Master's Degree Programmes

Students enrolled in the Master's Degree in Classical and Oriental Antiquities will study classical literature and ancient civilizations: Greece, pre-Roman Italy and Rome, and the Near East (Anatolia, Syria, Mesopotamia, Egypt).

The course provides a critical and in-depth understanding of literary and documentary texts in their original languages, the study of the oldest pre-classical writings, a thorough grounding in classical philology, knowledge of the political-institutional, cultural, and socio-economic history of both Greco-Roman and Near Eastern civilizations, and the exploration of the permanence and transformations of antiquity in Western culture through the study of archaeology.

In addition to official courses, members will have the opportunity to attend seminars and conferences held by professors from other Italian and foreign universities. They can actively contribute to ongoing research by preparing individual papers, participating in excavation campaigns, and taking part in study trips.

The Master’s Degree Programme in Modern Philology provides rigorous training in philology, linguistics, and historical-critical methods, while also engaging with the intersections between literature, visual culture, and media.

Graduates emerge as highly qualified professionals, equipped not only with a strong cultural background but also with critical insight and versatile working methods—skills that prove valuable well beyond the traditional humanities.

Career opportunities are diverse and rewarding: further academic study (doctoral programmes, master’s courses, advanced training); teaching in Italy and abroad through recognised channels; specialised post-graduate pathways leading to careers in journalism; and roles across the wide-ranging fields of cultural information and communication, including cultural institutions, research centres, libraries, archives, and museums.

The Master’s degree program in Philosophy offers advanced philosophical courses through three specialized tracks: Theoretical-Philosophical, Historical-Philosophical, and Pedagogical. The chosen track determines the area in which the final thesis will be developed.

Common to all three tracks is the study of the historical development of philosophical thought and the understanding of methods and themes in theoretical-philosophical inquiry, in relation to its core areas (theoretical, logical-epistemological, linguistic, aesthetic, ethical, pedagogical, political). The program also pays close attention to contemporary cultural phenomena and the complex cognitive and communicative processes that define our time.

Since the academic year 2016/2017, the program also offers a Master’s Degree Plus in Philosophy, part of a university-wide initiative in collaboration with a network of partner companies.

A key educational objective of the program, upon completion of a three-year cultural-linguistic BA course, is the refinement of specific skills in the literary and linguistic domains of two European languages.

With a view to providing a versatile and interdisciplinary education, graduates are expected to achieve a broad and detailed knowledge of their chosen languages and literatures, from an intercultural and comparative perspective, while also further developing their oral and written communication skills in the two studied languages.

The Master’s Degree in Theoretical, Applied, and Modern Languages Linguistics offers students an in-depth understanding of the theoretical and methodological foundations of language and linguistic analysis, both from synchronic and diachronic perspectives. The program highlights how linguistic studies intersect with the broader fields of cognitive science, social sciences, and communication studies.

This degree provides the flexibility to tailor your studies through several specialized pathways:

• Historical, Indo-European Linguistics, and Language Typology – historical linguistics, language typology, and in-depth study of classical and ancient languages such as Latin, Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, Anatolian, Celtic, and Old Church Slavic.
• Theoretical and General Linguistics – phonetics and phonology, syntax and semantics, pragmatics, theory of grammar, semiotics, and philosophy of language.
• Variationist Linguistics and Language Acquisition– sociolinguistics, second-language acquisition (Italian L2), language education, and developmental psycholinguistics.
• Computational Linguistics – data-driven linguistic analysis, computational linguistics with practical training, corpus linguistics, and theory of grammar.
• Linguistics of Modern Languages – English linguistics, applied linguistics and translation, academic and popular writing, and language and translation studies in English, French, Russian, Spanish, and German.

Courses in European and non-European Languages are taught at multiple levels in English, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Hungarian, Modern Greek, as well as Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese.

Courses in English
Since the 2016–2017 academic year, in addition to all courses in English Language and Linguistics, several other courses have been offered in English, including Celtic Linguistics, Language Typology, Sanskrit Language and Linguistics, and Theory of Grammar. Advanced courses in French, German, Spanish, and Russian are taught in their respective languages.

Studying the visual and performing arts means adopting a new interdisciplinary approach to the study of theatre, cinema, photography, and digital media, closely linked to the changes and roles they have assumed in the contemporary production system, in artistic, social, and cultural senses.

Studying visual and performing arts helps develop a profile that merges traditional professions within the humanities and disciplines like cinema and theatre with emerging careers at the intersection of art, culture, and society, aligning with a dynamic and expanding job market.

Studying visual and performing arts offers a comprehensive training, providing students with both theoretical and historical-critical knowledge. It also emphasises design, curation, and writing related to artistic, cultural, and social productions focused on visual and performing arts, including creative writing, critical writing, screenwriting, dramaturgy, and writing for new media.

The Master's Degree program aims to train graduates with in-depth theoretical and methodological skills in the fields of medieval, modern, and contemporary art history and material culture of antiquity (Greek, Etruscan-Italic, and Roman), in order to ensure the ability to work in the fields of archaeological exploration in the field, cultural heritage protection, museum design and management, as well as teaching and dissemination of knowledge.

It is assumed that a solid knowledge of the historical frameworks of reference and stylistic periodization has already been acquired in the first-level degree program, and the aim is therefore to complete the theoretical and methodological training through forms of teaching aimed at promoting analysis and contextual understanding of artistic and craft phenomena, with the support of the most up-to-date diagnostic methods and interpretative models.

For those who choose the archaeological curriculum, the internship consists of participation in an excavation campaign or equivalent activity in the field. Other forms of internship may consist of museum or art gallery internships in Italy and abroad, projects at the historical archives of the superintendence, technical and professional training experiences, documented educational trips, and study stays at sites of historical and artistic interest.

The Master’s Degree Program in Global History of Civilizations and Territories is promoted
by the Departments of Humanities, Political and Social Sciences, and Law. The Master’s
Degree program offers a wide range of historical teachings, to connect the different
cultures, institutions, societies, and religions around from Europe to the Mediterranean, to
Africa and Asia.

The two-year master’s program is designed to equip graduates with the skills to:

• critically read historical sources of all kinds and complex and challenging texts from
  distant worlds, written with specific vocabularies, in both ancient and modern languages;
   
• challenge historical issues in their different dimensions and connections, with critical and
  interpretative awareness: from politics to economics, from religions to law, from the
  environment to the territory, from international relations to gender issues, from social
  dynamics to institutional framework, specifically in their intercultural and global
  dimensions;
   
• elaborate and develop autonomously historical research, as well as to disseminate the
  results clearly and effectively.

The University of Pavia offers the master’s degree course “Ancient Mediterranean World: History, Archaeology and Art”, a two-year English language master that will enable the students to explore the past from a wide historical and archaeological perspective. Pavia University has a long and distinguished history of Mediterranean studies. We provide a unique quality teaching in small groups which will enable you to develop first hand expertise with artefacts and historical documents (including papyri and inscriptions). The course offers enrolled students the opportunity to acquire advanced disciplinary, methodological, and operational skills on the field of Italian, European, and Mediterranean basin history and archaeology, from Prehistory to the Middle Ages, with knowledge of both traditional research methods and new technologies in the sector. Particular attention will be given to the development of skills in the use of various sources, including archaeological, historical, and technical, as well as providing in-depth knowledge in the areas of legislation related to archaeological heritage, protection, conservation, musealization, management, and enhancement of cultural heritage.

A partire dall’anno accademico 2023-24 verrà attivata la Laurea Magistrale Interateneo in lingua inglese Philosophical Knowledge: foundatios, Methods, Applications, in collaborazione con la Scuola Superiore IUSS di Pavia e con l’Università di Bergamo. Il corso si propone di rispondere alle sfide imposte dai mutamenti di paradigmi scientifici e culturali del nostro tempo, offrendo un solido bagaglio di conoscenze teoriche, metodi concettuali e strumenti argomentativi che si collocano in un orizzonte europeo. A questo scopo, oltre a discipline storico-filosofiche e teoriche, sono previsti insegnamenti di ambito linguistico e neurolinguistico, di etica delle macchine, di neuroscienze delle decisioni, di fondamenti della fisica e della matematica, di filosofia della tecnologia e dell’engineering, di intelligenza artificiale, di innovazione digitale e trasferimento tecnologico. Come la didattica, anche le prove d’esame e la dissertazione finale verranno svolte in lingua inglese.