Universities may activate, by regulating them in the university teaching regulations, courses of scientific improvement and permanent and recurrent higher education, following the achievement of the bachelor's or master's degree, at the conclusion of which the titles of 1st and 2nd level university Master's degrees are issued (art. 3, paragraph 9 of Ministerial Decree 270/2004). To achieve the university Master's degree, the student must have acquired at least 60 credits in addition to those acquired to achieve the bachelor's or master's degree (art. 7, paragraph 4 of Ministerial Decree 270/2004). The university Master's courses may also be carried out in collaboration with external bodies, public or private, including foreign ones, in possession of high cultural and scientific qualification requirements as well as suitable personnel, facilities and equipment (art. 1, paragraph 6 of the University Master's Regulations). The Master's degrees, which normally last one year, are generally reserved for a limited number of participants and include a mandatory internship period.