Study Plan Builder
An interactive guide to the 2026/27 Telecommunication Engineering regulation, built by students, for students starting their study plan.
This is an unofficial guide made by TEA students. You can read the full official regulation, currently published by Polimi as an informative draft, here .
How the 2026/27 plan is structured
Every study plan is built from the same six ingredients. The good news: since 2026/27 the five pre-approved tracks below already satisfy all of them and leave much more room for personal choice than before, so the Study Plan Committee recommends starting from one rather than building a fully custom plan.
120 CFU
Total credits required to graduate, across all two years.
Methodologies ≥ 20 CFU
At least this many credits must come from the Communication Methodologies group.
Methodologies + Technologies: 50-80 CFU
The combined total from both communication groups must fall in this range.
Maths + CS + Electronics: 15-40 CFU
The combined total from these three related-disciplines groups must fall in this range.
Lab Experience: 3 CFU
Pick exactly one of four lab options. Only once, and it cannot be repeated or added as an extra course.
Thesis: 17 CFU
Recommended in the 1st semester of year 2. One credit is dedicated to an extended summary in the other language.
Soft Skills (up to 5 CFU) are optional and, when chosen, replace (rather than add to) one of the flexible Maths / Computer Science / Electronics & Physics slots.
Build your plan
Start from a pre-approved track, then tick the courses you're considering within it. Totals update live. Nothing here is saved anywhere except your own browser.
Choose your track
Each track already satisfies every rule on its own — pick the one closest to your interests and you'll only need to fine-tune the flexible parts.
Signals and Data Analysis
The processing and analysis of heterogeneous signals (audio, video and images), with applications reaching beyond telecommunications into remote sensing and Earth observation.
Included automatically
Signals and Data Analysis 0 / 20 CFU
This track's dedicated pool — most of your specialization credits should come from here (across both years).
Beyond the pool above, freely add courses from any of these general groups to complete your 120 CFU.
Communication Methodologies 0 CFU
Communication Technologies 0 CFU
Mathematics 0 CFU
Computer Science 0 CFU
Electronics and Physics 0 CFU
School 3i and Soft Skills 0 CFU
Communication Networks and Internet
The design and management of communication networks: optical networks, cellular networks, the Internet of Things, and their evolution.
Choose one anchor course
Communication Networks and Internet 0 / 35 CFU
This track's dedicated pool — most of your specialization credits should come from here (across both years).
Beyond the pool above, freely add courses from any of these general groups to complete your 120 CFU.
Communication Methodologies 0 CFU
Communication Technologies 0 CFU
Mathematics 0 CFU
Computer Science 0 CFU
Electronics and Physics 0 CFU
School 3i and Soft Skills 0 CFU
Digital and Quantum Communications
Communication systems and transmission techniques: optical communications, terrestrial and satellite radio communications, drone-to-ground links, and quantum communications.
Included automatically
Digital and Quantum Communications 0 / 25 CFU
This track's dedicated pool — most of your specialization credits should come from here (across both years).
Beyond the pool above, freely add courses from any of these general groups to complete your 120 CFU.
Communication Methodologies 0 CFU
Communication Technologies 0 CFU
Mathematics 0 CFU
Computer Science 0 CFU
Electronics and Physics 0 CFU
School 3i and Soft Skills 0 CFU
Internet Engineering
The architecture of the Internet and the services it enables. Designed in synergy with the equivalent track in the Computer Engineering (Ingegneria Informatica) Master’s programme. Unlike the other four tracks, this one keeps an almost entirely fixed course list.
Included automatically
Systems and distributed computing 0 / 20 CFU
Networking and multimedia 0 / 10 CFU
Microwaves and Photonics
The principles and methods for designing, building and evaluating links and devices for information transfer, covering both radio-frequency and photonic technologies.
Included automatically
Microwaves and Photonics 0 / 20 CFU
This track's dedicated pool — most of your specialization credits should come from here (across both years).
Beyond the pool above, freely add courses from any of these general groups to complete your 120 CFU.
Communication Methodologies 0 CFU
Communication Technologies 0 CFU
Mathematics 0 CFU
Computer Science 0 CFU
Electronics and Physics 0 CFU
School 3i and Soft Skills 0 CFU
Fully custom plan
No pre-approved structure — you're picking from every course in every group. This needs explicit approval from the Study Plan Committee, so it's worth talking to them before you rely on it.
Communication Methodologies 0 CFU
Communication Technologies 0 CFU
Mathematics 0 CFU
Computer Science 0 CFU
Electronics and Physics 0 CFU
School 3i and Soft Skills 0 CFU
Thesis
Lab Experience: choose one (3 CFU)
Equalization courses
Rules worth knowing
The details that don't fit neatly into a checklist, straight from the regulation.
What are 'equalization' courses?
If your Bachelor's didn't cover everything expected of an incoming Telecommunication Engineering student, the admission committee may assign you one or more of these 5-CFU courses to fill the gap:
- Fundamentals of Communication Networks (5 CFU)
- Fundamentals of Electromagnetic Fields (5 CFU)
- Fundamentals of Signals and Transmission (5 CFU)
These credits aren't added on top of your 120 CFU: they count towards it. To compensate, you'll leave out some of the optional slots in year 2 (the ones normally filled with Maths / Computer Science / Electronics & Physics / Soft Skills courses). Talk to the Study Plan Committee about how to rebalance your plan before submitting it.
Which courses can't be combined?
A handful of courses overlap in content and can't be taken together. The regulation lists these explicitly, and the plan builder below will also warn you if you select a conflicting pair:
- Digital Communication I (5 CFU) and Digital Communication II (5 CFU) are incompatible with Digital Communication (10 CFU), since they cover the same content split in two.
- Communication Network Design (5 CFU) and Foundations of Operations Research (5 CFU) are incompatible with Network Design (10 CFU). New in the 2026/27 regulation.
- Audio Signals (5 CFU) and Video Signals (5 CFU) are incompatible with Audio and Video Signals (10 CFU).
- Wireless Internet (5 CFU) and Mobile Radio Networks (5 CFU) are incompatible with Wireless Networks (10 CFU), since the integrated course covers the same content combined.
- Geophysical Imaging (5 CFU) and Radar Imaging (5 CFU) are incompatible with Geophysical and Radar Imaging (10 CFU).
- Photonic Devices (10 CFU) is incompatible with Optical Interconnects (5 CFU).
- Fisica dello Stato Solido and Solid State Physics are incompatible (the regulation lists both as 5 CFU; the course tables list both as 10 CFU, an inconsistency in the current draft regulation, so double-check with the Study Plan Committee).
- Misure (5 CFU) and Fondamenti della Misurazione (5 CFU) are incompatible.
- Electronic Systems (10 CFU) and Electronics (10 CFU) are incompatible.
Where does the Lab Experience credit go?
The 3 CFU are strongly recommended in your 2nd or 3rd semester of attendance (2nd semester of year 1, or 1st semester of year 2, depending on when you enrolled). You choose exactly one of the four lab options, once, and it can never be taken as an extra, over-quota course.
Thesis: language and timing
The 17 CFU thesis block is recommended for the 1st semester of year 2. Your thesis can be written in Italian or English, but 1 of the 17 credits is specifically dedicated to writing an extended summary in whichever language you didn't use for the thesis itself.
Can I build a completely custom plan?
You can, but it's rarely necessary: since 2026/27 the five pre-approved tracks each offer a much wider choice of courses within their own specialization pool than before, so most interests are already covered. A fully "autonomous" plan can go further — even including courses not listed in this regulation — but it needs approval from the Consiglio di Corso di Studi, so it's strongly recommended to consult the Study Plan Committee before submitting one.
Who do I ask if I'm still unsure?
Every study plan is checked by the Study Plan Committee, and they welcome being contacted beforehand for advice. Committee members and contact details are listed on the official course website.
ccstlc.polimi.it