Rules for selecting Architecture courses

Didactic activities

• STUDIO (laboratorio): practical course work, involve several professors and external professionals. Attending is mandatory!
• MONODISCIPLINARY COURSE: theoretic course taught in frontal lectures and verified with tests or oral exams.
• INTEGRATED COURSE: consist in modules held by several professors covering different topics. You must take each module and pass them ALL.
• WORKSHOP: one week intensive course during which you will develop a project under the guidance of an established and well-known professional or a company.

Good to know

Please note that due to the high demand for popular study programmes, the School of Architecture Urban Planning Construction Engineering (AUIC School) will accept your application and assign you to the most appropriate study programme based on your academic background. Please find the general guidelines of the AUIC School on the school’s website.

• All studios have limited places, so it is not possible to guarantee access to a specific studio: places will be assigned on a “first come first served” basis.
• Some monodisciplinary courses have limited places or are not available for exchange students: the list will be provided before the study plan submission opening.
• Since places are limited, we encourage you to prepare a backup list. The AUIC School offers many interesting studios/courses taught in Italian that are equivalent to the ones taught in English: they might be a good way to take advantage of all aspects that the exchange experience offers.
• Choose courses at your study level. Even though you are allowed to choose courses from both BSc and MSc programmes, it is strongly recommended that you attend courses corresponding to your current study level. A lack of solid foundational knowledge might negatively impact your attendance and your results (note: the Italian educational system consists of 3 years for a BSc degree and 2 years for an MSc degree).
• The AUIC School also offers workshops, which are short and intensive courses worth 4 ECTS, with no exams or grades. Some of them are offered free of charge, while for others you will be required to cover the costs. Please note that if you add a workshop to your Polimi study plan, you must also register by following the instructions you can find here.

Course selection rules

• maximum one studio per semester;
• any other course from other study programmes if available, both in English and in Italian or held in different campuses;
• if you do not plan to attend any studio, your study plan must include at least one course (monodisciplinary, integrated or workshop) of your assigned study programme;
• choose maximum 34 ECTS per semester;
• up to 12 ECTS in other Schools. Please note that courses and studios form the School of Design are not available.

Rules that apply to students accepted in a Bachelor study programme:

• If you choose a studio (laboratorio), it must be from your assigned study programme and track (e.g. students assigned to the study programme at BSc Progettazione dell’Architettura in Italian, must select their studio from the study programme in BSc Progettazione dell’Architettura in Italian).

Rules that apply to students accepted in a Master study programme:

• If you choose a studio (laboratorio), it must be from your assigned study programme.
• Students accepted in the Master of Science in Architecture/Architettura must choose their studio, if they need one, according to the teaching language of the study programme they were assigned to. The track does not matter, the language is binding. 
  A specifc studio from the assigned track is not guaranteed
  • Architettura: choose the studio within the 4 tracks taught in Italian (AEA, AEC, APC, ASI)
  • Architecture: choose the studio within the 4 tracks taught in English (AAE, AUD, AHB, AIS)

Keep in mind that

• Studios and Integrated courses require minimum of 70% of attendance to sit the final exam.
• Overlapping is acceptable. 
• In case of late arrival professors might NOT accept you in studios.
• A full workload at the AUIC School is 30 ECTS credits per semester.
• 1 ECTS (equal to 1 CFU) = about 25 hours of workload including classes, practice, homework.
• Use the Customized Schedule tool at the Manifesti degli Studi to verify your weekly schedule.
• Pay attention to where the course is held and avoid choosing courses held in different campuses.
• The same course might have more than one section: you may choose any section.

Thesis work

You must search for a supervisor at Polimi who is willing to assist you with your thesis work. At the same time, you need a supervisor at your home university. You will not defend your thesis at Polimi, but only at your home university: therefore, you cannot select “final project” in your Polimi study plan and no grades/ECTS will be assigned in your final Transcript of Records (ToR). Nevertheless, your supervisor at Polimi can issue a statement upon request, with information about your thesis work.