Admission procedures
In order to be admitted to the degree course, the student must hold an Upper Secondary School Diploma or another recognised foreign qualification.
Access to the degree course is free, but participation in an orientation test organised nationwide by a certified external body is compulsory. The test, to be carried out systematically and in accordance with a certified procedure, is for orientation purposes, is not selective and is compulsory for the purposes of identifying training gaps; the purpose of the test, which is not binding for enrolment, is to check the students' initial preparation, make them aware of the skills they possess and identify any training gaps to be filled in accordance with the procedures defined by each degree course.
With reference to the above, it should be noted that:
- as this is a course with no entrance test (“open access”), there are no closed or scheduled numbers; - the "orientation test" referred to in the text may be referred to in different ways in the University's documents, web pages and procedures that refer to engineering degree courses, e.g: “entrance test”, “assessment test”, “self-assessment test”, and other similar terms, which all refer to the same thing;
- the purpose of the test is also to provide the university with an objective picture of the level of education of incoming students;
- in the case of engineering courses in Parma, the 'training gap' takes the form of an 'additional training obligation (OFA)', which is decided annually by the department to which the course belongs and specified on the website providing information on the test.
All information on the entrance test can be found on the website of the Department of Engineering and Architecture, however, a few important aspects are mentioned here.
The test is recommended for enrolment in all engineering degree courses at the University of Parma and is valid nationally, i.e. it is valid for access to engineering degree courses at all CISIA member universities (approximately 45).
The test consists of a series of multiple-choice questions on topics in mathematics, physical and chemical sciences, logic and verbal comprehension. The level of depth of each subject is that acquired in high school.
The test, called the TOLC-I Test (Test On Line CISIA for Engineering), is delivered on a computerised platform and takes place in a number of computer labs on the University of Parma Campus (‘Aula delle Scienze’ Complex, Parco Area delle Scienze 22/A and Engineering Scientific Complex, Parco Area delle Scienze 69/A). Depending on the possible restrictions imposed for reasons of national health security, it is possible that the test will be delivered directly online and available to the student at home (TOLC@CASA). In this case, the content, structure and value of the test remain unchanged, only the mode of delivery changes. The most up-to-date information can be found on the DEA's webpage dedicated to the entrance test, the link to which is given below https://dia.unipr.it/it/didattica/immatricolazioni-test-di-ingresso-e-precorsi/test-di-ingresso The test can be taken on several dates from March to July (‘early TOLC-I’), or on one of two dates in the first half of September (‘ordinary TOLC-I’), or on one date in October (‘remedial TOLC-I’). Updated dates can be found on the DEA's webpage reserved for the entrance test, the link to which is given above.
The remedial test session ('TOLC-I remedial') is scheduled after the conclusion of the 'Maths Precourse', which takes place every year in September for a duration of approximately three weeks (health regulations permitting). The pre-course calendar is published in good time on the website of the Department of Engineering and Architecture (course catalogue) and on other pages of the University website.
The test may be retaken up to the remedial session of the year of first enrolment, however, those who, at the end of all test sessions, have not exceeded the minimum thresholds will be assigned an additional training obligation (OFA) specified on the DEA entrance test page.
For details on admission procedures (registration and entrance test) and precourses, please refer to the link:
