Mathematics

The course for the master degree at the Università di Catania aims at preparing a figure with a high level qualification in mathematical disciplines, able to devote himself to scientific research or to teaching in a valid way, otherwise managing to become part of a working environment, such as public administration, factories or services.

For this reason it’s divided into three curricula as to lead both students interested in theoretic or teaching aspects of the subject and those who are keener on applications: the first curriculum has got a general direction, the second leans to Maths applications, the third consists of didactic teachings along with others of general trait, giving the student the opportunity to get a degree which offers the most complete cultural training as possible.

The teachings are divided into three learning areas: advanced theoretic training, modeling and applied training and supplementary. The teachings in the different areas vary from curriculum to curriculum.

The first curriculum prepares students to research, to be achieved during a future PhD; the second one leads students towards modeling for economy or industry; the third one puts together both subjects useful for teaching and more general ones. It’s also possible to ask for individual syllabuses.

In the master degree courses, the presence of professors specialized in advanced and different aspects of pure and applied maths will assure a varied educational syllabus, ensuring the students’ expectations; besides this, there are also teachings in similar fields such as Physics, Economy and Informatics.

The realization of the different curricula needs credits intervals as wide as to be able to choose, in particular, teachings of the scientific areas useful to educate applied mathematicians. However the student who’s got a master degree will have a good knowledge of modern aspects of the subject, of current research and of relevant application aspects.

The syllabus of the master degree includes the opportunity for the student to get, in a deep way, knowledges and methodologies concerning one or more specific areas of maths and an autonomous learning style, through a wide work in order to prepare the final test.

Different instruments are used to develop the student’s knowledges and competences. The lessons are fundamental along with the exercises, part of which will be able to be done by the student in an autonomous way. The exercises, the individual deepening and seminars within the courses, make the acquisition of a greater autonomy easier and help sharpening the communicative and opinion skills, besides the ability to solve problems individually; furthermore, they make personalized paths possible. Laboratories used in some teachings, thanks to the use of informatics instruments and scientific software, both in applied and theoretic courses, will let the student to get specific skills and to experiment, even in an autonomous way, the applications of the acquired knowledges.

The students will also be invited to get in touch with mathematical literature, even as regards research, and to sharpen their individual ability in orienteering towards the consultation of texts and scientific articles published both in Italian and in foreign reviews. The autonomous redaction of the final test is, among other things, a way to check the acquisition of such competences and the mastery of the usual techniques for scientific communication in the mathematical field.