Structure of the course

The master course consists of 120 credits overall, spread over a two-year programme.

The course is divided into 4 semesters, with a total of 77 credits (ECTS) delivered with teaching activities to acquire theoretical-practical knowledge.

Teaching activities comprehend a group of disciplines that are typical of zootechnical and veterinary courses, combined with a group of disciplines addressing the course towards the management and conservation of wild animals. Moreover, an English language course is included to improve and harmonize the students’ linguistic skills.

In addition, to achieve the master’s degree, the student must acquire:

• 8 ECTS from individually selected activities (Optional activities);
• 12 ECTS for the traineeship
• 23 ECTS for the preparation of the final thesis.

Teaching modalities

Teaching modules are delivered through the following modalities:

• face to face or blended lectures;
• interactive teaching (small groups of students coordinated by the lecturer who interact about a specific topic);
• laboratory activities to practice in the fields of genetics physiology, parasitology and microbiology;  
• outdoor activities to learn field methodologies applied to wildlife management (counting, sampling, catching, etc.);
• classroom practical activities to train on data analysis (demographic, ecological, genetic);
• seminars/webinars held by invited lecturers or visiting scientists on selected topics.

Specific teaching activities can be delivered using the distance learning format.

Attendance obligation

Students are encouraged to attend all  teaching activities, although this is not compulsory in order to pass the exams.

Exams

Individual preparation on each teaching activity is assessed by a final exam (oral or written) and, where applicable, by intermediate knowledge tests or by the presentation and discussion of a scientific essay. For each course a single mark is assigned that will be expressed in thirtieths.

Optional activities

The course offers the opportunity to develop skills on specific optional topics chosen by the student. These selected activities can be chosen from a range of teaching activities offered each year by the WMCC course or by other courses of the University of Sassari. Students are warmly encouraged to select activities that are tailored by the WMCC course to develop complementary skills with respect to the mandatory ones.

Traineeship

The traineeship is a compulsory activity consisting of 300 hours (12 ECTS) that can be carried out at the Department of Veterinary Medicine or at other public or private entities, in Italy or abroad. The student who is willing to start a traineeship has to submit a request indicating the hosting structure, content and schedule of the training and a reference person (supervisor) belonging to the WMCC staff. This activity can be propaedeutical to the thesis work and be conducted in the same structure.

The Department of Veterinary Medicine has signed a number of agreements with companies, training and research centres and other organizations that offer a wide range of traineeship opportunities to WMCC students.

Master thesis and final examination

Approaching the end of his/her study the student should submit a thesis proposal, agreed with a member of the WMCC teaching staff (internal supervisor). The master thesis must represent an experimental activity conducted under the supervisor guidance , followed by analysis of  collected data and the writing (in English) of an original paperwork. The experimental activity of the thesis can also be carried out at external structures, provided that the scientific quality of the activity is assured by an external supervisor.

The final examination focuses on the discussion of the thesis by the student in front of a degree commission composed by WMCC staff members. The student has to have taken all the examinations set out in the study plan and obtained a total of 197 ECTS to be admitted to the final examination.

The final marks, out of a total of 110, will be based on:

• the average mark,  out of 110, based on the marks of the overall curriculum;
• the score allocated by the degree commission on the basis of the thesis quality and originality, quality of the presentation and communication skills  (up to 8 points);
• 2 bonus points to whom gets the degree within the regular duration of the master course;
• up to 2 bonus points to whom has had study experiences abroad within mobility programmes like Erasmus or Ulisse (1 point for periods up to 3 months, 2 points for periods longer than 3 months);
• 0.5 points for participation to university committees in quality of student delegate during the period of the master course.

Candidates getting an overall mark of 110 or more can obtain full marks with honors (110 cum laude), only when proposed and unanimously approved by the commission.