Master in Automation and Control Engineering

Automation and Control Engineering is a two-year master's program taught in English at Politecnico di Milano in Milano, Italy. The discipline focuses on the design and management of systems that operate with minimal human intervention, spanning industrial processes, robotics, and infrastructure. Core subjects typically include control theory, systems modeling, sensors and actuators, programmable logic controllers, and the software that governs automated machinery and processes. Students learn how feedback loops and control algorithms keep systems such as manufacturing lines, robotic arms, and process plants operating within desired parameters, along with how to diagnose and correct instability or error in these systems. The field also engages with robotics, mechatronics, and increasingly with the integration of automation systems into broader digital and networked environments used in modern industry. Because automation touches nearly every sector that relies on machinery or continuous processes, from manufacturing to energy to transportation, the discipline draws on electrical engineering, computer science, and mechanical engineering fundamentals. Students typically gain both theoretical grounding in control systems mathematics and practical experience applying that theory to real equipment and simulated environments. Graduates commonly work as automation engineers, control systems engineers, robotics engineers, or process engineers within manufacturing companies, automotive and aerospace firms, energy providers, and engineering consultancies. Others move into research roles focused on advancing robotics or industrial automation technology. Studying this program in English at Politecnico di Milano places students within an Italian engineering tradition recognized for its manufacturing and industrial base, while learning alongside an international cohort of peers.