In the Italian university system, pursuant to Law No. 270 of 2004, the Laurea Magistrale (Master’s Degree) is a second-level academic qualification awarded by University Departments established under Law No. 240/2010 (formerly known as faculties before 2010). It may be obtained either through two-year postgraduate courses open to holders of a Bachelor’s Degree (Laurea Triennale), or through a single-cycle programme lasting five or six years.
The Laurea Magistrale replaces the "Laurea Specialistica" introduced by the university reform of 1999. Like the previous model, it comprises a total of 300 university credits (CFU), of which, in the non-single-cycle path, 180 are earned through the Bachelor’s Degree and possible additional credit recovery, and 120 are specific to the Master's programme. In many cases, the Laurea Magistrale is equivalent to the pre-1999 university “Diploma di Laurea.”