Bachelor in
Studying design in Bozen-Bolzano is like the work of designers: varied and multi-faceted. If you choose to study at our university, you will develop lateral thinking and a 360° vision. You will learn to cross the borders between projects, between two and three dimensions and to creatively observe and analyse your environment.
In order to enable you to deal with the professional reality of designers as realistically as possible, our study model is based on teaching through projects, where theory is always linked to practice. By analysing complex issues, you will start creating innovative projects, experimenting and following your interests independently.
You will be working in modern ateliers in groups of 20 students, supervised by 3 lecturers. This ideal work relationship setup between students and lecturers ensures constant and productive interaction.
Bachelor class: L-4
ECTS credits: 180
Duration of the course: 3 years
Courses will be taught in: Italian, German and English (trilingual)
Places available: 58 EU + 2 non-EU
Campus: Bozen-Bolzano
Tuition fees: ca. € 1350 per year
You will be introduced to your study programme through the 'Warm Up' experience, during which you will familiarise yourself with a practical approach to design. In the following four semesters, you'll be able to choose two projects in the field of product design and two in that of visual communication.
These projects, which involve groups of no more than 20 students, combine three disciplines. Lectures and seminars in subjects like History of Design or Art Photography provide students with the necessary technical background required to sharpen their critical thinking.
The Faculty's Showcase and Projects Archive is an online platform offering a general overview of the works created by our students since 2018 in the two Majors in Design, the Major in Art and the Master in Eco-Social Design.
Design work is carried out in ateliers, where both individual and team work based on an effective combination of theory and practice is encouraged. Our lecturers' offices are very close to the ateliers so that students and lecturers can exchange ideas regularly and openly.
In the workshops at our faculty, you will find all the traditional and modern tools you need toturn your projects into reality. Skilled professionals manage our workshops and will help youby sharing their experience with you.
Degree Course director: Prof. Roberto Gigliotti (photo)
Student Representative in the Course Council: Alessia Farinola
Currently we offer exchange programmes with partner universities all over the world and we are part of a large network of collaboration with employers in Italy and abroad where you can undertake your internship. However, this study programme does not require a compulsory internship.
Our graduates are working as designers by setting up their own freelance business or they find jobs in private and public institutions, in design studios and larger companies. They employ their professional skills in the field of product design, of both physical objects and visual concepts, and in the most advanced sectors of visual communication.
Well prepared and ready for the job market. On the website of AlmaLaurea you can check statistical data about graduates’ satisfaction and their employability.
Art Direction & Communication Design Vertical-Life Srl, Bressanone
Dopo il liceo volevo andare a studiare all’estero. Quando ho saputo di questo corso in design ero intimidita per via delle tre lingue, tutte straniere per me. Anche se all’inizio è stato impegnativo, poi ce l’ho fatta. Sono entusiasta di questo corso perché mi ha offerto tutte le possibilità per svilupparmi come una designer completa: è un posto dove si ricevono molti stimoli per provare a fare, senza troppi obblighi e in totale libertà. Ci sono le officine e i professori a tua completa disposizione, e puoi imparare tutto quello che vuoi, molto dipende dalla propria iniziativa. E per una come me che ha praticato l’arrampicata a livello agonistico, l’Alto Adige e il suo territorio sono stati il luogo ideale dove studiare, tanto che ci sono rimasta per lavorare e vivere.
Start your studies the best way as of Monday 30 September
The Open Day for high school students and interested people, starting from 9:00 am. Discover our bachelors and ask questions to our lecturers and to students that have been through your very same situation.
Living in South Tyrol, Housing, Scholarships, Single Subject Courses and more
Everything you need to know as a degree-seeking applicant or as an incoming exchange student
You can find all you need to know in order to apply and gain admission to this study programme by browsing through the information below.
Application: 01/03 - 07/05/2024 (by noon local time)
Upload video to the application portal: by 07/05/2024 (by noon local time)
Language exams (online): 18/03/2024 (fully booked) and 17 - 18 - 19 and 22 - 23/04/2024 (registration: 25/03 - 09/04/2024)
Interview (online): 23/05/2024
Publication of ranking lists: by 28/05/2024
Payment of the 1st instalment of the tuition fees: by 06/06/2024 (by noon local time)
Enrolment: from 12/07 - 06/08/2024 (by noon local time)
Application: 29/05 - 04/07/2024 (by noon local time)
Upload video to the application portal: by 04/07/2024 (by noon local time)
Language exams: 24 - 29/06/2024 (registration: 29/05 - 16/06/2024)
Interview (online): 19/07/2024
Publication of ranking lists: by 25/07/2024
Payment of the 1st instalment of the tuition fees: by 06/08/2024 (by noon local time)
Enrolment: from publication of the ranking list until 06/08/2024 (by noon local time)
Intensive language courses: 02 - 20/09/2024 (Monday to Friday, 6 h/day)
Freshers Days: 30/09 - 01/10/2024
Classes: 30/09 - 23/12/2024
Holidays: 24/12/2024 - 06/01/2025
Classes: 07/01 - 25/01/2025
Exams: 27/01 - 04/03/2025
Classes: 03/03 - 17/04/2025
Holidays: 18- 21/04/2025
Classes: 22/04 - 14/06/2025
Exams: 16/06 - 12/07/2025
Exams: 25/08 - 30/09/2025
EU citizens and citizens given parity of treatment
Early Bird Application: 34
Late Application: 24
Non-EU citizens (living abroad)
Early Bird Application: 2
The programme will only be offered if a minimum of 30 newly enrolled students is reached (Major in Design + Major in Art).
To gain admission to the programme you need one of the following qualifications:
Foreign school leaving certificates are considered equivalent if obtained after 12 years of education. In this case, you furthermore must have attended at least the last two years in the foreign school system (e.g. Irish Leaving Certificate: it is not enough to attend one year and obtain the foreign certificate).
The Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research has set specific admission requirements for holders of certain certificates (e.g. American high school diplomas, British and Greek certificates). For more information: apply@unibz.it (Advisory Service).
To be admitted, you must fulfil the language requirements indicated in the section “Language requirements”.
According to national regulations, simultaneous enrolment in a maximum of 2 programmes is possible (however, the two programmes must not belong to the same class, e.g., L-4/L-4 and must differ for at least 2/3 of the course contents).
The Additional Learning Obligations are assigned if any weakness is found in your basic education.
You must fulfilled Additional Learning Obligations in the third language if you have not certified level B1 in the third language.
In addition, if you have been admitted to the BA and have achieved a score of less than 48 points in the selection procedure, you will receive Additional Learning Obligations.
The Additional Learning Obligations are defined before the beginning of the academic year in the Bachelor Study Council and published in the syllabi of the WUP Design and WUP Art projects.
The Additional Learning Obligations are met by passing an exam.
The official teaching languages are German, Italian and English. Therefore, the following language requirements apply, otherwise you will be excluded from the admission procedure:
Entry level (to gain admission)
1st language: B2
2nd language: B2
3rd language: no level required
A B1 level in the third language is the minimum requirement for taking curricular examinations in that specific language. In the first year of study, it is possible to sit exams relating to project-based activities before having achieved a B1 level in the third language.
Exit level (to graduate)
1st language: C1
2nd language: C1
3rd language: B2
The levels of the Common European Framework of Reference apply.
Your first language is the language in which you have the highest level of proficiency (B2 or C1). Your third language is instead the language in which you are weaker (or in which you are an absolute beginner).
You can demonstrate your language proficiency in the application portal (in the section “upload language certificates” and/or “enrol for language exams”) after you have created an application in the section “create/manage applications”. The certification is mandatory for the first and second language, for the third language it is recommended (from B1 onwards).
- In case your final certificate has been awarded by an Italian public institution, you need to submit a self-declaration.
- In case your final certificate has been awarded by a foreign public institution, you need to upload diploma scanned copy of the original.
You can demonstrate language proficiency through:
Please note that you can only register for B2 level exams.
Please note that you can only register for B2 level exams.
For information on studying in three languages also visit the following page.
Secondary schools in a foreign country/Bi- or multilingual schools
If the foreign language proficiency levels (for German, Italian, or English) are explicitly indicated on the diploma of graduation according to the Common European Framework of Reference (i.e., B1, B2 or C1), and if all four language abilities (reading, listening, speaking, writing) have been assessed, then the indicated levels will be accepted as a proof of proficiency for the second and/or third language.
Please upload your school-leaving certificate to the application portal in the section “upload language certificates” under the respective language. The Language Centre will decide on its recognition.
Third language/Intensive language courses in September
If you have already acquired a language certificate in the third teaching language, please upload it to the portal. If you are not able to certify your language competence in the third language and you are admitted to unibz, you will have to take a placement test. You will receive further information about the test by e-mail. Based on the result of the placement test, you will be assigned to a certain learning path so that you will be able to reach level B2 as soon as possible.
If you are an absolute beginner in the third language, or if you have a level below B2, you may attend a three-week intensive language course during the pre-semester session in September in order to start the learning path.
The dates of the extensive courses are indicated in the “Deadlines” section. Beginner courses (A1) will be offered exclusively during the pre-semester intensive course session in September will no longer be offered during the academic year. Therefore, absolute beginners should start their learning path for the third language by attending the intensive courses in September.
There will be extensive courses (4 hours per week) during the semesters and intensive courses (6 hours per day) during the time between semesters.
The language courses offered by the Language Centre are free of charge and aim to help the students reach the following target levels in the third language:
- B1 level by the end of the 1st year;
- B2 level by the end of the 2nd year.
Your application must be submitted online through the Application Portal. The deadlines are indicated in the “Deadlines” section.
Please note: Mendacious declarations will be criminally prosecuted and will result in the automatic exclusion from the ranking list.
You might apply for more than one study programme. If you are excluded in the first session, you might apply again in the second one.
Considered as equivalent are:
Only one application period is offered. After the deadline it is not possible to apply anymore. Application fee: € 50. The fee is an administration fee and is non-refundable.
Once the ranking list has been published, if you have gained admission, secure it by paying the first instalment and then start your visa application on the Universitaly portal. The application on Universitaly is mandatory, otherwise you will not be allowed to enrol. On Universitaly you can apply for one study programme only.
The admission procedure includes three stages.
Video (to be created independently at home)
Make a video and upload it to the application portal by the deadline. If you apply for both majors, you have to upload two different videos, one for the major in Design and one for the major Art.
The upload of the video by the deadlines is a prerequisite for admission:
Failure to upload the video by the deadlines will result in the exclusion from the admission procedure.
To follow the technical data for the video recording:
Candidates do not need to have professional equipment to make the video, which does not have to be a perfect “Hollywood production”. It's much more about good ideas!
Major Design
You are free to choose the content of the video. Show us how you see the world around you, perhaps by confronting yourself with a two- or three-dimensional artefact. With a creative and intelligent video you will show your passion for design and your way of thinking and demonstrate that you have the skills to become a design student.
Major in Art
You are free to choose the content of the video. Show us how you see the world around you. With a video in which you show your personality, your interest in art and your artistic goals, you demonstrate that you have the skills to become an art student. Be brave, surprise us!
Practical creative work (to be carried out at home)
The topic and the technical indications (size of models, materials, format etc.) of the practical creative work will be communicated by email approximately one week before the interview.
The practical work must be carried out entirely by you. You will have to send the complete documentation of the work, according to the modalities that will be communicated in advance via email together with the topic.
It is not allowed, in any case, to send the documentation of the work by post.
The practical creative work must show your spirit of observation, your judgement and creativity.
Online interview
Through the interview, a commission composed of lecturers of the faculty, aims to verify your interdisciplinary interests as well as your communication and creative skills.
Before the interview, you will receive an email with all the necessary information (time, platform to connect to, etc.). The interview will last about 10-15 minutes, during which you will:
The commission has at disposal a maximum score of 100 points, distributed as follows.
Video: max. 20 points
Will be evaluated:
The video is a prerequisite for admission, therefore failure to upload it by the application deadline will exclude the candidate from the selection procedure.
Creative practical work: max. 40 points
Evaluation for the design field: max. 20 points
Will be evaluated:
Evaluation in the field of art: max. 20 points
Will be evaluated:
Interview: max. 40 points
Will be evaluated:
The minimum score for admission to the Bachelor is 42/100 points.
Furthermore, in order to be admitted to the major in Design and/or the major in Art, the candidates must have obtained, in the evaluation of the practical creativity work, a minimum score of 8/20 points for the Design field and a minimum score of 8/20 points for the Art field, respectively.
In the event of equal total points, priority shall be given in the following order:
Only in case of of equal scores, the youngest candidate will be chosen.
The ranking lists with the admitted students will be published here and are only valid for the respective academic year.
If you have been admitted to more than one study programme, you can secure your admission for a maximum of 2 programmes by paying the designated rate twice.
1. Choose the study programme and pay the fees (to secure your admission) in the application portal.
The deadlines are indicated in the “Deadlines” section.
If you do not meet this deadline, you will automatically be excluded and the next applicant in the ranking list will be admitted.
For EU citizens and citizens given parity of treatment only: any remaining places of the early bird application, will be offered in the late application.
Please note that you do not gain full student status by only paying the tuition fees. This status will only be acquired upon enrolment. If you have secured your admission, there will be no refund of the tuition fees unless you do not pass your secondary school final exam or, in the event of non-EU applicants living abroad, you do not receive the documents necessary for enrolment from the Italian authorities in your country.
2. Enrol online in the application portal.
The deadlines are indicated in the “Deadlines” section.
Enrolment is recommended as early as possible, so you have the possibility to upload incomplete documents before the deadline.
If you do not meet the enrolment deadline, you will be excluded and the next applicant in the ranking list will be admitted.
If you have gained your secondary school qualification in Austria or Germany or if you have a European Baccalaureate, you must upload the secondary school diploma.
If you have gained your secondary school qualification abroad in one of the Countries that are signatories to the Lisbon Convention (except Austria and Germany) or if you have a Diploma of the International Baccalaureate, you must upload:
If you have gained your secondary school qualification abroad in a country that is not a signatory to the Lisbon Convention, you must upload:
unibz performs the necessary checks on your foreign qualification and in case of doubt reserves the right to request additional documents.
Please note that if you do not possess a valid admission qualification, you can be excluded with Rector’s decree even after enrolment.
If you are a non-EU citizen living abroad:
Once you are eligible for admission (check the ranking lists) and have also applied on Universitaly, the Italian Authorities in your own country will issue you the entry visa for studies/university. This will allow to enrol for the study programme that you have applied for.
According to Italian law, within 8 working days of your arrival in Italy, you must have applied for the residence permit: as soon as you arrive, get in touch with the Advisory Service and you will be given the necessary information for starting the procedure.
Once you will obtain your residence permit (permesso di soggiorno), you have to hand it in at the Student Office personally or via e-mail.
Students intending to transfer from another Italian University to unibz have to submit to the Student Office - at the beginning of the academic year - a copy of the transfer application presented at the university of provenance.
Fees amount to € 1373
Delayed payment of the second instalment will result in a fine being levied. If you have not paid the tuition fees, you will be unable to take exams and will not be able to transfer to other universities or other study programmes.
If you drop out of a programme, interrupt your studies or are excluded from studies, you are not entitled to reimbursement of the fees.
Exemption from the tuition fees (and the provincial tax) is granted to:
Students who benefit from a scholarship granted by the Autonomous Province of Bozen-Bolzano are entitled to receive a refund of the tuition fees.
Credit points from previous university studies can only be recognised after enrolment if the exams taken at the university of provenance are equivalent in content to those offered at unibz. You can fill out the application after enrolment.
The Advisory Service provides support regarding your choice of study. In many cases a simple call or a short request is enough to get the relevant information (Tel. +39 0471 012100).