Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Free Curriculum*

*But Were Afraid to Ask

And what if we told you that the master's degree curricula are NOT just four? In recent years, a fifth option has been gaining popularity: the free curriculum or no-curriculum. This option is briefly mentioned in the course educational regulations, which we quote verbatim:

The student may also submit an individual study plan that does not fall within any of the curricula.

But what does this mean, and how do you obtain it?

When and why switch to the free curriculum?

Let's be clear: the four curricula offered in the master's program are well-structured and valuable paths, developed by professors and researchers with years of experience in teaching. They are often the best choice, with more or less specialized areas of expertise and carefully selected complementary courses that provide a solid background for the core subjects of each curriculum.

However, sometimes one might feel constrained by a predefined path, due to a course that does not align with personal interests or the limited selection of complementary exams (which, after all, must be related to the curriculum!). In these cases, it is worth considering switching to the free curriculum.

The curse of the Diploma Supplement

As mentioned, the curricula have been designed to be valid and attractive paths, not only for students but also, and especially, for companies. For this reason, students who have followed one of the four standard curricula will find the corresponding title in their Diploma Supplement, an additional certification developed by the European Commission that provides a brief description of the nature, level, and context of the completed program.

However, the curriculum title will not be included in the diploma supplement of students who have chosen to follow a personalized study plan or, in other words, the free curriculum.

Note: the diploma supplement is issued at the end of the study program, regardless of the curriculum chosen (or, in this case, not chosen). The difference lies in whether or not the curriculum title is included.

The commandments of the Free Curriculum

But how does the free curriculum work? How customizable is it, and what constraints must be followed? For a personalized study plan to be approved without too much trouble, it must adhere to some simple and entirely reasonable rules.

No overlaps. It is possible to include courses from other curricula and even from other degree programs, as long as there are no significant overlaps in the content of the chosen courses. For example, courses taken from the AI curriculum could easily overlap with courses from the AIDE engineering degree.
SSD. No, not those SSDs. We are talking about Scientific-Sector Disciplines. The chosen courses must belong to the SSDs provided by the program, namely:
- INF/01 - Computer Science
- ING-INF/03 - Telecommunications
- ING-INF/05 - Information Processing Systems
- MAT/06 - Probability and Mathematical Statistics
- MAT/08 - Numerical Analysis
- MAT/09 - Operational Research
- SECS-S/01 - Statistics
  Exceptions are made for the 9 free-choice credits, which, by law, can be selected from any SSD and any degree program offered by any department, anywhere, anytime, in any universe.
Motivation, coherence, relevance (and a slow movement of the belly).
After ruling out potential course overlaps and verifying the validity of the SSDs, the study plan committee must ultimately assess the coherence of the plan. It is essential that the study plan is consistent and well-motivated in its course selection. The free curriculum should represent a missing opportunity, a path designed with the same rigor as the others, motivated by specific interests and/or curiosity, and not merely a random collection of courses chosen based on (low) difficulty.

Timing and Procedures

At this point, you can create a personalized study plan by following the three simple rules outlined above. To do this, you can download one of the forms available on this page, preferably the one most similar to your curriculum idea. Once modified with the chosen courses, it can be sent to pdswif@di.unipi.it. Then, all you have to do is wait.

The process involves several steps: after review and approval by the study plan committee, the modification must be approved by the Course Council in its next available session. Additionally, you will not receive any email confirmation from the committee upon submission. To check the status of your request, you will need to contact the Head of the Educational Unit.

It is also essential that curriculum change requests are made:

at least 3 months before the graduation session, due to potentially long processing times;
ideally before taking exams for the courses you are requesting approval for, to avoid taking exams that may not be approved.

Carpa's Advice

In short, changing curricula is often a tedious process for both the applicant and the approver, and like any important decision, it should be carefully considered. If nothing else, because in case of reconsideration, the entire process must be repeated.

In any case, more and more diverse individual study plans are being approved: Algorithms, Cybersecurity, HPC... many possibilities for unexplored worlds.

Hoping to be helpful to those looking for guidance, we have collected some already approved study plans, categorized by theme. Make good use of them.