1. General Information

School	School of Industrial and Information Engineering
Code Reference Law	263
Name	Music and Acoustic Engineering
Reference Law	Ordinamento 270/04
Class of degree	LM-32 - Computer systems engineering
Degree level	Laurea Magistrale (Equivalent To Master Of Science)
First year of activation	2018/2019
Official length of the programme	2
Years of the programme already activated	1,2
Official language(s)	The Laurea Magistrale (equivalent to Master of Science) programme is offered in English but the degree programme meets the requirements of MIUR (Ministry of Education, Universities and Research) note of 11.07.2018 and the CUN opinion of 10.23.2018.
Campus	Cremona
Dean of the School	Antonio Capone
Coordinator of the Study programme	Augusto Sarti
Website of the School	http://www.ingindinf.polimi.it
Website of the Study programme	--

Central Student Office - Cremona

Address

VIA SESTO, 39 (CR)

2. General presentation of the study programme

The role of Sound and Acoustics is of utmost importance in the Information Society, and its perceived relevance is growing by the day. The pervasive and non-invasive nature of sound; the richness of the information that it carries at all levels of abstraction (semantic, timbral, rhythmic, tonal, structural, expressive, affective, evocative, etc.); the ubiquity of its fruition; and the emotional potential that it is able to express and elicit; make it all the more important and urgent to develop and adopt sophisticated technologies for audio content production, capturing, processing, management, access, personalization, coding, preservation, restoration, reproduction, etc.

Thanks to the widspreading of the Internet; to the recent dematerialization trends; and to the birth of new content streaming services, digital audio is today enjoying a renewed spring, which comes with a vertiginous economic growth. This creates a stronger and stronger need of expertise in the multimedia area, with particular emphasis on audio and sound. Millions of songs are at everyone's grasp, within a few clicks of distance. They are accessible with excellent quality anywhere and at any time. But navigating in this sea of content requires advanced technologies, coming from machine learning and artificial intelligence, which must be swiftly employed for music information retrieval and music recommendation. There is a strong pressure for new services that offer automatic generation of personalized audio streams; on-the-fly music composition/generation for interactive applications (particularly for the gaming industry). Social media are exerting a strong pressure for do-it-yourself music learning; for collaborative/distributed music composition/production (at both amatour and professional level); and for networked music performance. This calls for a level of technological expertise that goes beyond technical, and enters the realm of critical thinking, problem solving, solution design and  creative development.

The technological advancements of the past few decades have also been accompanied by an exponential growth of our expectations of quality in our listening experiences, which has pushed forward new formats of digital audio, accommodating high resolution; immersive rendering, and 3D audio. Today, most of the leading industries that focus on multimedia content production; big data (social media and search engines); mobile devices; and software production in general; are actively involved in developing technologies for 3D/interactive audio rendering, virtual/augmented/mixed realities, etc. Audio rendering/reproduction systems are also evolving very rapidly both in the consumer and the professional markets. Despite their greatly reduced size, loudspeakers are becoming more and more efficient and powerful, and their quality is improving by the day. Furthermore, they are becoming less and less invasive and faster to install, thanks to modern wireless solutions. Similar improvements concern large-scale professional loudspeaker systems, which enjoy digital transport of multi-channel signals over ethernet connections, without the limits of coverage that are typical of the analog world. Multi-channel audio technologies over Ethernet are today commonplace for stage sonification, with no loss of quality. Advanced signal processing solutions are also commonly employed in order to adaptively avoid acoustic feedback, artificial timbral coloring and undesired reverberation; and to selectively extract acoustic sources in busy and noisy operative conditions. 

In the past few decades the need for acoustic comfort in living and public environments has grown significantly and keeps growing by the day. Acoustic comfort can be achieved through advanced architectural design methodologies; but also through a careful acoustic conditioning of existing environments. As far as musical instruments are concerned, expectations of quality have grown considerably as well, particularly on the part of the professional music performer, who often has needs ot timbral/ergonomic/acoustic personalization of their instrument.

In order to face all these new technological challenges, research has produced new methodologies for music information analysis, processing and retrieval, leading to new content navigation paradigms; and has developed advanced soundfield capturing and rendering solutions (spatial audio recording and reproduction) at high resolution. This is the results of the convergence of very diverse disciplines, including space-time signal processing; computatonal acoustics; machine learning and artificial intelligence; which have paved the way towards a wide range of advanced and exciting applications. Recent examples of applications are the vibrational, acoustic and timbral characterization of musical instruments; the interactive architectural acoustic design of listening environment; self-configuring systems for soundfield capturing and rendering. There is also a renewed interest and enthusiasm towards new technologies for advanced music/audio production and rendering on the part of the big companies that manage big date and social media; that produce mobile computing devices; etc.

The Master Program in Music and Acoustic Engineering is aimed at forming a new generation of experts and designers that are able to face all such challenges in the audio and acoustic areas (whether consolidated or emerging), by making synergistic use of a multi-disciplinary knowledge ranging from computer science to telecommunications (in particular signal processing and netwoks), from computational acoustics to numerical modeling/analysis, from electroacoustics to vibrational and room acoustics.

3. Learning objectives

The main goal of the Master Program in "Music and Acoustic Engineering" is to form experts and designers of technology with a deep background and the necessary expertise to solve advanced problems related to audio (musical signals, speech signals, or sound in general); acoustics (sound and vibrational fields, as well as acoustic structures); and music (representations and models of musical structures and content). It is therefore necessary for the students of Music and Acoustic Engineering to develop a strong background on the following topics, divided here by macro-areas:

• audio: acquisition/capturing, processing, analysis, synthesis, reconstruction/rendering, classification, storage, organization, representation and publishing;
• music: analysis, classification, annotation, transcription, organization, modeling/representation, visualization, assistance to composition/orchestration/arrangement/production;
• acoustics: analysis; control; characterization;improvement, optimization and design of musical instruments, of listening environments and vibrational systems in general.

This background is needed for conceptual and methodological understanding of the problems, as well as for implementation and application purposes.

Graduates of Music and Acoustic Engineering are experts that are able to propose solutions to problems of management and processing of acoustic, musical and audio information; and to interact with people coming from diverse experiences, including artists and entrepreneurs in the music sector and that of performative arts in general; but also architects and (stage, industrial, sound, ...) designers. Courses are mainly offered in English in order to promote the program at an international level and welcom foreign students. This is in line with the current policies of internationalization of the didactic offer of the Politecnico di Milano.

The didactic program includes a number of credits (mostly in the first year) aimed at strengthening the knowledge in the "reference disciplinary area" of this program (Computer Science), contextualized to acoustics, audio and music. In the second year the M.Sci. program branches out in two tracks, one mainly focusing on acoustics (with special emphasis on the vibrational, acoustic and timbral behavior of musical instruments; on room acoustics; and on sound and vibrations in general); and one mainly focusing on music technologies and sound processing. In each one of these tracks there are courses based on projects, with lab activities and with innovative didactic approaches (hackatons, flipped courses, public showcases, ...). The student can develop a master thesis under the supervision of researchers of the Politecnico di Milano, in any of the research labs of the Politecnico di Milano connected to the program (i.e. Sound and Music Computing Lab, Musical Acoustics Lab, Image and Sound Processing Lab, and the whole PoliMI Sound and Vibration Lab network), or at any of the industrial partners in Italy or Abroad.

 

4. Organization of the study programme and further studies

4.1 Structure of the study programme and Qualifications

Music and Acoustic Engineering is a two-year Master Program in the area of Information Engineering (the "reference disciplinary area", as identified by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research is LM-32, corresponding to Computer Science and Engineering). Access to this program is possible with an undergraduate degree (or equivalent title) of at least three years, preferably in the area of Information Engineering (which includes computer science, telecommunications, electronics and automation), though it is not necessarily limited to such areas. 

Each one of the two years of the Master Program is divided into two semesters. In order to enable students to enter the program at the beginning of each semester, the first and the second semesters of each year are independent of each other, which means that the courses of first semester can be taken before or after those of the second semesters, if needed. 

This M.S. program has two tracks, identified as AE and ME. The AE (Acoustic Engineering) track has a special focus on computational, vibrational, musical and room acoustics. The ME (Music Engineering) track is more concerned with all aspects of musical informatics; audio and multimedia signal processing; music information extraction and retrieval; and music production technologies.

The first year of the Program is devoted to the study of the foundations of computer science, signal processing, acoustics and electroacoustics, from the perspective of audio, musical and acoustic applications. Depending on their background, students are assigned for the first year to either the Milano Leonardo Campus (students with a strong engineering and/or scientific background), or the Cremona Campus (students that need some degree of background reinforcement). In Cremona, in fact, a number of "alignment" courses are offered in an environment with a more favourable student/professor ratio, where the interaction with the instructors is more facilitated and encouraged.

During the second year of the M.S. program the AE track is offered exclusively at the Cremona Campus of the Politecnico di Milano, where lab facilities devoted to musical acoustics are located, and where it is possible to take courses at the Department of Musicology of the Pavia University (courses that are included in the M.S. program on restoration of historical musical instruments). Symmetrically, the second year of the ME track is only offered at the Milano Leonardo Campus, where it is possible to choose between a wide range of courses devoted to machine learning, artificial intelligence, mobile computing, etc. In Milano it is also possible to attend courses offered by the Music Conservatory "G. Verdi", as part of this M.S. program (these courses are in italian).

4.2 Further Studies

The qualification grants access to "Dottorato di Ricerca" (Research Doctorate), "Corso di Specializzazione di secondo livello" (2nd level Specialization Course) and "Master Universitario di secondo livello" (2nd level University Master)

5. Professional opportunities and work market

5.1 Professional status of the degree

The M.S. program in "Music and Acoustic Engineering" belongs to the "Degree Class LM-32" (Computer Science and Engineering), as defined by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research. It therefore grants access - after passing the related State Engineering exam - to the "albo degli ingegneri" (National Registry of Engineers) within the area of Information Engineering, and can rightfully use the official title of "Ingegnere". The National Register is divided into "Classes", corresponding to different professions that can be accessed by the graduate. Graduates of "Music and Acoustic Engineering" can access "Class 9", corresponding to Information Engineering.

Specific information on the official professions that can be undertaken in Italy in the Sectors listed in Section B of the National Registry of Engineers are included in the Italian Decree of the Presidentof the Republic of June 5, 2001, No. 328 ("Modifiche ed integrazioni della disciplina dei requisiti per l'ammissione all'esame di Stato e delle relative prove per l'esercizio di talune professioni, nonché della disciplina dei relativi ordinamenti", published as a Supplement N. 212/L of the "Gazzetta Ufficiale" No. 190 of Aug 17, 2001, general series).

Notice, however, that the State Engineering Exam are not officially required for the profession of Engineer in the computer science area, whether in the public or in the private sector, though it could be useful for some specific professions related to consulting.

A graduate in Laurea Magistrale of Food Engineering can practice the profession, after passing the examination of State Registration Section A of the Order of Engineers in the student's hometown.
More information is available on the "Ordine degli Ingegneri di Milano" website.

5.2 Careers options and profiles

The M.S. program in "Music and Acoustic Engineering" is an offshoot of Information Engineering, thus its graduates can count on a wide availability of well-payed work positions, which are typical of this sector. According to official data collected by ISTAT (the Italian National Institute of Statistics), of all graduates of M.S. Programs in Italy, Information Engineers find a suitable job in the shortest time (within 6 months of graduation as national average, and within 2 months for graduates of the Politecnico di Milano). In particular, graduates of the "Music and Acoustic Engineering" M.S. can capitalize on their strong background in computer science as well as signal processing and acoustics, which creates opportunities in the areas of musical acoustics, environment acoustics and electroacoustics, depending on the choice of "affine" and complementary courses of their study plan.

The didactic track of "Acoustic Engineering" gives the student the opportunity to gather expertise in the design and production of musical instruments (acoustic, electronic, and digital). Italy is rich with companies that produce musical instruments (Fazioli, Meazzi, Borgani, Rampone e Cazzani, Soprani, Orla, Fatar, Viscount, IK Multimedia, etc.), and so is Europe (Selmer, Bosendorfer, Moeck, Höfner, Hohner, Kurtzweil, Yamaha Europe, etc.), but also extra-Europen companies (especially Japanese companies such as Yamaha, Kawai and Roland) are actively seeking designers with this specific expertise, and are strongly interested in this specific professional figure. Italy has also a long tradition of excellence in the production of high-end loudspeakers, and there are quite a few Italian companies that produce such transducers (B&C Speakers, Faital, Ciare, Sonus Faber, RCF, etc.), as well as companies that produce P.A. systems and high-end and largescale audio amplification/diffusion systems (RCF, Powersoft, K-Array, Outline, Montarbo, Phoebus, Alto, Monacor, etc.). These companies have a hard time finding engineers that are specialized in the design of electroacoustic systems and digital audio processing algorithms.

Many are the international companies that produce pro-audio systems, where the Music and Acoustic Engineer would fit perfectly well. There are also many companies that focus on the production of micro-electronics and MEMS in Italy (e.g. ST Microelectronics, LFoundry, etc.) and abroad (Intel, Analog Devices, Sony, Yamaha, etc.). These companies have expressed a strong interest towards the Music and Acoustic Engineer, and have shown this interest by hiring a number of graduates in Computer Science and Engineering ("Sound and Music Engineering" track) over the past 10 years. Music and Acoustic Engineers are also particularly interesting to companies that produce acoustic sensors (microphones) and vibration sensors (Sennheiser, Neumann, ST Microelectronics, PCB, etc.), where a strong background in digital signal processing and computational acoustics is highly sought after.
Another area where the Music and Acoustic Engineer is well suited is that of acoustic surveys and design of listening environments. The number of positions in thus area is growing especially in the public sector, which is particularly interested in dealing with acoustic pollution, and improving the acoustic comfort. There is also a number of companies that do not specifically operate in the audio or acoustic area, but are still interested in studying, designing and monitoring the amount and the quality of noise emissions (e.g. the timbral qualities of the noise produced by domestic appliances or by cars), or the acoustic comfort and the acoustic design of acoustic signals (e.g. in elevators, or in car interiors), or the noise level of devices and systems (e.g. fan noise in computers, rolling noise of car tires, etc.).

The "Music Engineering" track, focuses on building a strong background in computer science and signal processing, which paves the way toward jobs as angineer in all the areas concerning creation, analysis, organization, managing and rendering of audio and multimedia content. The most representative companies in this area are music production labels and music distributors, radio and TV broadcasting companies (both national and private), advertising companing, and the many companies that offer audio streaming services (e.g. Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Music, Amazon Prime Music, Pandora, LastFM, RAI, etc.) and audio-video streaming services (Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, RAI, Sky, Mediaset Live, Hulu, DirecTV, Sling, HBO Now, Youtube TV, Sony Playstation Vue, ecc.). Particularly interesting are also those companies that focus on audience intelligence, or advertisement monitoring (both over radio and TV broadcasts, and over social media) for automated user profiling as well as content personalization (e.g. Auditel, IQ Media, oneAudience, Pulsar, NinthDecima, etc.).
Music Engineers can also be suitably employed by companies that produce audio amplification/diffusion systems and P.A. systems. They can also contribute expertise for the development of audio processing algorithms, an area in which these companies have a hard time finding specialized engineers.
Many are the companies, particularly at the international level, which address the audio consumer market (Apple, Samsung, LG, Onkyo, Yamaha, ecc.). In these companies Music Engineers can play a relevant role, thanks to their strong background in signal processing algorithms. This expertise is also very palatable to companies in the area of microelectronics and MEMS for audio consumer applications (ST Microelectronics, LFoundry, nVidia, Intel, Analog Devices, Sony, Yamaha, etc.), which have manifested a strong interest towards this new professional figure by hiring a number of graduates in Computer Science and Engineering ("Sound and Music Engineering" track) over the past 10 years.

5.3 Qualification profile

Acoustic Engineer ("Music and Acoustic Engineering", "Acoustic Engineering" track)

Abilities in a work context:

Acoustic Engineers are experts of vibrational and resonant systems (whether passive or active), from both the methodological and the design standpoints. They design, implement and optimize systems for production, processing, handling and rendering of soundfields, particularly for musical applications. Typical examples are the design of musical instruments (acoustic, electroacoustic, electronic and digital); amplification, diffusion and sonificationsystems; and listening environment. They also focus on the acoustic design of industrial environment, and on noise reduction and control. The Acoustic Engineer also excels in acoustic measurement campaigns, performing characterization and prediction of the acoustic behavior of all kinds of vibrational systems and environments, using advanced techniques of vibro-acoustic capturing and numerical modeling/simulation. The Acoustic Engineer, therefore, is a professional figure that knows how to best use multidisciplinary expertise, from acoustic/electroacoustic modeling and design to audio and acoustic signal processing, while making extensive use of advanced computer science methodologies (for managing and organizing this information) as well as a signal processing methodologies.
This professional figure has an active role in the scientific-technological evolution in this sector and the related applications, as it is characterized by a deep and rich background, well-developed critical thinking abilities, as well as high-end professional qualifications. The Music and Acoustic Engineer can also access the State Engineering Exam for entering the National Registry of information Engineers.

Abilities associated to the function:

Capturing, Organizing, Managing, Analyzing, Processing and Rendering of vibrational, acoustic, timbral and musical information in the following processes:

• Vibro-acoustic and timbral analysis and characterization, as well as predictive simulation and design of acoustic, electronic and digital musical instruments;
• Analysis, characterization, predictive simulation and design of acoustic environments, listening environments and architectural/industrial environments;
• Conduction of acoustic measurement/analysis surveys, for the evaluation of the noise profile and of the acoustic properties (insulation, absorption, etc.) of machinery, industrial plants, materials, environments and systems in general;
• Large-scale organization, management and processing of acoustic information;

Design and implementation of:

• Musical instruments
• Listening environments
• Audio amplification/diffusion systems, including immersive and 3D audio;
• Audio capturing and recording systems;
• Systems for the reduction and control of noise and vibrations.

Active contributions to the process of future evolution of design methodologies and techniques for musical acoustics.

Music Engineer ("Music and Acoustic Engineering", "Music Engineering" track)

Abilities in a work context:

Music engineers are experts of all methodological and implementational aspects of audio and musical information, with special emphasis on technologies for the processing of audio and sound. This professional figure is also designer (and expert user) of systems for managing musical information.

The music engineer has an active and critical role in the scientific-technological evolution in this sector and the related applications, which comes from a deep background on fundamentals; from an acquired propension to critical thining; and a remarkable professional qualification. The graduate of Music and Acoustic Engineering can access the Engineering State Exam and be inscribed in the Italian National Registry of Information Engineers.

Competences associated to the function:

Management of audio, acoustic and musical information in all processes of:

• Analysis, classification and processing of audio and musical content;
• Storage, representation, coding, organization, publishing and distribution of audio and musical content;
• Automatic annotation of audio and multimedia content;
• Automatic extraction of musical information from audio (from harmonic-rhythmic annotation to transcription);
• Affective/emotional analysis and classification of musical content;
• Harmonic, rhythmic, tonal and structural analysis and modeling of musical content.

Design and implementation of:

• advanced audio recording and capturing systems;
• Music production and post-production systems;
• Automatic annotation and transcription systems for musical and multi-media content (for application to rich media, music information retrieval, music recommendation, etc.);
• Systems for the assistance to composition and advanced musical didactics;
• Networked music performance systems
• Advanced systems for audio and multimedia content distribution (streaming, podcast, novel nonlinear formats)
• Systems for the creative design and management of musical live events;
• Systems for audio amplification and diffusione, and systems for reconstruction and immersive rendering of soundfields;
• Systems for the interactive management of audio in advanced applications (from museum installation to gaming);

Active contributions to the process of future evolution of design methodologies and techniques for music informatics and music engineering.

6. Enrolment

6.1 Access requirements

Admission to the M.S. program in Music and Acoustic Engineering requires a Bachelor degree (preferably a Bachelor of Science) of at least three years of duration and 180 CFUs (Italian credits, corresponding to ACTS standards). Of these 180 CFUs, at least 30 must be in math and physics disciplines, and 15 must be in the area of computer science.

CVs, qualifications, background and motivations of all applicants are evaluated by an Admission Committee (A.C.), nominated by the Study Council of the M. Sci. program.

Students with an Italian B.S. are subject to the admission rules set forth in the Italian version of these very Didactic Rules, which include specific provisions for automatic admission based on the student’s GPA and number of years needed to complete a B.S.

Foreign applications (and the equivalence of qualifications) will be examined and evaluated by the Admission Committee, whose members are listed in https://suono.polimi.it).

Based on the background of the applicant, the A.C. could decide to assign specific didactic constraints (i.e. courses that the student must take as part of the 120CFU that are needed for graduation). This is meant to fill possible background gaps, and help the student succeed in passing the main courses of the M.S. program.

In some cases the A.C. could decide to assign curricular integrations (i.e. courses to be taken in addition to the 120 CFUs that are needed for graduation, before entering the M.S. program).

Applicants are required to prove their level of proficiency with the English language. The required level must be no less than B2 (according to the CEFR level classification, as defined by the Council of Europe). For more information, please see Section 7.4 of these didactic rules.

First cycle degree (level 6 EQF) or comparable qualification

6.2 Requested knowledge

Admission to the M.S. program in "Music and Acoustic Engineering" requires a solid background on those topics that Information Engineering typically relies upon, i.e. Math, Physics and Computer Science. Basic knowledge of Electronics and Automation are helpful as well.

In order to fill possible background gaps, the Admission Committee might assign the student specific didactic constraints or curricular integrations (see Section 6.1).

6.3 Deadlines for admission and number of places available

6.4 Tutoring and students support

7. Contents of the study Program

7.1 Programme requirements

In order to complete the M.S. program in Music and Acoustic Engineering, it is necessary to acquire 120 credits (CFU) as specified in these didactic rules, 45 of which must be in the area of computer science (i.e. "scientific disciplinary sector" of ING-INF/05). In particular, the number of CFUs corresponding to "characterizing courses" (marked with the letter "B" in the tables) must be between 45 and 80; the number of CFUs corresponding to affine courses (marked with the letter "C" in the tables) must be between 25 and 45. No more than 10 CFUs must be spent in courses that can be freely chosen. Finally, the number of credits for the preparation of the M.S. thesis is 20 CFU. 

In order to complete the M.S. program in Music and Acoustic Engineering, it is necessary to acquire 120 credits (CFU), 45 of which must be in the area of computer science (i.e. in the "scientific disciplinary sector" of ING-INF/05). In particular, the number of CFUs corresponding to "characterizing courses" must be between 45 and 80; the number of CFUs corresponding to affine courses must be between 25 and 45. No more than 10 CFUs must be spent in other courses. Finally, the number of CFUs reserved for the M.S. thesis is 20.

According to Law No. 33 of April 12, 2022, simultaneous enrollment in two programs is allowed. Enrollment in two programs is possible only if they are of different degree classes (classi di laurea) and differ in at least two-thirds of their educational activities regarding academic credits. 

Consistent with what is defined by Law No. 33, at the student's instance, the maximum number of CFUs already taken in the other program and validatable is 40 CFUs for MSc programmes.

Please note that courses belonging to programs of a different level or type from the program you are enrolled in cannot be validated.

Full details on when to apply for validation and the administrative fees to be paid are available on the Polimi website: https://www.polimi.it/contemporanea-iscrizione

7.2 Mode of study

This M.S. program is full time, and implies the participation to lectures and lab activities.

This M.S. program requires full-time attendance, and requires the participation to lectures, seminars on specific topics on the part of experts in the area, and lab activities.

7.3 Detailed learning objectives

The M.S. program in Music and Acoustic Engineering is a single didactic program that is offered on two different campuses of the Politecnico di Milano, each focusing on a specific track: "Acoustic Engineering" (Cremona Campus), and "Music Engineering" (Milano Leonardo Campus). This is due to the presence in each campus of infrastructures and laboratories that are specific for the respective tracks. There are two automatically approved study plans (tracks): 

• MCR - Acoustic Engineering (Cremona) 

• MMI - Music Engineering (Milano)

These two tracks are described in the tables that follow. The student can define his/her study plan by choosing among the various courses that are listed in such tables. The courses that appear in both tracks are offered through tele-teaching with instructors that alternate their presence in both campuses.

The study plan of the students is subject to approval on the part of a didactic committee. Student are invited to consult with members of this committee before submitting their study plan for approval (the names of the professors that are part of this committee are listed on the webpage https://suono.polimi.it).

The Music and Acoustic Engineering program is semester-based. Some courses are taught in the first semester, which runs approximatly from mid-September to the end of December; and some are taught in the second semester, which runs approximately from the last week of February to the first week of June. Most courses are taught in English: in order to inquire about the language and the didactic rules of the individual courses, please look into the course webpages of the Politecnico's official website.

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In order to correctly prepare a study plan, whether pre-approved or autonomous, the following general rules apply:

1 – The total number of "type-B" credits marked as "ING-INF/05" (see columns "Type" and "SSD" in the tables) must be at least 45. Such courses are found in the ALC (CR), FUND-CS and INF lists. 

2 – Students attending the Music Engineering (MMI) track must include in their study plan at least 10 credits from the FUND-CS list (Milano Leonardo Campus).

3 – The total number of credits corresponding to "affine" or "integrative" activities ("type-C" in the tables) must be between 25 and 45.

4 – The total number of credits of "electives" cannot exceed 10. Courses that are considered as "electives" are those found in the tables UNIPV and MUS, and any other courses that are neither "type-B" not "type-C" in the following tables.

5 – Students must include in their study plan at least 10 credits from the following list:

• "Signals and Systems" (10CFU)
• "Multimedia Signal Processing" (10CFU)
• "Sound Analysis, Synthesis and Processing" (10CFU)
• "Sound Analysis, Synthesis and Processing - Module 1: Digital Audio Analysis and Processing" (5CFU)
• "Sound Analysis, Synthesis and Processing - Module 2: Sound Synthesis and Spatial Processing" (5CFU)

6 – Students must include in their study plan the course of "Fundamentals of Acoustics"

7 – The 20 credits of "Final Examination" (M.Sci. thesis) can be included in the second year, either in the first or in the second semester.

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While preparing their study plan, students are to keep the following into account:

• The course of "Selected Topics in Music and Acoustic Engineering" covers topics that are definedyear by year, and are expected to be taught by visiting scholars from prestigious foreign Universities. The positioning of this Course (first or second semester) could change based on the needs and constraints of the visiting professors;
• Students starting their M.Sci. program on the 2nd semester will have to negotiate their study plan with a professor of the didactic committee, and will have to include the course “Signals and Systems” instead of “Multimedia Signal processing”;
• The courses of "Multimedia Signal Processing" (10CFU) and "Signals and Systems” are to be considered as mutually exclusive;
• The courses of "Electronics and Electroacoustics for Sound Engineering - Module 1: Electronics for Sound Engineering" (5CFU) and "Electronics and Electroacoustics for Sound Engineering - Module 2: Electroacoustics for Sound Engineering" (5CFU) are incompatible with "Electronics and Electroacoustics for Sound Engineering" (10CFU);
• The courses of "Sound Analysis, Synthesis and Processing - Module 1: Digital Audio Analysis and Processing" (5CFU) and "Sound Analysis, Synthesis and Processing - Module 2: Sound Synthesis and Spatial Processing" (5CFU) are incompatible with the course of "Sound Analysis, Synthesis and Processing" (10CFU).

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Notice that:

• SSD = "Settore Scientifico Disciplinare" (Disciplinary Scientific Area, as defined by the Italian ministry)
• CFU = ECTS Credits

Innovative teaching forms 

Some of the above courses offer the opportunity to experience innovative didactic methods, in accordance to the didactic development plans of the Politecnico di Milano. These courses include a number of topics (for at least 1 CFU) that are offered using innovative methodologies such as the "flipped classroom". 

The M.S. program in Music and Acoustic Engineering participates and contributes to the university-wide program of innovative extra-curricular didactics, named People @ DEIB ( People@DEIB | Politecnico Experiences on Passionate Learning (polimi.it)), designed and offered jointly with the Engineering programs in Telecommunications, Automation, Biomedical, Computer Science, Electronics and Electrical.

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In what follows we include the tables describing the two didactic tracks (pre-approved study plans) of Music Engineering (MMI) and Acoustic Engineering (MCR), offered in Milano Leonardo and Cremona, respectively; along with accompanying tables with the related course lists. 

1 Year courses - Track: MCR - Acoustic Engineering

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title		Language	Sem	CFU	CFU Group
052828	B	ING-INF/05	ADVANCED CODING TOOLS AND METHODOLOGIES			1	10.0	20.0
054282	B	ING-INF/05	COMPUTER MUSIC - REPRESENTATIONS AND MODELS			1	5.0 [1.0]
052843	C	FIS/01 ING-IND/11	FUNDAMENTALS OF ACOUSTICS			1	5.0
055670	B	ING-INF/05	SELECTED TOPICS IN MUSIC AND ACOUSTIC ENGINEERING			2	5.0	10.0
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group UNIPV (CR)		--	--	--
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group ALC (CR)		--	--	--
052845	C	ING-INF/03	SIGNALS AND SYSTEMS			2	10.0	25.0
054283	B	ING-INF/05	COMPUTER MUSIC - LANGUAGES AND SYSTEMS			2	5.0 [1.0]
055673	C	ING-IND/13	VIBRATION ANALYSIS AND VIBROACOUSTICS			2	10.0
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group UNIPV (CR)		--	--	--	5.0
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group ALC (CR)		--	--	--

2 Year courses - Track: MCR - Acoustic Engineering

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title		Language	Sem	CFU	CFU Group
051483	B,C	ING-INF/03 ING-INF/05	MUSICAL ACOUSTICS			1	10.0	10.0
051489	C	ING-IND/11	ROOM ACOUSTICS			1	10.0	10.0
054274	C	ING-IND/13 MAT/08	NUMERICAL MODELING AND SIMULATION IN ACOUSTICS			1	5.0	5.0
055282	B	ING-INF/05	CREATIVE PROGRAMMING AND COMPUTING - MODULE 1: LANGUAGES AND ENVIRONMENTS			1	5.0 [1.0]	5.0
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group ALC (CR)		--	--	--
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group UNIPV (CR)		--	--	--
052831	C	ING-INF/01	ELECTRONICS AND ELECTROACOUSTICS FOR SOUND ENGINEERING - MODULE 2: ELECTROACOUSTICS FOR SOUND ENGINEERING			2	5.0	10.0
054273	B	ING-INF/05	SOUND ANALYSIS, SYNTHESIS AND PROCESSING MODULE 2: SOUND SYNTHESIS AND SPATIAL PROCESSING			2	5.0
052830	C	ING-INF/01	ELECTRONICS AND ELECTROACOUSTICS FOR SOUND ENGINEERING - MODULE 1: ELECTRONICS FOR SOUND ENGINEERING			2	5.0
054275	C	ING-INF/03	SOUND ANALYSIS, SYNTHESIS AND PROCESSING MODULE 1: DIGITAL AUDIO ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING			2	5.0
057871	B	ING-INF/05	MUSIC AND ACOUSTIC ENGINEERING CAPSTONE			2	5.0
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group UNIPV (CR)		--	--	--
091081	--	--	FINAL EXAMINATION		--	1	20.0	20.0
091081	--	--	FINAL EXAMINATION		--	2	20.0

1 Year courses - Track: MMI - Music Engineering

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title		Language	Sem	CFU	CFU Group
052828	B	ING-INF/05	ADVANCED CODING TOOLS AND METHODOLOGIES			1	10.0	25.0
054282	B	ING-INF/05	COMPUTER MUSIC - REPRESENTATIONS AND MODELS			1	5.0 [1.0]
088966	B,C	ING-INF/03 ING-INF/05	MULTIMEDIA SIGNAL PROCESSING			1	10.0
052843	C	FIS/01 ING-IND/11	FUNDAMENTALS OF ACOUSTICS			1	5.0	5.0
054283	B	ING-INF/05	COMPUTER MUSIC - LANGUAGES AND SYSTEMS			2	5.0 [1.0]	15.0
052820	B,C	ING-INF/03 ING-INF/05	SOUND ANALYSIS, SYNTHESIS AND PROCESSING			2	10.0
052834	C	ING-INF/01	ELECTRONICS AND ELECTROACOUSTICS FOR SOUND ENGINEERING			2	10.0	10.0
055673	C	ING-IND/13	VIBRATION ANALYSIS AND VIBROACOUSTICS			2	10.0
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group FUND-CS (MI)		--	--	--	5.0

2 Year courses - Track: MMI - Music Engineering

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title		Language	Sem	CFU	CFU Group
054281	B	ING-INF/05	CREATIVE PROGRAMMING AND COMPUTING			1	10.0 [2.0]	10.0
054278	B	ING-INF/05	MUSIC PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES			1	10.0 [2.0]	10.0
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group FUND-CS (MI)		--	--	--	5.0
055670	B	ING-INF/05	SELECTED TOPICS IN MUSIC AND ACOUSTIC ENGINEERING			2	5.0	5.0
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group INF (MI)		--	--	--
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group INT (MI)		--	--	--
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group TLC (MI)		--	--	--
052834	C	ING-INF/01	ELECTRONICS AND ELECTROACOUSTICS FOR SOUND ENGINEERING			2	10.0	10.0
057871	B	ING-INF/05	MUSIC AND ACOUSTIC ENGINEERING CAPSTONE			2	5.0
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group INF (MI)		--	--	--
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group INT (MI)		--	--	--
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group TLC (MI)		--	--	--
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group DI (MI)		--	--	--
091081	--	--	FINAL EXAMINATION		--	1	20.0	20.0
091081	--	--	FINAL EXAMINATION		--	2	20.0

Courses of the Group ALC (CR)

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title	Language	Sem	CFU
085887	B	ING-INF/05	BASI DI DATI 1		1	5.0
082746	B	ING-INF/05	FONDAMENTI DI INFORMATICA		1	10.0
052861	B	ING-INF/05	INGEGNERIA DEL SOFTWARE		1	5.0
085779	B	ING-INF/05	ARCHITETTURA DEI CALCOLATORI E SISTEMI OPERATIVI		2	10.0
086039	B	ING-INF/05	IMPIANTI INFORMATICI (PER IL SETTORE DELL'INFORMAZIONE)		2	5.0
054908	C	ING-INF/03	FONDAMENTI DI COMUNICAZIONI E INTERNET		2	10.0 [1.0]

Courses of the Group UNIPV (CR)

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title	Language	Sem	CFU
054927	--	BIO/03	BIOLOGIA APPLICATA AL RESTAURO		1	5.0
054933	--	L-ART/08	ETNOMUSICOLOGIA		1	5.0
054929	--	M-STO/08	FONDAMENTI DI BIBLIOGRAFIA		1	5.0
054928	--	ICAR/19 IUS/10	LEGISLAZIONE DEI BENI CULTURALI		1	5.0
051536	--	M-STO/08	METODOLOGIA DELLA RICERCA BIBLIOGRAFICA		1	5.0
061879	--	L-ART/07	ORGANOLOGIA		1	5.0
054930	--	L-ART/07	SOCIOLOGIA DELLA MUSICA		1	5.0
051531	--	L-ART/07	STORIA DELLA PRASSI ESECUTIVA		1	5.0
051535	--	L-ART/06	TEORIA E ANALISI DEL CINEMA E DELL'AUDIOVISIVO		1	5.0
054932	--	L-ART/07	MUSICHE POPOLARI CONTEMPORANEE		2	5.0
054931	--	L-ART/07	STORIA DELLA CANZONE D'AUTORE		2	5.0
056513	--	L-ART/07	STORIA DELLA MUSICA		2	5.0

Courses of the Group FUND-CS (MI)

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title	Language	Sem	CFU
085887	B	ING-INF/05	BASI DI DATI 1		1	5.0
089183	B	ING-INF/05	DATA BASES 2		1	5.0
089182	B	ING-INF/05	FORMAL LANGUAGES AND COMPILERS		1	5.0
052861	B	ING-INF/05	INGEGNERIA DEL SOFTWARE		1	5.0
054443	B	ING-INF/05	SOFTWARE ENGINEERING 2		1	5.0 [2.0]
088949	B	ING-INF/05	ADVANCED COMPUTER ARCHITECTURES		2	5.0
055633	B	ING-INF/05	COMPUTER SECURITY - UIC 587		2	5.0
095898	B	ING-INF/05	COMPUTING INFRASTRUCTURES		2	5.0

Courses of the Group INF (MI)

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title	Language	Sem	CFU
095946	B	ING-INF/05	ADVANCED ALGORITHMS AND PARALLEL PROGRAMMING		1	5.0
095903	B	ING-INF/05	ADVANCED OPERATING SYSTEMS		1	5.0
097685	B	ING-INF/05	ADVANCED USER INTERFACES		1	5.0
093212	B	ING-INF/05	DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF MOBILE APPLICATIONS		1	5.0
056899	B	ING-INF/05	EMBEDDED SYSTEMS		1	5.0
056889	B	ING-INF/05	FOUNDATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE		1	5.0
099993	B	ING-INF/05	IMAGE ANALYSIS AND COMPUTER VISION		1	5.0
056893	B	ING-INF/05	MULTIAGENT SYSTEMS		1	5.0
095943	B	ING-INF/05	PRINCIPLES OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES		1	5.0
052534	B	ING-INF/05	RECOMMENDER SYSTEMS		1	5.0 [2.0]
089181	B	ING-INF/05	THEORETICAL COMPUTER SCIENCE		1	5.0
056890	B	ING-INF/05	UNCERTAINTY IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE		1	5.0 [1.5]
089175	B	ING-INF/05	VIDEOGAME DESIGN AND PROGRAMMING		1	5.0
090957	B	ING-INF/05	CODE TRANSFORMATION AND OPTIMIZATION		2	5.0
090958	B	ING-INF/05	COMPUTER GRAPHICS		2	5.0
095947	B	ING-INF/05	CRYPTOGRAPHY AND ARCHITECTURES FOR COMPUTER SECURITY		2	5.0
089318	B	ING-INF/05	HYPERMEDIA APPLICATIONS (WEB AND MULTIMEDIA)		2	5.0
097683	B	ING-INF/05	MACHINE LEARNING		2	5.0

Courses of the Group MUS (MI)

No courses for this year. (1° ac)

Courses of the Group INT (MI)

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title	Language	Sem	CFU
097678	--	ING-INF/07	DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS		1	5.0
088983	C	MAT/09	FOUNDATIONS OF OPERATIONS RESEARCH		1	5.0
089180	C	MAT/08	NUMERICAL ANALYSIS		1	5.0
090037	--	ING-INF/04	MODEL IDENTIFICATION AND DATA ANALYSIS - 1ST MODULE		2	5.0
051822	C	MAT/09	NONLINEAR OPTIMIZATION		2	5.0

Courses of the Group TLC (MI)

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title	Language	Sem	CFU
096120	C	ING-INF/03	COMMUNICATION NETWORK DESIGN		1	5.0
091042	C	ING-INF/03	VIDEO SIGNALS		1	5.0
093735	C	MAT/09	GRAPH OPTIMIZATION		2	5.0
054322	C	ING-INF/03	INFORMATION THEORY		2	5.0 [1.0]
054323	C	ING-INF/03	INTERNET OF THINGS		2	5.0 [1.0]
089043	C	ING-INF/03	MULTIMEDIA INTERNET		2	10.0
091036	C	ING-INF/03	MULTIMEDIA INTERNET APPLICATIONS		2	5.0
054327	C	ING-INF/03	WIRELESS INTERNET		2	5.0 [1.0]
052845	C	ING-INF/03	SIGNALS AND SYSTEMS		2	10.0
054328	C	ING-INF/03	WIRELESS NETWORKS		2	10.0 [2.0]

Courses of the Group DI (MI)

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title	Language	Sem	CFU
056048	--	M-FIL/02	PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY		1	5.0 [5.0]
055806	--	M-FIL/02	CRITICAL THINKING(a)		2	5.0 [5.0]
055807	--	SPS/07	EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND SOCIETAL CHALLENGES(b)		2	5.0 [5.0]
052581	--	M-FIL/02	ETHICS FOR TECHNOLOGY(c)		2	5.0 [5.0]

^(a) Closed number subject
^(b) Closed number subject
^(c) Closed number subject

7.4 Foreign language

Applicants are required to offer proof of their proficiency with the English language. The required level is at least B2 (according to the CERFR level classification, as defined by the Council of Europe). This level must be certified, and the certification must be included in the application. The applicants must have reached the minimum required score, in compliance to the guidelines of the Politecnico di Milano. The regulations to follow on this matter are described in the document “Guida alla lingua inglese” (guidelines for the English Language). The minimum level required to access the M.S. in Music and Acoustic Engineering corresponds to the minimum requirenents of this University.

7.5 Degree examination

The final examination of the M.S. program is based on the defense of a M.S. thesis. The preparation of the M.S. thesis is worth 20 CFUs, one of which specifically devoted to the acquisition of further linguistic skills, such as scientific writing in English or an extended summary of the Thesis in English. The thesis can be written in English or in Italian, but it will have to include an extended summary in the other language.

The general rules of the final exam and the specific regulations for the M.S. program are available on the website of the School of Industrial and Information Engineering:

School: BSc and MSc final examinations (polimi.it) 

The final exam, consists of the discussion of a thesis, presented in the form of a written dissertation, which can be experimental or scientific (theoretical or applied research) and must include innovative solutions, in order to assess the scientific, technical and professional maturity of the candidate.

The thesis, developed under the guidance of a supervisor of the Faculty of the M.S. program, might be required to undergo close scrutiny on the part of an expert opponent, who would be required to assess its originality and validity.

8. Academic calendar

The academic calendare can be easily found on the official website of the University.

9. Faculty

The names of the instructors of the M.S. program and related courses will be published on the official "Degree Program" website starting from the month of September. The degree program is published on an annual basis on the website of the Politecnico di Milano.

10. Infrastructures and laboratories

Students of Music and Acoustic Engineering will be able to access all infrastructures of the Politecnico di Milano (computer rooms, libraries, study areas, cafeterias, sport facilities). Several courses include lab activity, which will take place in computer rooms or specialized laboratories.

11. International context

The M.S. program in Music and Acoustic Engineering offers a study experience in a highly dynamical and multicultural  environment, which is part of a wide network of international collaborations.
Research at the Politecnico di Milano supports this tight collaboration network through alliances with other Universities beyond national boundaries, with research centers in the public and private sectors, and with industrial partners. The quality and the impact of the research conducted at the Politecnico are confirmed by the rapid growth of connections with the international scientific community. Students, in fact, can take advantage of the large number of international projects and research programs in collaboration with the best European and International Universities, from North America to South-East Asia. 

Thanks to the internationalization efforts of PoliMI in the past few decades, according to the QS World University Ranking the  Politecnico di Milano is today ranked among the Top-Twenty Universities in the world according to all "rankings by subject", including Engineering and Technology (17th in 2018). 

12. Internationalization

Students of Music and Acoustic Engineering can access international study programs, based on numerous agreements with well-reputed partner Institutions. Students that are selected for aspecific mobility program can enrich their curriculum by spending a period abroad, while acquiring credits that are fully transfered to the Politecnico di Milano. Many are the oppurtunities of this sort, including: 

• period abroad within the Erasmus program, or with special extra-EU * programs, double-degree programs (which enable the student to receive a double M.S. title in a period of 3 years, two of which spent at a partner Institution abroad)
• internships in University labs or Companies abroad
• working on a thesis abroad

In the case of the ERASMUS program, the maximum number of credits that a student of Music and Acoustic Engineering can acquire abroad is 30CFU.

13. Quantitative data

The Didactic Evaluation Committee of the University, with the support of the didactic observatories of the Schools, conduct periodic assessments on the achievements and on the didactic quality of M.S. programs, by monitoring didactic activities and the performance of alumni after graduation. Reports on such studies are collected and made available on the website of the Politecnico di Milano.

14. Further information

Further information on the M.S. in Music and Acoustic Engineering of the Politecnico di Milano can be found on the website:
https://suono.polimi.it 
where contact information is available for specific questions on the program.

15. Errata corrige