ARCHITECTURAL SCIENCE

The three-year Architectural Science degree combines theoretical study with a strong technical and applied approach. The different design subjects (architectural composition, restoration, urban studies and architectural and construction technology) are organized within laboratories where students, supported by their theoretical studies, carry out applied activities during lesson hours, so as to not only acquire the knowledge, but also the skills needed to draw and design. Graduates of the three-year Architectural Sciences degree can sit the State exam to become registered as an architect, junior planner and junior civil and environmental engineer. The professional skills acquired cover a very wide spectrum, involving skills in architectural design, in public works (including reinforced concrete structures), in urban regional planning, building surveying and quantity surveying, as well as in civil works with significant artistic interest and in the restoration and rehabilitation of listed buildings protected by the Cultural Heritage and Landscape Code. A planner has expertise in spatial, landscape, environment and town planning and in the carrying out and coordination of complex and specialized analysis of urban, spatial, landscape and environmental structures. His tasks can also include the coordination and management of environmental assessment and feasibility of urban and territorial plans and projects, and the handling of strategies, policies and projects about urban and territorial transformation. The possibility of sitting the state exam for engineers also involves acquiring skills in design, development, supervision of works, estimating, testing, management and evaluation of the impact of buildings, structures, infrastructures, and civil systems on the environment and the territory.
Legislation states that, as far as Architecture degree courses are concerned, each University will choose whether to keep the traditional 5-year degree or move to the 3+2 system (three-year first cycle degree plus two-year second cycle degree).
The University of Parma was the only centre in the Emilia Romagna region to choose the latter option, and accordingly established a three-year Degree Course in Architectural Science and a two-year Second Cycle Degree course in Architecture. The three-year Architectural Science Degree course has a fixed number of places, which is set at national level (150 places have been set for the 2014/2015 academic year). The Second Cycle Degree, the conclusion of the so-called 3+2 cycle, has exactly the same legal and essential value as the traditional one cycle degree. We feel satisfied with the approach adopted and the results achieved: in recent years, most students have obtained their degrees within the set three years and gone on to the second cycle degree; only a minority did not continue their studies. The latter showed foresight in choosing studies that after three years gave them a legal title useful both in the world of employment and freelancing. Currently, about 500 students are enrolled in the Architectural Science Degree Course at the University of Parma. The courses are organized in accordance with European Directive 85/384/EEC concerning the reciprocal recognition of diplomas, certificates and other qualifications in the Architecture sector. For the 2013/2014 academic year, the teaching body on the Architectural Sciences course comprises 22 lecturers taken by the University of Parma staff, and 25 lecturers taken by various professionals on a contract basis. They include freelancers, public administration managers and academics who are all able to offer invaluable interaction between the world of work and the University. Proof of this particular interaction lies in the role played by traineeships and work experience, which are compulsory for both degree courses. Traineeships are put into practice thanks to partnerships with approximately one thousand government bodies and private entities, most of which are professional studios having special arrangements with the University.
The courses are mostly held within the University Campus (in Via Langhirano) called Parco Area delle Scienze, the scientific centre of the University of Parma. The campus, located in a 77-hectare green area on the outskirts of the city, is easily accessible from the train station and the historical centre; it includes the modern, well-equipped facilities of the University Sports Centre (swimming pool, tennis courts, facilities for football, golf, athletics, basket, volleyball and five-a-side).
Course instructions can be given in all the forms envisaged by current legislation as well as other experimental ones. The programme includes theoretical teaching as well as practical exercises, laboratories and internships.
Laboratory activities focus mainly on design, and have a duration of 120 hours each. They cover various interconnected subjects and receive a single final evaluation.
Practical and laboratory activities are part of individual course subjects and internships and may be carried out at qualified public or private entities with which the University has specific agreements, upon approval of the Course Council. Each course year is organized in two teaching periods (usually lasting fifteen weeks each and called semester) separated by periods dedicated exclusively to exams. Course attendance is the students’ right and duty. Students automatically get an attendance certificate at the end of the teaching period set in their study plans, except for the courses referred to as laboratories. Indeed attendance of lessons for all these courses is obligatory. Only students that have attended at least 70% of the lesson hours of the laboratory may sit the exam. It is the responsibility of the lecturer in charge of the laboratory to provide a document certifying student attendance.