Università degli Studi di Sassari
Scienze dell'Architettura e del Progetto (L-17) · Italian
Last checked: 26 July 2026
2026/27 admissions at a glance
Scienze dell’Architettura e del Progetto (Sassari / Alghero) — Alghero
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 e del Progetto (Sassari / Alghero)
ItalianPlaces for 2026/27
Total: 70
Bando says 'cittadini cinesi' not 'Marco Polo'; 'di cui' makes the 6 included within the 10. No provisional caveat in this 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
Universita degli Studi di Sassari was founded in 1562. It enrols roughly 13,000 students across 10 departments and ranked 3rd nationally among Italian universities in the 2024-25 CENSIS institutional ranking.
Academic reputation
The Bachelor's degree at DADU Alghero scored 102.5 and ranked 4th nationally among three-year architecture/civil-engineering-area degrees in the CENSIS 2025/2026 ranking. The department has ranked 1st nationally for bachelor's programmes seven times since CENSIS-La Repubblica rankings began in 2009, and 1st nationally for international relations/mobility in 2024.
Position in Italian architecture education
A small, regional programme -- 33 professors and 14 researchers department-wide, not a large architecture school like Politecnico di Milano or IUAV Venice -- but a genuine, officially-recognised niche/quality regional player, particularly strong on international mobility.
International reputation
Ranked 1st nationally for international relations/mobility in the CENSIS 2024 ranking.
The architecture school
DADU -- Dipartimento di Architettura, Design e Urbanistica — Based in Alghero, not Sassari itself -- roughly 35 km from the main Sassari campus
Established as the Faculty of Architecture in Alghero in 2004.
The department describes a vivid, updated and international cultural environment spanning design/architecture/urban planning at multiple scales, plus foundational disciplines (philosophy of science, mathematics).
The curriculum is explicitly organised around three thematic phases the department itself calls an internationally-inspired model "not yet common in Italy": SPAZI (scalar dimensions, Year 1), TEMPI (Costruzione/Conservazione/Riuso, Year 2 and first half of Year 3), and TEMI/PROFESSIONI (personalised electives, internship and thesis, second half of Year 3).
Curriculum by programme
Scienze dell’Architettura e del Progetto (Sassari / Alghero)
Year 1 (SPAZI)
Subjects: Casa (Laboratorio di progettazione); Scienze grafiche (Disegno manuale e pensiero grafico + Fondamenti di rappresentazione + Modellazione digitale/BIM); Analisi matematica e geometria; Storia dell'architettura I; Citta e territorio (Progetto urbano + Culture del progetto); Topografia antica; Ecologia
Skills developed: Design across scales from the object/house outward to the urban/territorial scale, alongside graphic/representational, mathematical and historical foundations
Year 2 (TEMPI: Costruzione/Conservazione/Riuso)
Subjects: Progetto e costruzione (Progettazione architettonica + Tecnologia dell'architettura); Fisica tecnica ambientale; Statica; Storia dell'architettura II; Progetto e contesto (Progettazione architettonica + Estimo); Fondamenti di restauro (Laboratorio di restauro); Scienza dei materiali; Scienza delle costruzioni
Skills developed: Technical, constructive and cultural competence organised around construction, conservation and adaptive reuse themes
Year 3 (TEMPI continued + TEMI/PROFESSIONI)
Subjects: Progetto e ambiente (Progettazione architettonica + Progettazione ambientale); Storia dell'architettura III; Riqualificazione del costruito e sostenibilita; Lingua inglese B1; Epistemologia del progetto; electives (12 CFU); Tirocinio (9 CFU); Prova finale
Skills developed: Interdisciplinary electives personalising the student's profile, followed by mandatory internship and final thesis/portfolio
Educational characteristics
Design education
Design work begins in semester 1 of Year 1, not delayed to later years, following an explicit 'learning by doing' pedagogy the department describes as adopted from successful foreign schools.
Technical education
Statica, Scienza delle costruzioni, Fisica tecnica ambientale, and Scienza dei materiali provide a full structural/technical track running through Years 1-2.
Historical & cultural education
Three sequential Storia dell'architettura courses (I-III), a dedicated Fondamenti di restauro (Laboratorio di restauro) in Year 2, and Riqualificazione del costruito e sostenibilita in Year 3 -- restoration/heritage is a structured, credit-bearing thread throughout.
Digital education
The first-year "Scienze grafiche" course explicitly runs from freehand drawing through to the most advanced project-management methods via BIM (Building Information Modeling), confirmed embedded in Year 1.
Laboratory activities
A mandatory tirocinio (minimum 2 months / 225 hours, in Italy or abroad) in the final semester, plus a thesis-lab format for the final exam (portfolio and written/graphic work).
What makes it different
The thematic-semester curriculum structure (SPAZI -> TEMPI -> TEMI/PROFESSIONI) is explicitly called out by the department as an unusual, internationally-inspired model not yet common in Italy. Alghero itself is a genuinely distinctive small city (population ~41,700) with a medieval Gothic/Baroque historic centre, colonised by the Catalans in 1354, still home to a living Catalan-dialect linguistic minority, nicknamed 'Barceloneta sarda,' on the Riviera del Corallo coast -- a distinctive lifestyle/location context, though not an explicit official curricular claim.
Is this university right for you?
A good fit if you: want to study in a small, distinctive Catalan-heritage coastal town, value an unusually structured 'learning by doing' thematic curriculum, and want low competition for admission.
Less suitable if you: want to be based in a large city, or need year-round low costs — Alghero's tourism economy pushes prices up seasonally.
International environment
International students
The programme is taught in Italian, with a compulsory English course (B1 level) in Year 3.
Exchange programmes
75 Erasmus+ study agreements, including some non-European partner universities, with dedicated incoming-mobility coordination and Italian-language courses for foreign students.
Erasmus
The official Regolamento awards bonus points on the final thesis grade for completing an international mobility period (up to 3 of 9 available points) -- an institutionally strong outbound-mobility incentive.
Career
Career outcomes
Graduates may sit the State exam and register with the Albo degli Architetti, Pianificatori, Paesaggisti e Conservatori as Architetto Iunior (Sezione B), qualifying for independent professional practice on standardised/simple constructions and for surveys of existing buildings. Typical employers: private architecture/engineering design firms, public technical offices, and building-product/construction companies. The L-17 is structured to feed directly into DADU's own Laurea Magistrale in Architettura for full Architetto (Sezione A) registration.
Internships
Mandatory, 9 CFU, minimum 2 months/225 hours full-time, completable in Italy, abroad via Erasmus+ for Traineeship, or via the university's own "Ulisse" programme for non-European destinations.
Professional qualification pathway
L-17 leads only to Architetto Iunior (Sezione B) registration -- full Architetto registration requires continuing to DADU's own LM in Architecture.
Student life
Living cost level: Medium
No official cost-of-living source was found. Small Sardinian coastal towns are typically cheaper than Milan, Rome or Bologna for rent and daily living, but Alghero's tourism-driven economy pushes housing/food costs up sharply in summer months when student housing supply also competes with tourist rentals.
Alghero is a small coastal town with a seasonal tourist economy, served by Fertilia airport with direct European connections.
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 Sassari's architecture programme based in Alghero instead of Sassari?
The Department of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning (DADU) has its own dedicated campus in Alghero, roughly 35 km from the main Sassari campus, and was formally established there in 2004. Official sources confirm the Alghero location but do not publish the specific historical rationale for the geographic split.
What degree does this programme lead to, and can graduates call themselves architects?
It's a 3-year Bachelor's (L-17), "Scienze dell'Architettura e del Progetto." Graduates can register as "Architetto Iunior" (Section B) after the state exam -- qualified for standardised construction work, but full "Architetto" registration requires continuing into DADU's own Master's degree.
How is the curriculum structured across the three years?
Around three thematic phases: Year 1 focuses on design at increasing scales (house to city/territory); Year 2 and the first half of Year 3 focus on construction, conservation and adaptive reuse; the second half of Year 3 offers interdisciplinary electives, a mandatory internship, and the final thesis.
Is teaching in English, and are there international opportunities?
The programme is taught in Italian, with a compulsory English course (B1 level) in Year 3. The department maintains 75 Erasmus+ study agreements and gives thesis-grade bonus points for completing international study or internship mobility.
Prepare for the test
Study the same TEST ARCHED syllabus with cards, practice questions and mock exams.
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- 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.