29 questions about the test, the universities, seats, fees and applying from outside the EU. Every answer here is either general information or drawn from the official sources cited on the page it concerns.
The test
What is TEST ARCHED?
TEST ARCHED is the admission test used by many Italian universities for their architecture degree programmes. It is run through CISIA, the consortium that operates several Italian university admission tests, and each participating university publishes its own admission notice (bando) setting out how the test is used for its programmes.
Is TEST ARCHED the same as ARCHED?
They refer to the same test. Universities and CISIA use the fuller name TEST ARCHED in their official documents, which is the spelling used throughout this site.
Which subjects are tested?
The official topic list is published by CISIA and is summarised on our syllabus page, which links to the current official source. We do not restate the syllabus separately on each university page, so that there is only one place for it to be kept current.
Is the test available in English?
Not everywhere. Of the 36 admission cycles listed on this site, 3 offer an English-language TEST ARCHED sitting, at 2 universities. The language of the test is set by each university in its own admission notice, and it is a separate question from the language the degree is taught in.
How is the score calculated?
Scoring, including whether incorrect answers carry a penalty, is defined in the official CISIA test rules and in each university's admission notice. Because the details can differ between universities and between test sittings, we link to the official notice on every programme rather than restating a single rule here.
Universities and programmes
Which universities use TEST ARCHED?
This site lists 27 universities running 36 TEST ARCHED admission cycles for 2026/27, each with its own guide built from that university's official admission notice. The full list is on the universities page and in the programme catalogue.
Why do university, programme and campus counts differ?
They count different things. One university can run several TEST ARCHED programmes, and one programme can be taught at a campus in a different city from the university's main seat. For 2026/27 that gives 27 universities, 36 programmes, and a larger number of campuses again — so "how many universities offer it" and "how many programmes can I apply to" have different answers.
Does Politecnico di Torino use TEST ARCHED?
No. Politecnico di Torino admits to its architecture programmes through its own test, TIL-A, not through TEST ARCHED. It is therefore not part of the dataset on this site, and it does not appear in the catalogue, the map or the university list.
Do all architecture programmes at these universities use TEST ARCHED?
No. Several architecture programmes at participating universities admit by other means, for example by qualifications only. Those programmes are deliberately excluded from the catalogue, because listing them under TEST ARCHED would misstate how to apply to them.
Can I apply to more than one university?
Each university runs its own admission procedure with its own deadline and fee, and a TEST ARCHED result is generally valid for the university where the test was taken. Check each university's official admission notice for what it accepts, and note that non-EU applicants may face additional limits at the pre-enrolment stage.
Seats and quotas
What is the difference between EU and non-EU seats?
Italian universities publish separate seat quotas for EU and EU-equivalent applicants and for non-EU applicants residing abroad. They are separate competitions, not one pool, so this site never adds them together into a single figure.
What is the Marco Polo quota?
Marco Polo is a programme for applicants from China, and universities allocate places for it. Whether those places sit inside the non-EU quota or are an additional allocation genuinely varies between universities, so we record and display it per programme rather than assuming one rule.
If a quota shows zero, does that mean there are no seats?
Only when the university published a zero. This site distinguishes "0 seats officially allocated", which is a fact the admission notice states, from "awaiting official publication" and "not found in official sources", which mean the figure is not known. A blank or a zero is never used to stand in for something unpublished.
Why is a total sometimes shown as calculated?
Because not every admission notice prints a single total. Where it does, we show the official total. Where it does not, we add up the quota figures the notice does publish and label the result as calculated from verified components — a sum we performed is never presented as a figure the university printed.
What does "conflicting official sources" mean?
It means the official documents disagree with each other about a figure, so we keep both values and report the disagreement instead of choosing one. It appears where, for example, a decree's recitals and its operative article state different seat numbers.
What does "provisional" mean on a seat figure?
University admission notices commonly publish their seat tables subject to confirmation by a ministerial decree. Where a notice says so, the figure is labelled provisional here until the definitive allocation is confirmed by a retrievable official document.
Fees and tuition
What is the application fee?
It is the amount the university charges to register for the admission procedure and the test, set in its admission notice. It is a separate matter from tuition, and every fee shown on this site is taken from the notice that states it. Where a notice does not state a fee, we say so — we never treat silence as "free".
Is tuition the same at every university?
No, and it is often not a single number at all. Most Italian public universities set the annual student contribution on a scale based on ISEE, the household economic indicator, so the realistic figure is a range rather than a price. Regional tax and stamp duty are charged separately and are shown separately here, never silently added into tuition.
What is ISEE?
ISEE is the Italian indicator of household economic situation used to set the student contribution and eligibility for exemptions. Universities publish bands, and many define a "no-tax area" below which the contribution is zero. How applicants with income or assets abroad are assessed is set by each university's own regulation.
Why does tuition sometimes say "awaiting publication"?
Because the university has not yet issued its regulation for 2026/27. That is different from information being missing or not found, so it is labelled as awaiting publication, and any prior-year figures are shown only with their academic year attached.
Applying from outside the EU
Do I need to use Universitaly?
Non-EU applicants residing abroad normally complete a pre-enrolment application on Universitaly, the official Italian portal, in addition to applying to the university and registering for the test. Our Non-EU applicants guide sets out the steps and links to the official sources; the university's own admission notice and the competent Italian consulate remain the authority.
Does being admitted guarantee a student visa?
No. Admission to a programme and the issue of a visa are separate decisions taken by different authorities. The competent Italian diplomatic mission decides on the visa according to the requirements in force at the time of application.
Is a Declaration of Value the same as a CIMEA statement?
No. They are different documents issued by different bodies for different purposes, and one is not automatically a substitute for the other. Which one a university accepts or requires is stated by that university, so check its own international admissions instructions. The Non-EU applicants guide explains the distinction with official sources.
Which Italian embassy or consulate should I contact?
For the visa, the Italian mission responsible for your place of legal residence. For a Declaration of Value the competent office can be a different one, because jurisdiction generally follows the country where the qualification was awarded rather than where you live now. University requirements and consular requirements are separate, and consular requirements differ from one jurisdiction to the next, so this site does not publish a single document list presented as applying everywhere. Confirm which office handles your case, and what it currently requires, through official Italian diplomatic channels.
About this site
Who researches the information?
The IMATNOTE Team. Every admissions figure on this site is taken from an official university admission notice, tuition regulation or public-authority document, and each record carries the source and the date it was last checked.
Who is RYU?
RYU is the academic reviewer for architecture content on this site: a Politecnico di Milano architecture graduate who reviews explanations of programme structure, design studios, academic progression and student life. He does not review the admissions data, which is the team's work, and he is not an adviser on visa or immigration matters.
Does IMATNOTE guarantee admission?
No. Admission results depend on the applicant, the admission cycle and other factors. IMATNOTE does not guarantee admission, and no page on this site should be read as promising a place or a visa.
How often is the information updated?
Records are re-checked against their official sources and each one displays its own last-checked date, so you can see the age of a specific figure rather than a single site-wide claim. Items awaiting official publication are re-checked when the relevant document is issued.
How do I report a correction?
Please get in touch through the contact page linked in the footer, quoting the page and the official source. If an official document disagrees with something here, the official document wins and the record is updated.
- Research and data verification
- IMATNOTE Team
- Architecture review
- RYU
- Academic year
- 2026/27