Educational goals

This Master's degree course aims to equip professionals with a thorough knowledge of the theoretical and practical aspects of the fundamental engineering disciplines. These professionals will be able to identify, analyse, address and solve the main problems, including complex ones, that are typical of environmental engineering, adopting an innovative approach where necessary. The training activity, where special emphasis will be placed on methodological aspects, will be structured in such a way as to provide advanced engineering skills to engage in highly qualified activities in the following professional fields: - Planning, designing and managing complex water systems, management of natural resources and urban and territorial service networks; - Planning, designing and managing hydraulic land defence systems; - Planning, designing and managing water, air and soil remediation works; -Urban and local area planning, including by using geomatics and environmental remote sensing tools; - Planning and managing the exploitation of energy resources in accordance with sustainable environmental and local area policies. - Planning, designing and managing quality control and monitoring systems; - Assessing the environmental impacts and compatibility of plans and works; - Monitoring and managing actions to counter the effects of climate change; - Assessing risks brought on by climate change. In particular, the course can be divided into several categories, each aimed at enabling students to gain further insights into different aspects of environmental engineering, such as: - Local area-related issues pertaining to the design of hydraulic works for land protection, the analysis of environmental pollution events and the design and management of environmental quality monitoring and control systems; - System-related issues pertaining to the design and management of complex hydraulic systems and water and soil remediation works; - Energy-related issues pertaining to the planning, design and management of energy production systems based on hydroelectric, solar, wind and biological renewable sources and their integration into the environment; Issues related to resilience in view of the effects of climate change pertaining to the management of land and environment, planning of complex systems across local areas, and assessment of the environmental impact of infrastructure in local areas where climate change is having an increasing impact on the management of water resources, land protection and soil conservation. With regard to the development of engineering aspects, special emphasis will be placed on generalising the theoretical and practical content delivered in the previous Bachelor's degree course. This will ensure that the training provided remains relevant and enables students to tackle new problems with confidence, while equipping them with the conceptual tools to keep up to date with necessary changes over time. At the same time, these educational programmes will enable students to gain hands-on experience with experimental investigation tools (such as hydraulic, hydrological, and environmental quality measurement equipment) and numerical tools (such as simulations of phenomena using deterministic and stochastic mathematical models), which are currently employed in advanced environmental engineering approaches. During their training, students will also gain the necessary knowledge of the economic and legal context of the areas in which they will be working. The Master's degree course also aims to equip students with the knowledge to inform any subsequent in-depth studies as part of Master's degree and Doctorate programmes. In order to improve students' language skills with regard to the correct use of technical terminology, accustom them to working and learning in an international context, and increase international student participation and attendance, part of the training programme may be delivered in English, with a special curriculum being defined.

Career opportunities

Environmental engineer. The main employment opportunities for environmental engineers include: - Freelance work — carried out individually or within engineering firms — in the field of planning, design, work supervision, testing of works and in the field of consultancy, monitoring activities and environmental impact analysis; - Employment in companies operating nationally and internationally in the construction and maintenance of civil works, plants and infrastructure (water systems, hydroelectric plants, flood protection, urban and industrial sewage and wastewater treatment plants, solid waste treatment plants, environmental protection systems and remediation of contaminated sites); - Employment in companies, organisations, consortia and agencies for the management of works and services (city-owned firms, reclamation and irrigation consortia, aqueduct consortia, purification consortia); - Employment in professional firms and engineering companies working in the field of design, work supervision and testing of works and in the assessment of impacts and environmental compatibility of plans and works; - Employment in public planning, design and management offices of urban and local area systems (i.e., municipalities, provinces, regions); - Employment in environmental control and protection organisations (i.e., Environmental Agencies, Basin Authorities, Local Health Authorities). - Employment in public administration at a national and international level (authorities, institutions and agencies dealing with the management and planning of natural and urban areas) as experts in the control and management of measures to mitigate the effects of climate change; - Employment in insurance and consulting firms to estimate climate change-induced risks; - Employment with organisations engaging in the research, development and production of innovative technological solutions for the environment

Admission requirements

To be admitted to the Master's degree course in Engineering for the Environment and the Territory, students must hold a degree, which may have been obtained under the regulations in force prior to Ministerial Decree 509/1999, as amended from time to time) or a three-year university degree, or an academic title obtained abroad, provided that it is recognised as eligible by the relevant University’s bodies. The meeting of curricular requirements and the adequacy of the student's initial preparation is also needed for admission. Admission to the Master's degree course in Engineering for the Environment and the Territory requires a solid foundation in engineering disciplines, with a strong grasp of core subjects and those specific to engineering. Based on the training objectives pursued by the course, the scientific subjects covered include hydraulics and hydraulic construction, as well as sanitary engineering and construction science and technology. In particular, students enrolling in the Master's degree course are also required to meet the following curricular entry prerequisites: - at least 30 ETCS credits in core subjects (MAT/01, MAT/02, MAT/03, MAT/04, MAT/05, MAT/06, MAT/07, MAT/08, FIS/01, FIS/02, FIS/03, CHIM/03, CHIM/07) - at least 60 ECTS credits in the following specific subjects (ICAR/01, ICAR/02, ICAR/03, ICAR/04, ICAR/05, ICAR/06, ICAR/07, ICAR/08, ICAR/09, ICAR/10, ICAR/11, ICAR/17, ICAR/20, BIO/07, CHIM/12, GEO/02, GEO/05, GEO/11, INF/01, ING-IND/11, ING-IND/24, ING-IND/25, ING-IND/27, ING- IND/28, ING-IND/29, ING-IND/30, ING-IND/31, ING- IND/35, ING-INF/04, ING-INF/05). Curricular requirements are set out in the Teaching Regulations, where details are provided regarding the minimum number of university credits that candidates must have acquired in their previous career, with reference to the (i) various training activities laid down by the current legislation, (ii) above-mentioned scientific subject-specific sectors, and/or (iii) groups of scientific subject-specific sectors. The Teaching Regulations also define the level of English language proficiency required and the procedures for assessing students' backgrounds according to the criteria and methods set out therein.