Student's Guide

The ARCHER course includes 6 exams (three in the first year and three in the second year), plus an external internship, the elective activities chosen by the students and the final exam, for a total of 120 university credits (CFU/ECTS). The regulation establishes that some exams constitute prerequisites for the following ones. Of the 6 exams, 4 are made up of laboratories integrated by multiple disciplines, ranging in number from four to five, whose teaching is conceived in an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary sense.

The didactic articulation foresees a semester in the first year aimed at learning basic knowledge relating to the architectural heritage and the definition of first design experiments on the scale of the single building. In this sense, a large multidisciplinary laboratory with five integrated courses (24 CFU/ECTS) is envisaged, which is accompanied by an integrated course in critical knowledge of heritage (10 CFU/ECTS). The teaching of the second semester confirms the approach just outlined, shifting the scope of investigation to the archaeological heritage. There is therefore still a large multidisciplinary laboratory with four integrated courses (18 CFU/ECTS), which is accompanied by the activities chosen by the students (5 CFU/ECTS) that usefully complement their skills.

The second year of the ARCHER course confirms the didactic model already described, however expanding the scale towards the city and the landscape, with the involvement of further disciplinary contributions capable of dealing with the growing complexity of these heritage sites. A third semester dedicated to urban heritage is therefore envisaged, with a large multidisciplinary laboratory with four integrated courses (18 CFU/ECTS), accompanied by an integrated heritage management course (8 CFU/ECTS). The fourth and last semester shifts the field of investigation to the landscape and its complexity. A large multidisciplinary laboratory with five integrated courses (20 CFU) is therefore envisaged, alongside the activities chosen by the students (5 CFU) which usefully complement their skills.

At the end of the degree course the students take a final test in which they are asked to discuss a project at the architectural, urban, territorial or landscape scale, supported by scientific research, a critical interpretation and by disciplines contributing to the education of architects specifically trained in the project for built heritage.

The didactic articulation is integrated by compulsory internships, to be carried out by the end of the training course and in close relationship with the study topics addressed in at least one of the four semesters.

http://www.unina.it/didattica/tirocini-studenti

Due to its international nature, the ARCHER course pays particular attention to the international mobility of students, both outgoing and incoming, relying on the substantial international relationships signed by the Department of Architecture. In particular, outgoing students can benefit from Erasmus mobility for study purposes, whose selection call is issued annually at the central level of the University by the International Relations Office, based on the Erasmus agreements already in place. For incoming students, the academic course is very attractive thanks to the teaching carried out in English and can also refer to the numerous agreements already signed between the Department of Architecture and prestigious European and extra-European universities. Erasmus-like incoming mobility is favored on the basis of structured international agreements with more distant countries, with particular emphasis on Asia, South America and the Middle East.

For more information: http://www.unina.it/didattica/opportunita-studenti/erasmus/programma

ARCHER graduates must demonstrate to have acquired an adequate learning ability that allows them to undertake any subsequent third level studies as well as to continue in self-training and self-updating with a high degree of autonomy. This learning ability is favored by laboratory teaching and by the coexistence of very different disciplines, which stimulate students to continue their training independently. But particularly relevant, in this sense, are the elective activities chosen by the students, appropriately placed in the two semesters dedicated respectively to archaeological and landscape heritage, which allow students to autonomously integrate their training path. With a total of 10 CFU / ECTS, they can therefore significantly customize the study plan, following courses provided by other Departments ranging from humanities to scientific disciplines and participating in seminars and workshops consistent with the objectives of the ARCHER course.

For more information: https://www.diarc.archer.unina.it/

The Final Exam for the conferral of the ARCHER Master’s Degree consists in the presentation and discussion, by the graduating student, of a thesis of a theoretical, experimental or design nature, developed in an original way by the student under the guidance of a supervisor. The thesis selects and develops a theme practiced in the degree course and expresses, in the drafting and in its discussion, the analytical, critical and / or planning skills acquired by the graduate student. The thesis may include the figure of a co-examiner, who formulates a preventive judgment.

The degree thesis has an individual character. For particularly complex and / or experimental thesis topics, group processing is allowed, provided that the individual contribution is always recognizable.

The thesis is written in English. Upon motivated request of the student, a thesis written in other languages can also be accepted. Also, in this case the presentation and discussion take place in English. The thesis must in any case contain an abstract in Italian.

The maximum admissible evaluation for the thesis work is 8 points. Honors are awarded unanimously, with reference to both the candidate’s curriculum studiorum and the thesis work. The Commissions are made up of at least seven members.

The orientation activity to incoming students is coordinated with those already carried out by the other Degree Programs and Departments of the Polytechnic and Basic Sciences School. It is aimed at students from the L-17 three-year degree courses, but above all at international students, starting from the extensive network of international relations and agreements already in place in the Department of Architecture. In addition to the consolidated meetings with the national student audience, the incoming orientation of the ARCHER course makes use of telematic meetings and webinars to present the course, in which both teachers and senior students participate, to communicate their experiences. To these are added the activities already carried out by the University service ORIENTA UNINA, the participation in scientific dissemination events (such as European Researchers’ Night, etc.) and the dissemination of all information on the website of the Polytechnic and Basis Science School and on the specific one of the ARCHER course.

The calendar of orientation initiatives is available at the link:

https://www.orientamento.unina.it/category/news/openday/

The ongoing tutoring activities aim to facilitate the integration of international students into university life and the Federico II community, promoting integration. Activities aimed at achieving and learning an acceptable level of the Italian language are also encouraged for international students, also with the support of the University Language Center. Particular attention is paid to students with disabilities and / or specific needs, in accordance with what has already been done by the SINAPSI University Center, in order to reduce the drop-out phenomenon through targeted interventions consisting of specialized tutoring aimed at students with disabilities or specific learning disabilities and of support services aimed at removing barriers, obstacles and personal difficulties in the academic course as well as preventing phenomena of social exclusion, combating violations of human rights and prevarications related to gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, socio-economic status.

The job placement actions are developed in close relationship with the training course, leveraging the strong territorial roots of the protocols signed with the institutions responsible for the management, conservation and enhancement of the heritage. The ARCHER course can therefore benefit from the network of contacts in the area activated since its establishment, which can guide the students and favor their placement according to the knowledge and application skills acquired during the academic course. In addition to this, and in accordance with the initiatives already carried out by the University and the Polytechnic and Basic Sciences School in the field of job placement, periodic meetings will be held with institutional, entrepreneurial and professional realities potentially interested in welcoming outgoing students.

For more information: https://www.orientamento.unina.it/category/news/recruitingday/

First enrollment: 31st December of each year

Only for Italian students: the Italian students who have not graduated by December 31st can enroll by March 31st of the following year, provided that:

– the Bachelor’s Degree is obtained by the same date;

– the student earns at least 10 CFU/ECTS in the 1st semester of the ARCHER course with “contract enrollment”.

For more information: https://www.unina.it/didattica/sportello-studenti/guide-dello-studente

https://www.diarc.archer.unina.it/index.php/application-rules

The ARCHER course is divided into four semesters, two in the first year and two in the second one. The first semester starts by the end of September and ends in December. The second semester starts in March and ends in early June. Each semester is divided into two teaching periods, with different course schedules in order to favor collegial work in the second period and to allow the realization of the planning work necessary to take the exams.

There are three exam sessions, a first in January-February, a second in June-July and a third in September.

The detailed calendar, updated in real time, can be consulted here: https://www.diarc.archer.unina.it/index.php/home/teaching

The timetable is structured by concentrating teaching on four days of the week in the first semester and three days in the second semester. In this way, in the second semester it is possible to attend external courses or seminars and workshops in the context of the elective activities.

All the classes are held in the complex of “Spirito Santo” that is the main building of the Department of Architecture, with access from via Toledo 402 and from via Fornovecchio 36.

The detailed timetable, updated in real time, can be consulted here: https://www.diarc.archer.unina.it/index.php/home/timetable

There are three graduation sessions, a first one in January-March, a second one in May-July and a third one in October-December.

The detailed timetable, updated in real time, can be consulted here: https://www.diarc.archer.unina.it/index.php/home/teaching