Università degli Studi di Genova
Scienze dell'Architettura · Italian
Last checked: 26 July 2026
2026/27 admissions at a glance
Scienze dell’Architettura (Genova) — Genova
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 (Genova)
ItalianPlaces for 2026/27
Total: 160
Bando labels the 2 reserved seats 'cittadini cinesi', not 'Marco Polo'; wording 'di cui' makes them included within the 12. Quotas 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 degli Studi di Genova is among Europe's oldest universities, founded in 1481. It is a large public university (36,000+ students, 3,000+ international students from 110+ countries, 22 departments across 5 Schools), with satellite campuses in Savona, Imperia, La Spezia, Ventimiglia and Santa Margherita Ligure.
Academic reputation
QS World University Rankings 2026: Genoa rose from #547 to #530 globally, and from 224th to 204th among 958 European institutions; among Italian universities it rose from 17th to 15th of 65 ranked.
Position in Italian architecture education
A historic, mid-tier public architecture school (established 1962) -- smaller and less globally ranked than Politecnico di Milano or Torino, but distinguished by its unique historic-centre campus and a two-decade internship pipeline into the Renzo Piano Building Workshop.
International reputation
The architecture school (dAD) has been an official partner university of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop since 2004.
The architecture school
dAD -- Dipartimento Architettura e Design, part of the Scuola Politecnica — Stradone Sant'Agostino 37, Genova -- Castello Hill, the oldest part of Genoa's historic centre, in buildings by architect Ignazio Gardella built into the ruins of the ancient San Silvestro monastic complex
The programme inherits from the School of Architecture established in Genoa in 1962. The campus itself gave rise to the historically important discipline of urban archaeology -- among the first Italian/European experiences applying archaeological investigation methodology to monuments, later influential in restoration practice.
The school frames design as "a synthesis of multiple knowledge domains," a founding principle of what it calls "polytechnic culture," combining humanities/arts with exact sciences and techniques, and explicitly brands its pedagogy as "learning by doing," integrating physical and virtual modelling with prototyping.
A historic-centre campus doubling as active field-teaching material for urban archaeology and restoration, and a rare, verified institutional pipeline into the Pritzker-winning Renzo Piano Building Workshop.
Curriculum by programme
Scienze dell’Architettura (Genova)
Year 1
Subjects: Fondamenti e Pratiche di Info-Grafica per il Progetto; Fondamenti e Pratiche di Tecnologia; Laboratorio di Progettazione 1; Laboratorio di Rappresentazione 1; Matematica; Storia dell'Architettura 1; Lingua Inglese
Skills developed: Foundational graphic/digital representation, basic technology and mathematics for design, first design studio, history of architecture
Year 2
Subjects: Fondamenti di Urbanistica; Laboratorio di Progettazione 2; Laboratorio di Rappresentazione 2; Laboratorio di Tecnologia; Matematica 2; Statica e Meccanica delle Strutture; Storia dell'Architettura 2
Skills developed: Structural literacy, urban-scale design studio, continued representation and technology training
Year 3
Subjects: Fisica Tecnica; Fondamenti di Estimo; Fondamenti di Restauro dell'Architettura; Laboratorio di Progettazione 3; Laboratorio di Urbanistica; Scienza e Tecnica delle Costruzioni; Prova Finale
Skills developed: Restoration methodology, structural science, capstone urban-scale design synthesis
Educational characteristics
Design education
A progressive "Laboratorio di Progettazione" sequence (1-3), each pairing studio design work with a complementary technical laboratory (Rappresentazione, Tecnologia, Urbanistica) -- a classic Italian integrated-studio model growing in complexity year over year, across two parallel curricula: Architettura and Architettura del Paesaggio Sostenibile (sustainable landscape).
Technical education
Statica e Meccanica delle Strutture, Scienza e Tecnica delle Costruzioni, and Fisica Tecnica provide standard structural/engineering-adjacent grounding within the design curriculum.
Historical & cultural education
Explicit and substantial: Storia dell'Architettura 1 & 2, Fondamenti di Restauro dell'Architettura (Year 3), plus an advanced Laboratorio di Progettazione per il Restauro e la Valorizzazione del Patrimonio Culturale. Restoration is a named strand, consistent with the campus itself being a restored monastic/archaeological complex.
Digital education
Confirmed courses in digital design fundamentals (Fondamenti di Disegno Digitale, Fondamenti di Progettazione Informatizzata) and official language about updated digital tools in Year 3 -- no explicit standalone BIM course named.
Laboratory activities
Nearly every studio course is a Laboratorio; the school explicitly brands its pedagogy as "learning by doing," including physical and virtual modelling with prototype-building.
What makes it different
Genoa's campus sits inside the city's UNESCO-listed historic fabric (Castello Hill, overlooking the historic harbour basin), which the university explicitly frames as core field-teaching material for restoration and urban archaeology, not incidental scenery. The Renzo Piano Building Workshop has run a formal internship partnership with Genoa's architecture school since 2004 -- a two-decade institutional pipeline into a Pritzker Prize-winning studio, offering roughly 12 internship places per year (grant plus housing assistance, in Genoa or Paris) across the whole partner network.
Is this university right for you?
A good fit if you: want a verified, two-decade internship pipeline into the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, are drawn to restoration and urban archaeology, and want a low cost of living in a historic port city.
Less suitable if you: want a large cohort/big-city scale, since Genoa's programme and campus are comparatively compact.
International environment
International students
The L-17 Bachelor's is taught in Italian; a separate English-taught Master's, "Architectural Composition," exists for those seeking an international-language track. Free Italian-language courses are provided to international students.
Exchange programmes
Erasmus+ incoming/outgoing mobility for study and traineeship, plus the CINDA (Latin America exchange network) and summer schools across Europe; a bilateral partnership with Florida International University provides reciprocal exchange.
International partnerships
Renzo Piano Building Workshop (since 2004); CINDA Latin America network; Florida International University.
Career
Career outcomes
Independent professional practice, consulting roles at architecture/design firms, quality-control roles in construction, and positions in public planning entities -- spanning architectural design, building-engineering-adjacent, restoration/heritage, urban planning, and landscape design.
Internships
Extracurricular internship support is offered via the department's career-guidance services; the standout verified pathway is the Renzo Piano Building Workshop internship (selective, ~12 places/year across the whole partner network, not exclusive to Genoa).
Professional qualification pathway
L-17 graduates who pass the Esame di Stato register in Sezione B of the Ordine degli Architetti as Architetto Iunior. Direct access to the LM-4 (Genoa runs its own in-house LM-4 in Architettura) plus the State Exam leads to full Sezione A registration.
Student life
Living cost level: Low
Genoa is consistently described by cost-of-living aggregators as one of the more affordable major Italian cities; estimated overall student monthly budget roughly EUR600-800 including accommodation, food, transport and leisure, with shared-room rent roughly EUR250-330/month.
UniGe offers international-student support (orientation, free Italian courses, housing/visa assistance), and an active independent Erasmus student association (GEG) organises welcome/integration activities.
Admission at a glance
For exact seats, dates and fees, see the admissions section above — this is a qualitative summary only.
Frequently asked questions
Is Scienze dell'Architettura at Genoa taught in English?
No -- the L-17 Bachelor's is taught in Italian. UniGe's architecture department offers a separate English-taught Master's, "Architectural Composition," for those seeking an international-language track.
What can I do with a Genoa L-17 degree -- am I a qualified architect?
Not fully. After the State Exam, L-17 graduates register as "Architetto Iunior" (Sezione B) with limited professional scope. Full "Architetto" qualification requires continuing into a 5-year single-cycle LM-4 programme plus the State Exam.
Does Genoa's architecture school have any connection to Renzo Piano?
Yes, confirmed and official: the Renzo Piano Building Workshop has run an internship partnership with UniGe's Dipartimento Architettura e Design since 2004, offering select students paid, housed internships in Genoa or Paris.
What makes Genoa's architecture programme distinctive?
Its campus sits inside Genoa's UNESCO-listed historic centre on Castello Hill overlooking the historic harbour, in buildings designed by Ignazio Gardella from a restored monastic complex -- giving restoration, urban archaeology, and maritime urban-fabric study a uniquely embedded role in the curriculum.
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.