Foundation Course
The programme is awarded by RUFA and it is offered in partnership with SPD and Ferrari Fashion School.
Course Details
Location: Milan
Duration: 1 academic year
Start: October 2025
Class size: max 15 students
Language: English
The Foundation Course is a supplementary course of 60 credits, the objective of which is to initiate the student to the study of cultural, design, historical and artistic subjects which they will encounter, in yet a deeper way, in the years to come.
The Foundation Course enables participants to build the foundations to undertake any 3 year course and Bachelor of Arts program. In this context, students can put themselves to the test, improve their language knowledge, get to know a National academic excellence and create professional relationships with the lecturers.
Five different subjects are provided: Italian language and culture, writing workshop, history of art, design and Italian style, specific course in photography, video, fashion and design, a final test and a CILS certification.
Features
Thanks to this educational path, foreign students with 11 years of school attendance; those who attended an American High School and did not achieve the required AP’s to enter the BA programs in Italy; or those who attended the British High School who did not achieve the number of A-Levels required to enter the BA programs in Italy, will be able to integrate the minimum prerequisite by the Ministry of Education and Research, before accessing the university system, and learn the basic subjects required to develop of the required knowledge in the artistic, audiovisual, multimedia and design field.
Participants will also be able to learn about SPD Scuola Politecnica di Design training methods, interact with lecturers, integrate practical and theoretical methods, explore the concepts of research and artistic production and best practices related to design.
What is the purpose of the Foundation Course?
To provide international students with less than 12 years of schooling with 60 additional CFA necessary to enroll in the Italian University system.
To introduce students to the cultural, design, history and art-related subjects and to the educational methodologies of the Italian Higher Education system.
Recognition
and qualification
The program envisions 485 hours of study in total, divided into 17 hours a week. The 60 credits obtained will allow students to be admitted to Ferrari Fashion School 3 year courses and Bachelor of Arts programs – or BA programs in any other Institution, keeping in mind the general rule regarding the educational and decision-making independence of all Higher Education Institutions regarding admissions – and will not be recognized for the purposes of reducing the teaching load of subsequent Degree programs.
General informations
Headquarter: Ferrari Fashion School in Milan, Via Savona 97
Period: from the end of October 2025 to June 2026
Language: English
Language Requirements: English level B1/B2 of English.
Enrolment deadline: 24th of October 2025 [1]
Cost: € 8,500.00[2]
Qualification issued: FC diploma + PLIDA [3] “Italian language certificate accepted by all the Italian universities”
Students must pay 25% of the fees upon enrollment and the remaining 75% by the 10th of October 2025. The candidates are required to submit, by 10 th of October, the application for admission, attaching their high school diploma, along with their “transcript of record” of training activities carried out, Declaration of Value or CIMEA Certificates of Authenticity and Comparability, study visa (if applicable) and English language certificate. SPD reserves the possibility of checking the aptitude and motivation of students before enrolment. The course will be activated if the minimum number of students is reached.
[1] The inclusion of the applications received from the 26th of October to the 30th of November 2025, will be evaluated on the basis of the remaining seats available.
[2] THE COST INCLUDES:
> Registration fee
> Attendance and final
exam fee
> PLIDA certification
> Final certificate
(The qualification obtained has legal value, but the academic staff evaluating the incoming profiles reserves the right to make the final decision)
[3] PLIDA CERTIFICATION:
> the PLIDA examination venue will be in Padua or Brescia
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