Term Dates

The academic year at Sapienza is  divided into two semesters (Fall and Spring). For this reason, assuming that the total duration of  the M.Sc. course is two years, the same course can be divided into four semesters (I,II,III & IV), where semester I, for example, will indicate the first semester of the first year of the course, and so on. Semesters are divided into periods of lessons during which you can attend courses, and periods of examination during which you can take the exams. Additional periods of examination are scheduled, that specific categories of students can take advantage of, are also planned. You will be surprised in discovering the outrageous number of examination sessions that are available in the Italian university system; there is no competition anywhere else all over the world :-). You may be used, back home, to having the possibility of taking an exam either at the end of a term, or, if you fail, in a special examination session that usually takes place in September. In the Italian scenario it is a completely different story; In average, you can take an exam in 6 to 7 different sessions, over an academic year. We do spoil our students. Unfortunately, this great opportunity may turn into an adversity if you do not take it seriously, and end up repeating an exam over and over. In fact, although we do offer an unusual number of examination sessions, that does not come with  exams turning easier with the number of failures.

The precise beginning and end days of each period can slightly vary with each academic year; students should check the term dates for the specific year (published on the Faculty and DIET websites). In any case, in general, the academic year refers to the following structure:

  • The First Semester is composed by a period of lessons starting at the end of September and ending few days before Christmas holidays, and a period of exams starting by the end of the first week of January until the end of February. During this period of exams, two different calls for each exam are scheduled by professors but generally students should decide which call they want to partecipate in, since some professors may allow participation in only one of them.
  • The Second Semester follows the same structure of the first semester. The period of lessons  starts at the end of February until the beginning of June; the period of exams lays between the beginning of June and the end of July. Also in this case, two calls for each exam are scheduled.
  • A further period of exams is planned during  the month of September that all the students can attend.
  • Two extra calls for exams are usually scheduled during period of lessons (mid October/mid November and mid March/mid April). These calls are reserved for specific categories of students; for example,the so-called “studenti fuori-corso” (that are enrolled in a M.Sc. course for a time longer than the expected M.Sc. course duration), or the so-called “studenti part-time” (that have stipulated particular contracts with the faculty for their own academic period). 

Timetable

Classes are usually held between the hours of 08.00 and 19.00, from Monday to Friday. The academic hour lasts 1h. Within one academic hour, a break of 15m takes place. Check the timetable for M.Sc. courses in Electronic and Communications in the website pages with info on specific classes and teaching rooms.