Degree programme choice orientation

The SOrT is Sapienza’s integrated Guidance Service. The service has a central office at the Main Campus and additional help desks located in the Faculties. At the SOrT offices, students can find specific information about Faculties and Degree Programmes, as well as support in making informed choices. The central office and Faculty academics coordinate guidance and tutoring projects, manage relations with upper secondary schools and their guidance staff, and promote support actions to assist students in the delicate transition from school to university. They also provide information about the course catalogue and administrative procedures for admission to Degree Programmes.
Guidance initiatives and projects
  1. Porte Aperte alla Sapienza
    This annual initiative, held at the Main Campus, is the most important event dedicated primarily to prospective first-year students. Over three days, participants can meet academics and students, receive information, and attend presentations in the Aula Magna about the educational offering of all Faculties. The initiative is open to all those who intend to enrol in Bachelor’s Degrees, Single-Cycle Master’s Degrees and Master’s Degrees, with specific attention to students in their final year of upper secondary school.
    The event is an opportunity for all stakeholders to discover Sapienza, its educational offering, study areas, cultural spaces, meeting places, and the various services available to students (libraries, study rooms, museums, student residences, sports facilities, and the university theatre).
    Alongside academic information, participants can receive guidance about administrative procedures relating to enrolment in Degree Programmes, as well as information about admission calls and access tests.
    To promote inclusive learning environments and access to higher education, the Office for Students with Disabilities and Specific Learning Difficulties organises dedicated support activities, including personalised study plans and academic, financial and logistical assistance for vulnerable students. The office also guides students through the procedures required to request support and provides information about the necessary clinical documentation.
  2. Orientation Portal “Orientamento Sapienza”
    Sapienza has developed an online portal (https://orientamento.uniroma1.it/index.html) to support students in choosing their Degree Programme. The portal offers an immersive preview of university life, with navigable images and videos of the campus, classrooms, laboratories, libraries, theatre, and spaces dedicated to music and sport. It also provides online educational modules on subjects covered in the courses and self-assessment tools to help students prepare for admission tests and knowledge assessments.
    The portal is the main access point for information on guidance events organised during the year by Faculties and Departments. It also hosts video presentations of Faculties, Bachelor’s Degrees, Single-Cycle Master’s Degrees and Master’s Degrees, including newly established programmes. Guidance initiatives are promoted through Sapienza’s social media channels to reach potentially interested students. An English version of the portal is also available for international students.
  3. Project “A Bridge between School and University”
    This project aims to facilitate the transition from upper secondary school to university and to support students entering a new academic environment.
    It includes two main initiatives:
    a. La Sapienza si presenta – Presentations on Faculties and sample lectures delivered by Sapienza academics for upper secondary school students.
    b. La Sapienza degli studenti – Presentations delivered in schools that illustrate Sapienza’s services and include testimonials from trained student mentors and senior students.
  4. Self-assessment tools (developed and scientifically validated by Sapienza experts)
    a. Conosci te stesso – Supports decision-making by providing a personality profile, an academic profile and a professional profile.
    b. Io, me e gli altri – Measures soft skills relevant for integration into society and the job market.
  5. Project “Orientamento in Rete”
    This project focuses on orientation and alignment of essential knowledge required for admission tests in biomedical and psychology areas. It includes a preparatory course with an initial online phase and a second phase of intensive in-person classes for access to restricted‑access programmes in biomedical, health and psychology areas and is intended for final-year upper secondary school students.
  6. PCTO – Pathways for Transversal Skills and Orientation (formerly school‑work alternation)
    This educational approach allows upper secondary school students to consolidate the knowledge acquired in school, test their skills in real contexts, and better orient themselves toward future study choices.
  7. Project “Orientamento Next Generation (ONG)”
    This project, shared by all universities in the Lazio Region and funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, helps students make informed choices about their post‑secondary education and define their personal and professional trajectory.
    Sapienza academics deliver a 15‑hour training course, available in person and integrated into the school curriculum, organised into five 3‑hour modules on topics such as:
    Why studying matters; Studying at university; Preparing effectively for university; Personal development; Career aspirations.
  8. Preparation for admission tests
    Sapienza uses the CISIA Online Test (TOLC), which secondary school students can take through the CISIA portal. Students can also prepare using the Student Positioning Tests (PPS), which provide immediate feedback on their level of preparation by comparing their results with those of previous TOLC participants.
  9. “Saperi Minimi” Project
    This project provides recorded lectures by university academics designed to reinforce the essential knowledge needed for successful progress in the chosen Degree Programme. Mathematics lectures are particularly useful for improving the initial preparation required for engineering programmes.
  10. OfaSapienza
    To improve preparation for admission tests and reduce the assignment of Additional Educational Requirements (OFA) in Italian and Mathematics, Sapienza offers the Ofa Sapienza e‑learning platform, which provides training resources for humanities, engineering and architecture applicants.
  11. Guidance events
    The page https://www.uniroma1.it/it/node/347362 lists all guidance events organised by the University, Faculties, Departments and Educational‑area Boards.
    Sapienza also organises school meetings and individual guidance sessions to illustrate university services available to students with disabilities and specific learning difficulties.
    The Office for Students with Disabilities and DSA assesses which individualised measures are needed for admission tests, based on submitted certifications. For restricted‑access programmes requiring a selective admission test, students with disabilities may request compensatory measures (such as dedicated rooms, additional time, support tutors, LIS interpreters, calculators), following the procedures outlined in the admission calls. Similar measures apply to TOLC tests managed by CISIA, both in person and online (TOLC@CASA). The office also supports newly enrolled vulnerable students with specialised tutors, peer tutors and LIS interpreters.

Degree Programme activities
Each year, the Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering (ICI) organises a series of guidance events aimed at supporting upper secondary school students in choosing their academic and professional pathways. These events, held both online and in person, allow prospective students to meet academics, explore Degree Programmes, learn about research opportunities, employment prospects and laboratory activities.
Among the main activities, the OpenICI event includes an in‑person presentation of Degree Programmes, followed by online meetings dedicated to each programme. This offers the opportunity to explore study paths in detail, meet academics and ask questions.
Additional activities include Class Training sessions, during which PhD students and project teams present ongoing work to inspire prospective students toward engineering studies. The Faculty also organises Ingegneria INforma, a series of meetings that explain the structure of admission calls and provide all necessary information for a well‑informed enrolment process.
These initiatives support students in making conscious choices and integrating smoothly into the academic environment by building strong networks and resources from the outset.
In addition to University‑ and Faculty‑level initiatives, the Degree Programme organises the annual SAPENZIA Open Day event in Rieti, inviting upper secondary schools from the city, the province and beyond, held at Palazzo Aluffi. During the event, Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programmes offered in Rieti are presented, along with learning objectives, teaching organisation and career opportunities.
At the beginning of each academic year, an introductory meeting is organised for first‑year students to explain the Degree Programme, teaching organisation, exam procedures and other useful information for starting their studies effectively.
The Orientation Portal (also available in English) offers an immersive preview of university life through videos and photos of the facilities.
Prospective students may contact the SOrT office using the information provided on the Degree Programme website and the Faculty and SOrT pages.
The Degree Programme uses the CISIA TOLC‑I Online Test, which can be taken by secondary school students through the CISIA portal. Preparation is also possible through the Student Positioning Tests (PPS).
Through the Saperi Minimi project, Sapienza provides recorded lectures by academics to strengthen students’ initial preparation. Mathematics lectures are especially useful for future engineering students.