Università degli Studi di Firenze
Scienze dell'Architettura (L-17) / Architettura (LM-4 c.u.) · Italian
Last checked: 26 July 2026
2026/27 admissions at a glance
This university runs 2 TEST ARCHED programmes. Seats, deadlines and fees are per programme and are never merged into one figure.
Architettura (Firenze) — Firenze
Degree taught in Italian
Official admission notice · Official programme page · Tuition schedule · Checked: 26 July 2026
Scienze dell’Architettura (Firenze) — Santa Teresa · Firenze
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.
Architettura (Firenze)
ItalianPlaces for 2026/27
Marco Polo explicitly a separate additional line item.
Scienze dell’Architettura (Firenze)
ItalianPlaces for 2026/27
Seat numbers and EU/non-EU breakdown not yet confirmed from the current-year bando PDF at time of research — do not infer from the 2025/26 bando.
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
Florence's architecture education traces to 1563, when Cosimo de' Medici founded the Accademia delle Arti e del Disegno on Giorgio Vasari's advice, with architecture taught among its disciplines. A dedicated Corso Speciale di Architettura was established in 1907, a full School of Architecture formed in 1927-28, and a Royal Decree elevated it to the Facolta di Architettura in 1936. Post-2010 reform reorganised it into the School of Architecture (teaching) and DIDA -- Dipartimento di Architettura (research/administration) in 2013.
Academic reputation
University-wide QS placed Florence around #375-404 globally in recent editions.
Position in Italian architecture education
Florence's architecture school is one of the oldest formally chartered in Italy, with roots in the 1563 Accademia -- founded in the very city of Brunelleschi's Duomo and the Renaissance architectural canon, a documented lineage rather than marketing language.
International reputation
DIDA lists named joint-degree collaborations with universities in Fes (Morocco), Tirana (Albania), Shanghai/Tongji and Nanjing (China), and Bordeaux (France), plus participation in Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility.
The architecture school
DIDA -- Dipartimento di Architettura, formed 2013 — Scuola di Architettura -- the didactic umbrella covering both Architettura (LM-4 c.u.) and Scienze dell'Architettura (L-17), among other Master's tracks
DIDA was formed in 2013 following the national faculty-to-department reform, unifying the prior Facolta di Architettura's teaching activity that dated to 1936 (and, in lineage, to the 1563 Accademia delle Arti e del Disegno).
The LM-4 c.u. is designed to train "un operatore culturale" -- a figure uniting humanistic culture with technical-scientific competence, referencing UIA-UNESCO's Reflections and Recommendations on architectural education and complying with EU Directives 85/384/CEE, 2005/36/EC and 2013/55/UE.
Scienze dell'Architettura (L-17) functions both as a self-standing professional Bachelor's and as the mandatory propaedeutic foundation for the LM-4 Master's -- the official ordinamento text states its foundational credits are an inderogable curricular requirement for access to Architecture/edile-architettura Master's generally.
Curriculum by programme
Architettura (Firenze)
Year 1
Subjects: Laboratorio di Progettazione dell'Architettura I; Corso integrato di Storia dell'Architettura I e Lineamenti di Storia dell'Arte Antica; Analisi del Territorio e degli Insediamenti; Disegno dell'Architettura; Fisica Tecnica Ambientale; Istituzioni di Matematiche I; Tecnologia dei Materiali e degli Elementi Costruttivi
Skills developed: Foundational design studio, architectural history, technical drawing, mathematics and materials science
Years 2-3 (biennio)
Subjects: Continuation of foundational base training (piano di studio detail for these years not fully retrieved from official cohort PDF)
Skills developed: Foundational technical and design competencies, consolidating Year 1
Years 4-5 (triennio finale)
Subjects: Applied/specialised study concentrated in characterising subjects and Laboratori di Progettazione; free electives from Year 4 onward; final thesis (18 CFU)
Skills developed: Specialised, applied design training; original research or design-based capstone thesis
Scienze dell’Architettura (Firenze)
Year 1
Subjects: Mathematical Analysis and Analytical Geometry; Laboratory of Architectural Design 1; technical foundations in statics and construction materials
Skills developed: Foundational mathematics, first design studio, construction materials basics
Year 2
Subjects: Laboratory of Architectural Design 2; structural mechanics; urban-planning fundamentals; building physics
Skills developed: Structural mechanics fundamentals, urban planning, building physics
Year 3
Subjects: Laboratory of Architectural Design 3; restoration studies; internship (tirocinio); Final Examination
Skills developed: Restoration methodology, professional internship, capstone final examination
Educational characteristics
Design education
Both degrees are organised around a sequential Laboratorio di Progettazione ("design studio") track -- LM-4: Laboratorio di Progettazione dell'Architettura I in Year 1, continuing through the 5-year arc; L-17: three Laboratory of Architectural Design studios (1-3) across its three years, described in the LM-4 SUA-CDS as the most substantial CFU block, concentrated in the specialised final three years for the Master's.
Technical education
Confirmed core competency areas for LM-4 graduates per official learning-outcome text: structural analysis and design, structural behaviour and calculation methodologies, laws of technical physics. L-17 Year 2 includes structural mechanics and building physics.
Historical & cultural education
Both curricula formally embed restauro architettonico as a named, examined discipline (integrated History of Architecture course for the LM-4 in Year 1; explicit restoration studies in L-17 Year 3). DIDA additionally runs applied digital-heritage research combining photogrammetric survey, 3D modelling and HBIM for conservation documentation.
Digital education
DIDA operates the LIA-BIM lab (Laboratorio Informatico di Architettura - Building Information Modeling) at the Santa Verdiana teaching complex, providing AutoCAD 2D/3D, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Rhinoceros 3D + Grasshopper, Adobe Creative Suite, Revit and Dynamo. A dedicated 'Rappresentazione digitale' module (3 CFU) runs in L-17 Year 1.
Laboratory activities
DIDA runs a Laboratorio Modelli per l'Architettura (physical model-making lab -- wood, resin, cement) plus a companion Laboratorio Modelli per il Design at the Calenzano site, under the DIDALABS umbrella, open to both degree programmes' students.
What makes it different
Florence's Renaissance built environment is not incidental scenery but the literal object of study in the mandatory Year-1 integrated History of Architecture course and the restoration curricula. The LM-4 c.u. programme explicitly frames itself as the direct descendant of the pre-reform five-year Architettura degree dating to 1936, itself descended from the 1563 Accademia -- few Italian architecture schools can document a comparably continuous institutional lineage anchored in the same city's Renaissance architectural canon. Applicants sit one shared admission test but must rank LM-4 c.u. vs L-17 preference -- test prep is shared but the professional outcome is not.
Is this university right for you?
A good fit if you: want to study architecture literally inside the Renaissance canon (Brunelleschi's Duomo, the Uffizi), value a documented institutional lineage back to 1563, and can afford Florence's high cost of living.
Less suitable if you: are budget-constrained, since Florence is one of the more expensive Italian cities to live in as a student.
International environment
International students
Both programmes are delivered in Italian; neither has an English-taught track.
Exchange programmes
Erasmus+ bilateral agreements plus non-EU cooperation agreements allow 3-12 months abroad with tuition-fee exemption and full credit recognition, managed by a dedicated School International Relations Service.
English-taught courses
Neither LM-4 c.u. nor L-17 has an English-taught track; both are Italian-language programmes per official course-catalogue metadata.
International partnerships
Named joint-degree collaborations with universities in Fes (Morocco), Tirana (Albania), Shanghai/Tongji and Nanjing (China), and Bordeaux (France).
Career
Career outcomes
Architettura (LM-4 c.u.) graduates pursue independent/associated private practice, design coordination roles inside construction firms or building-component manufacturers, and leadership/coordination roles inside public bodies governing construction/planning approval, with a secondary path into secondary-school teaching. Scienze dell'Architettura (L-17) graduates work on design/construction-management collaboration for buildings, direct and instrumental surveying, design and construction management of simple civil works, and maintenance/upgrading interventions -- typically at professional studios, architecture/engineering firms, construction companies and public agencies.
Internships
Both curricula include a distinct tirocinio (internship) CFU block; L-17's is explicitly built into Year 3 alongside the Final Examination.
Professional qualification pathway
The LM-4 c.u. is the full pathway to Architetto (Sezione A) registration after the Esame di Stato, EU-compliant under Directive 85/384/CEE and reconfirmed in 2014. The L-17 leads only to Architetto Iunior (Sezione B) under DPR 328/2001, with direct, unconditional access to the LM-4 Master's for students continuing toward full registration.
Student life
Living cost level: High
Third-party cost-of-living data (not official unifi.it figures) put overall student costs at roughly EUR800-1,300/month including rent, food and transport; a shared room outside the centre runs from around EUR500/month, a single room inside the historic centre EUR650-750/month, and studio apartments from around EUR850/month.
An 85sqm apartment in the historic centre averages roughly EUR2,000/month, versus roughly EUR1,400/month in the more student-oriented Rifredi district where several UniFI faculties are located.
Florence is a major, UNESCO-listed historic and heavily tourist-trafficked city -- a real cost and housing-availability factor for students, distinct from cheaper secondary Italian university cities.
Admission at a glance
For exact seats, dates and fees, see the admissions section above — this is a qualitative summary only.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between Architettura (LM-4) and Scienze dell'Architettura (L-17) at Florence?
LM-4 c.u. is a 5-year, 300-CFU single-cycle Master's leading to full Architetto (Sezione A) registration after the state exam. L-17 is a 3-year, 180-CFU Bachelor's leading only to the restricted Architetto Iunior (Sezione B) qualification, though it gives direct access to the LM-4 Master's for students who want to continue toward full registration.
Do the two Florence programmes share the same admission test?
Yes. Both use one shared national admission test; applicants submit a single application ranking their preference between the two degree courses, which is binding for enrolment.
Is Florence's architecture programme taught in English?
No -- both LM-4 c.u. and L-17 are delivered in Italian; no English-taught track was found for either programme.
What career can a Scienze dell'Architettura (L-17) graduate pursue without continuing to the Master's?
Registration as Architetto Iunior (Sezione B) under DPR 328/2001, permitting collaborative design and construction-management work, building surveying, and design of simple civil works -- but not the full, unrestricted scope of practice reserved for Sezione A architects.
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.