Università di Camerino
Scienze dell'Architettura (L-17R) · Italian
Last checked: 26 July 2026
2026/27 admissions at a glance
Scienze dell’Architettura (Camerino / SAAD) — Ascoli Piceno
Degree taught in Italian
Official admission notice · Official programme page · Tuition schedule · Checked: 26 July 2026
Programmes and campuses
Each campus is a separately comparable option: seats, and sometimes delivery mode, differ by campus even for the same programme name.
Scienze dell’Architettura (Camerino / SAAD)
ItalianPlaces for 2026/27
Total: 120
Quotas explicitly provisional pending ministerial decree.
International students & enrolment
Sources
TEST ARCHED results are valid only for the university where the test was taken (CISIA rule). This page states facts published by the university and CISIA; always confirm against the current admission notice before acting.
University Guide
Beyond admission: what this school is like, how it teaches architecture, and what studying here actually involves.
History
Universita di Camerino traces its origins to 1336/1337, refounded by Pope Benedict XIII in 1723 as Universitas Studii Generalis, and transitioned to full state-university status in 1959. It has roughly 10,000 students across 5 Schools.
Academic reputation
In the CENSIS 2026/2027 ranking, Camerino ranked #1 among Italian small state universities (10,000 or fewer students), scoring 95.3, ahead of Cassino, Reggio Calabria and Macerata -- an institution-wide ranking, not architecture-specific.
Position in Italian architecture education
Not a top-tier architecture powerhouse like Politecnico di Milano or Torino -- a small, specialised design school distinctive for its scale, its identity built around founder Eduardo Vittoria, and its Ascoli Piceno location rather than the main Camerino campus.
The architecture school
SAAD -- Scuola di Architettura e Design "Eduardo Vittoria" — Ascoli Piceno, across three sites: Annunziata, Sant'Angelo Magno, and Lungo Castellano -- not Camerino itself
Established 1993 as the Faculty of Architecture; celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2023. Restructured 2001-02 into two 3-year degrees; master's-level programmes launched 2004-05; reorganised as a Scuola in 2009 under its current name, honouring founder Prof. Eduardo Vittoria.
A compact, design-focused school offering a full vertical path from L-17R bachelor's through a 2-year master's in Architecture, plus specialised 1-year master's programmes in Eco Design and Eco Innovation, Energy Efficiency and Sustainability for Architecture.
SAAD's current director, Prof. Massimo Sargolini (a landscape/urban-planning specialist), sits on the official Comitato Tecnico Scientifico del Commissario Straordinario per la Ricostruzione post sisma 2016, holding Unicam's own delegation for reconstruction and development -- a real institutional-leadership link to central Italy's post-earthquake reconstruction, though not itself part of the marketed bachelor's curriculum.
Curriculum by programme
Scienze dell’Architettura (Camerino / SAAD)
Year 1
Subjects: Analisi Matematica; Laboratorio di Disegno dell'Architettura; Lingua Inglese B1; Teorie della Ricerca Architettonica Contemporanea; Fisica Tecnica; Fondamenti di Urbanistica; Laboratorio di Fondamenti della Progettazione; Geometria e Algebra Lineare
Skills developed: Representation/drawing fundamentals, mathematical/geometric tools for design, first design studio, foundational theory of contemporary architecture, English for academic use
Year 2
Subjects: Elementi di Statica e Scienza delle Costruzioni; Laboratorio di Progettazione Urbana; Rilievo dell'Architettura e della Citta; Storia dell'Architettura Antica e Medioevale; Laboratorio di Costruzione dell'Architettura; Diritto Urbanistico; Laboratorio di Progettazione Urbanistica
Skills developed: Structural fundamentals, urban-scale design studio, architectural/urban surveying, historical grounding, building-construction studio, planning law
Year 3
Subjects: Laboratorio di Progettazione Architettonica; Storia dell'Architettura Rinascimentale e Barocca; Tecnica delle Costruzioni; Teoria e Storia del Restauro; Estimo ed Esercizio della Professione; Laboratorio Progettuale Pre-Laurea; electives; final thesis
Skills developed: Full architectural design studio, Renaissance/Baroque history, construction technique/structural design, restoration theory and history, real-estate valuation and professional practice, capstone pre-thesis studio
Educational characteristics
Design education
Studio-centric ('Laboratorio') pedagogy runs through all 3 years and dominates the credit load -- each 12-CFU studio course is consistently the heaviest-weighted subject each semester.
Technical education
Present and sequential: Fisica Tecnica (Y1) to Elementi di Statica e Scienza delle Costruzioni (Y2) to Tecnica delle Costruzioni (Y3).
Historical & cultural education
Substantial: Storia dell'Architettura Antica e Medioevale (Y2), Storia dell'Architettura Rinascimentale e Barocca (Y3, 8 CFU, one of the largest single history allocations), and a dedicated Teoria e Storia del Restauro (Y3, 6 CFU).
Digital education
BIM appears as a separate postgraduate/CPD offering ("BIM Specialist," 150 hours); digital tools within the 3-year bachelor's are likely folded into the drawing/representation labs.
Laboratory activities
The programme is structured almost entirely around Laboratori (studio-labs combining theory and hands-on project work) rather than lecture-only exams.
What makes it different
Architecture and Design are combined in one compact School (SAAD) with only ~110 EU + 10 non-EU admitted places per year. The school is explicitly named for and founded by architect/designer Eduardo Vittoria, giving it a design-driven identity distinct from engineering-adjacent architecture faculties. Camerino is the top-ranked small state university in Italy for 2026/2027 (CENSIS, institution-wide). The degree is registered as L-17R (a regulated-profession variant), distinguishing it from a plain L-17.
Is this university right for you?
A good fit if you: want a compact, design-driven school built around a single design-culture identity (SAAD/Eduardo Vittoria), and want a low-cost small historic Marche city.
Less suitable if you: want a large cohort or a nationally top-ranked architecture brand — SAAD is a small, regional specialist school.
International environment
International students
The bachelor's is taught in Italian; B1 English is a required course, not evidence of English-medium teaching.
Exchange programmes
SAAD runs standard Erasmus+ Study Mobility (2-12 months), Erasmus+ Traineeship Mobility, annual Double Degree calls, and Third Country mobility opportunities, with dedicated international-mobility delegates for Architecture and Design.
Career
Career outcomes
Graduates prepared for the Architetto Iunior state exam and registration in Sezione B - settore architettura of the Albo degli Architetti (per DPR 328/2001), qualified for simple civil constructions with standardised technologies. Typical outcomes per SAAD's own programme page: surveyor/draftsperson, cartography specialist, archival/public-administration technical roles, urban-planning evaluator/manager, designer of simple spatial structures -- plus the degree serves as the standard prerequisite for continuing into SAAD's own Master's.
Professional qualification pathway
L-17R graduates register in Sezione B (Architetto Iunior) after the state exam; the "R" marks the programme as structured for the regulated-profession pathway, distinguishing it from generic L-17 listings.
Student life
Living cost level: Low
No official cost-of-living source was found. Small non-metropolitan Marche cities like Ascoli Piceno are typically markedly cheaper for rent and daily costs than Milan, Rome, Bologna or Florence.
A small historic Marche city.
Admission at a glance
For exact seats, dates and fees, see the admissions section above — this is a qualitative summary only.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the University of Camerino's architecture school based in Ascoli Piceno instead of Camerino?
SAAD was founded directly in Ascoli Piceno in 1993, well before the 2016 earthquake -- this isn't a post-earthquake relocation. Official sources don't state an explicit rationale for the original site choice.
What does the "R" in L-17R mean for this architecture degree?
The "R" marks that Unicam's course is structured as the regulated-profession track: graduates can sit the state exam and register as "Architetto Iunior" in Sezione B of the Italian Albo degli Architetti.
What can graduates of Camerino's L-17R programme actually do professionally?
They qualify to sit for the "Architetto Iunior" state exam and register in Sezione B, allowing them to take responsibility for simple civil construction projects using standard technologies -- but not the full scope of a five-year-qualified Architect. Many graduates continue directly into a Master's to pursue full architect status.
Prepare for the test
Study the same TEST ARCHED syllabus with cards, practice questions and mock exams.
- Research and data verification
- IMATNOTE Team
- Architecture review
- RYU
- Academic year
- 2026/27
- Last verified
- 26 July 2026
Applying from outside the EU? The non-EU application guide covers pre-enrolment, the study visa and qualification recognition. Common questions are answered separately.