to Italian law, within 8 working days of your arrival in Italy, you must have applied for the residence permit: as soon as you arrive, get in touch with the Advisory Service and you will be given the necessary information for starting the procedure.
Once you will obtain your residence permit (permesso di soggiorno), you have to hand it in at the Student Office personally or via e-mail.
Students intending to transfer from another Italian University to unibz must submit to the Student Office - at the beginning of the academic year - a copy of the transfer application presented at the university of provenance.
Fees amount to € 1200
Delayed payment of the second instalment will result in a fine being levied. If you have not paid the tuition fees, you will be unable to take exams and will not be able to transfer to other universities or other study programmes.
If you drop out of a programme, interrupt your studies or are excluded from studies, you are not entitled to reimbursement of the fees.
Exemption from the tuition fees (and the provincial tax) is granted to:
Students who benefit from a scholarship granted by the Autonomous Province of Bozen-Bolzano are entitled to receive a refund of the tuition fees.
Credit points from previous university studies can only be recognised after enrolment if the exams taken at the university of provenance are equivalent in content to those offered at unibz. You can fill out the application after enrolment.
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).