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Mission Statement
Design and Art are fields of propositive exploration. They are expanding and adaptive with the quintessence to experiment, prototype and implement diverse ways of living, sensing and understanding our world, by creating new artefacts and processes. Therefore, Design and Art are fields where many approaches meet to tackle issues that cross our knowledge and competences whilst developing sound methods of investigations, characterised by integrative interdisciplinarity.
Our goal is to encourage the individual talent of our students; to guide them in the process of development of their professional competence and provide them with the practical and intellectual tools that enable them to perform their role as designers in and of society.
International Role
Our collaborative approach is characterized and developed by many projects we collaborate on with external partners. We maintain a constructive and interdisciplinary exchange with partner faculties all over the world and with local institutions such as the European Academy of Research (EURAC) and MUSEION, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Bozen. Our faculty is very active in the Euregio University Network and collaborates with small and medium businesses from South Tyrol, as well as with local councils and charities.
National Role
As well as being established in teaching and research as an educational institution, our Faculty is also actively contributing to the cultural and economic development of South Tyrol. This is defined as 'third mission' consisting of a high number of activities through which the Faculty interacts with its surrounding community.
Main Focus
Our approach to study is interdisciplinary and team-based: teaching and lerning happen through both studying and projects. Teams of lecturers who are specialists in the practices and theories of art and design are working with small groups of students on topics developed and put into practice specifically.
From the initial idea to the finished project, our students are encouraged to adopt a real world approach. With two exhibitions per year – the so called GOG, GästeOspitiGuests – at the end of the winter and summer term, they also learn how to effectively present their work. Thanks to the well established contacts of the faculty, our students participate in international design events such as the Salone del Mobile in Milan.
Faculties and Departments
The Faculty of Design and Art has been founded in 2002 and is characterized, among other aspects, by its trilingualism (typical for the region of South Tyrol), i.e. German, Italian, English. The Faculty is not organized through departments but through study courses and research clusters (see below).
In addition the Platform Cultural Heritage – Cultural Production has been set up. It promotes an interdisciplinary research and documentation on practices of cultural heritage / cultural production aiming at exchange, conservation, mediation and further development in the European region/Euregio Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino fostering social participation.
Bachelor Level Programs
BA in design (focused onto product design and visual communication) – 3 years – BA in design
BA in art (with the studios 'image', 'space', 'interact', 'exhibit') – 3 years – BA in art
Master Level Programs
MA in eco-social design – 2 years – MA in eco-social design
Research Activity and Main Areas
Our main research areas (organized through three clusters) overlap and complement each other, focusing on:
- make – exploring innovative approaches to the ideation of artefacts and spaces;
- trans-form – exploring design, art and social practices addressing political and eco-social issues;
- enable – design and art competences, material culture, and human development
Subject Areas for Exchange Students
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano signed 109 exchange agreements in the framework of the Erasmus+ Study Programme and 29 bilateral agreements with universities all over the world, from Finland to Spain, from the USA to Taiwan. The number of programmes is increasing every year.
Our International Relations Office supports both exchange students from abroad (incoming) and unibz students who wish to spend a study period at one of our partner universities (outgoing).
Application Deadlines
The selection process takes place every year for the following academic year.
Deadlines:
- by 10 June for the first semester or the whole academic year
- by 10 November for the second semester
Teaching Languages
English – German – Italian
We offer a unique opportunity in Europe to study in Italian, German and English and to live in South Tyrol, a region at the crossroads between a Mediterranean culture and the German-speaking world.
Thanks to our international community of staff and students, speaking foreign languages is an everyday reality for all of us: students, professors, researchers and administrative staff.
Semester Dates
First semester: Oct. 1st – February 28th
Second semester: March 1st – July 31st
Cost of Living Per Month (Studying and Living)
Living costs in South Tyrol are comparable to those of many other cities in Northern Italy. Approximately, if you exclude tuition fees, you will need at least € 900 per month for living (accommodation, food, study materials, leisure, clothing) in the Bozen-Bolzano area.
