Master of Science in Computer Science - Five Specializations offered by the Department of Excellence in Computer Science

SPECIALIZATIONS OF THE MASTER DEGREE in COMPUTER SCIENCE
The Master's Degree in Computer Science program was designed to provide students with solid and versatile skills in a wide spectrum of modern areas of computer science, covering both methodological and technological aspects.
It offers 5 different specializations, corresponding to the emerging market's demand for different innovative professional skills in computer science. The offered specializations are:

• Internet of Things
• Cloud Computing
• Data Science & Machine Learning
• Cybersecurity
• Software Engineering and IT Management

The Specialization in the Internet of Things is offered fully in English.

SPECIALIZATION in the Internet Of Things (IoT)

The Internet Of Things is today recognized as the latest frontier of Information Technology. It is concerned with the new generation of systems of networked devices that are becoming capable of sensing, transmitting and acting on data, and integrates emerging and highly strategic research trends such as Homeland Security, Data Science, Smart Services, Artificial Intelligence and Distributed Computing. The IoT paradigm pervades a potentially unlimited number of application domains, where the interconnection between the physical (people, machines, products) and the virtual (communication and data collection, analysis and processing) worlds gains a new valuable meaning that extends the traditional vision of the Internet to the connection of ‘things' that are part of the physical world and give rise to smart environments.

Several official reports place IoT as a new and transformative technology domain that will require millions of skilled professionals worldwide by 2020. The innovative MSc in The Internet of Things (IoT) at the Department of Computer Science of the University of Salerno is meant to meet such a demand and educate a new generation of highly skilled specialists who are able to fully exploit the potential that these technologies offer. The two-years program will provide you with advanced knowledge and skills in four essential and critical areas:

- Data Science, which is essential for getting value from the IOT. Data massively and pervasively collected from connected objects may give rise to invaluable knowledge with high scientific/technological potentials, for which mastery of Data Science methodologies is needed

- Intelligent and context-aware systems, coping with the adoption of advanced machine learning techniques for the development of smart embedded system which exhibit highly adaptive behaviours.

- Distributed computing and systems, concerned with cloud computing, enabling technologies, protocols, software architectures and applications for the development of the emerging Internet of Things.

- Cybersecurity, focusing on security and privacy issues in IoT environments, on the organizational risks posed by IoT networks, and on the principles of IoT device vulnerabilities. You will learn how to recognize the potential security risks in a given IoT environment and how to best mitigate them.

- Dependability and usability, concerned with methodologies and techniques of software quality analysis, design, and verification, in particular in the context of complex and critical software systems.

COURSES CURRENTLY OFFERED IN ENGLISH

Specialization in the Internet of Things

FIRST YEAR

SECOND YEAR

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Applicants are supposed to possess a Bachelor degree either in Computer Science or in Computer Engineering or in other relevant disciplines, with at least 45 ECTSs in computer science or computer engineering, or other academic qualifications deemed to be equivalent. Italian as well as foreign applicants are welcome and will be considered on an individual basis.
Moreover, good knowledge of basic computer science disciplines is required and will be evaluated on the basis of student's curriculum and possibly through a written test and/or an oral interview. Details on how to apply can be found at the end of the present document.

DURATION
The Master's degree program lasts 2 years for a total of 120 ECTSs (credits).

INTERNAZIONALIZATION
The program offers many opportunities for study or traineeship abroad.

STUDENTS' SATISFACTION
The 2017 Graduate profile survey (which is issued yearly by the public organization Alma Laurea), reports full satisfaction of Computer Science Master's graduates, referring to knowledge attained and earnings: 100% satisfied students with respect to an average of 92% at the national level, for Masters of the same class.

FURTHER STUDIES
The Computer Science Master's graduate may perform Doctoral studies.

JOB PLACEMENT
Job placement activities are a proud flagship for the Computer Science Master's degree program. Seminars are regularly given by professionals from important companies of the ICT sector, allowing students to get an insight into the emerging skills that the market demands, to establish interesting contacts for their future, and to perform interviews on site.
Special attention is paid to guide students and provide them with tools and knowledge to start their professional career, through seminars on how to write a curriculum vitae and on the use of social instruments (e.g., Linkedin).

QUALITY CERTIFICATION
The quality of the Master's degree program in Computer Science is certified by the Italian Association of Computer Science University Professors (GRIN). The quality certification mark is released every year by GRIN, in collaboration with AICA (Associazione Italiana per l'Informatica ed il Calcolo Automatico), to certify quality contents of Bachelor and Master's degree programs in Computer Science (classes L-31 and LM-18) of Italian universities. The certification criteria are based on the amount and quality of computer science contents offered by the program, on the number of contents in mathematics and other similar disciplines, and on the number of computer science professors who are involved in the program.

LEARNING GOALS
Master's graduates are expected:
- to gain advanced knowledge of foundational as well as applied aspects of different areas of computer science
- to gain deep knowledge of principles, structures, and use of information processing systems
- to become experts in foundational aspects, techniques, and methods for information system design and development
- to become knowledgeable in different application areas of computer science and information technology
- to be able to work autonomously, also taking responsibility for projects and working teams.

Specific educational goals are:
- Knowledge and comprehension of computer science principles and advanced skills for their application in design, development, and management of information systems in the different areas of specializations.
- Ability to address complex problems with the right abstraction level and to adopt any tool that computer science and associated disciplines may provide.
- Ability to apply state-of-the-art knowledge and learned the innovative solution to real-world problems as well as the ability to develop new solutions and techniques which could be adopted in different contexts.
- Ability to carry out professional work independently and autonomously, as well as to rely on good communicative and managerial skills to lead working groups formed by people with different professional profiles, with possibly different backgrounds, within national or international contexts.

Most courses include some project work which students are expected to carry out. This gives them the chance to experience the use of innovative methods and techniques which can be used to address complex problems. Students may interact and collaborate with professors of the master's degree program to carry out researches in different fields of computer science. They may also spend a training period in one of the several companies, organizations and research centers, in Italy or abroad, which have a formal agreement with the Department of Computer Science. The traineeship period can be also used for thesis research or preparation.

FACULTY
As a distinctive feature, teaching is performed by approximately 40 qualified professors of computer science, who are engaged in world-class research projects in collaboration with industry, external institutions, and research councils.

RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES
While studying for their Master's program, students may
- access the technologically advanced laboratories of the Computer Science Department to carry out coursework activities or perform research
- rely on the department e-learning platform to communicate and exchange course materials with professors
- benefit from the combination of traditional teaching approaches with innovative techniques, which allow them to gain knowledge, skills, and abilities, through a more effective and engaging learning experience.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES
The Computer Science Master's graduate may perform professional work related to the design, organization, management, and maintenance of complex and innovative information systems. They can get good job opportunities in software companies as well as in consulting companies, in public organizations, in enterprises, in bank companies and in any organization that uses information systems.

ECONOMIC SCOPE
Graduates from the Computer Science Master' program find many job opportunities not only in the financial district of Regione Campania (where the Department of Computer Science is located), which is hosting several big/medium/small enterprises of the ICT sector, but also all over the national territory as well as abroad.

In the last years, several small enterprises targeted at technological innovation in the field of ICT (named ‘startups') were founded in the Campania region, with the active participation of Computer Science graduates from the University of Salerno. Some startups received important national and international awards (e.g., a national prize for Innovation, Wind Business Factor, etc.) also attracting investments and venture capitals from industrial incubators (as an example, several startups, funded by 56Cube incubator, chose to settle in the territories surrounding Fisciano campus).

How to apply