Università di Bologna - UNIBO Speciality : Linguistics
programme: Semiotics

I’m 23 years old, I have a bachelor’s degree in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation and I’ve just started a master’s in Semiotics at Alma Mater Studiorum of Bologna.

From an academic point of view, the course is very coherent and multifaceted, it involves all the fields and the sub-disciplines to which the study of Semiotics can be applied (media, art, geographic communication) and it gives the students the chance to customize their programme by choosing exams from others academic paths (such as cinema, linguistic, philosophy, photography, etc).

During the courses, the teachers give you the possibility to practice what you learn and study – it’s not all theory and boring stuff, but you actually examine and analyze commercial spots, movies, and other narrative texts! What I expect from the course is actually what they are offering at the moment: to build and develop the instruments to read the reality from a semiotic point of you (which includes linguistic, cognitive, perceptive skills that you are invited to grow or sharpen).

Moreover, half of the courses and activities are in English, so there is the chance to improve the language skills too.

There are some aspects that a wannabe Semiologist should consider before attending this course. In the academic contest, the future perspective isn’t well explained. Besides the academic ambitions (PhD, master’s), the other applications or job figures are extremely vague. Of course, you can apply Semiotics to commercial communication, social media strategy, business activity, and so on. But it’s actually up to you, because this isn’t a ‘professionalizing’ degree. You are expected to continue your academic journey or to apply after you have obtained the skills and competencies, this study to something else.

In conclusion, I think that this course is for someone who wants to build an analytic eye on what is around us – which is, to me, a rare and consistent skill that can be useful and sometimes crucial for some jobs (copywriters, art directors, etc).