Diploma

The work for the Diploma consists in a project which the student develops in the course of the last semester of the MSc course. A pass gains 30 ECTS. Each Diploma design studio will generally contain a maximum of 12 students, supervised by a professor and an architect-assistant.
Each year the Commission nominated for the Diploma chooses a single territory as the common theme of all the Diploma design studios. The single territory facilitates the preparation and comprehension of the context in which the project is to be completed. The professors are assured of flexibility in the choice of the different projects regarding the territory chosen. The Diploma semester is to be considered a semester of university studies in every respect and entails attendance at the design studios and participation in the school’s cultural life.

The Diploma syllabus involves:

  • individual architectural design work in studio sessions (on a site and topic presented by the faculty member in charge of the design studio) and the related critiques
  • participation in seminars dealing with the Diploma topic held by the faculty members in charge of the supplementary subjects, assisted by the architect-assistants from the design studios
  • participation in the field trip to the place chosen for the Diploma
  • participation in the collective critiques of the Diploma design studios

The discussion of the Diploma project before the jury is public and constitutes the final examination before graduating as an architect.

For the details, students are referred to the Academy’s Rules of Study.

Students from other universities who intend to enrol in the Diploma course must have successfully attended at least one year of studies of the program at the Academy.

The Diploma/MSc conferred by the Mendrisio Academy of Architecture is legally recognized by UE.