Content Master's degree programs were introduced with the university reform 270/04 and have a duration of two years.

To be admitted to a master's degree program, one must have a bachelor's degree or a three-year university diploma, or another qualification obtained abroad and recognized as suitable.

The university establishes specific admission criteria for each master's degree program, which may include curricular requirements and the adequacy of the student's preparation, verified by the study programs with methods defined by each course, even for non-restricted admission programs. The admission criteria for each master's degree program are detailed on their respective web pages.

Students cannot be admitted to a master's degree program with educational deficits.

The legal value of the degree obtained in each master's degree program is defined by the ministerial class to which the program belongs: programs in the same class have the same legal value, thus allowing access to the same public competitions.

In addition to the master's degrees described below, the Department also offers inter-university courses in:

• Religions, Histories, and Cultures (LM64), with the University of Bologna and the Theological Faculty of Emilia Romagna, based in Bologna.
• Philosophy (LM78), with the University of Parma and the University of Ferrara, administratively based in Parma.

The master's degree is awarded after acquiring 120 university educational credits (CFU).

The university educational credit measures the effort required by the student to pass the assessment of a course (exam or suitability test). The number of credits assigned to the courses is determined by the Department. Credits for each course are awarded to the student after passing the exam, evaluated on a scale of thirty, or the suitability test at the end of the course.

In the Department of Education and Human Sciences, credits are acquired by passing the exams specified in the master's degree program to which the student is enrolled and in the chosen curriculum, where more than one is available.

To fully benefit from learning opportunities, attending classes is very important; however, attendance is not mandatory.

Among the CFUs earned in the master's degree program, there are also free-choice credits, which the student obtains by taking exams of their choice, consistent with their study path and included in their online study plan.

Students can apply for evaluation for access to the master's degree even if they expect to graduate by December; they can then enroll only after obtaining their bachelor's degree and being deemed suitable by the study program, according to the procedures outlined in the notices published on the university's website.