NARIC guide on Higher Education Systems in the European Union

According to the old official regulations, the yearly assessment should be expressed in 10ths (same scale as in secondary
schools: 0 to 10, with 6 as the minimum qualifying grade); as a matter of fact, however, most academies have gradually
adopted the university grading system in 30ths, with 18/30 as the lowest passing grade.
On completion of the four-year course each student has to defend a
written thesis on an art history topic: such discussion forms the essential part of the final diploma examination.
Grading for the diploma — which takes into account all previous subject examinations as well as the final thesis — may once
again be expressed either in 10ths or in 30ths, with 6/10 or 18/30 as the lowest pass grades.
Diplomas issued by Academies of Fine Arts are exclusively academic qualifications. As such, they are the basic — but, in
certain cases, not exclusive — requirements for access to certain professions. In the case of teaching, for instance, their
holders — provided they also possess a maturity diploma — have additionaly to pass the competitive State examinations
entitling them to corresponding positions in public schools or institutes (they may teach such subjects as art education, art
history and design).
Diploma di... (ISIA)
Examinations are held annually in each discipline, students’ performance being graded on a 0-30 scale, with 18/30 and 30/30
as the lowest and the highest pass mark respectively.
Before sitting for the final diploma examination, students must have passed all the subject examinations of their curriculum;
additionally, they have to present a thesis each, normally consisting of a practical project.
The diploma examination involves the presentation of the thesis and is graded in 30ths once again.
The final qualification is called diploma di..., followed by the specialised field of the ISIA concerned (e.g. diploma di disegno
industriale, i.e.
diploma in industrial design).
The Italian law attributes to any ISIA diploma the same legal validity as the licenza awarded by the Academies of Fine Arts.
Diploma di educazione fisica
The only State ISEF, training teachers of physical eduction, is the one located in Rome. The others are all legally recognised,
as their study organisation conforms with that of the State institute.
According to Article 19 of the new statute, in force since the academic year 1990/91, the curriculum of the diploma at the
ISEF in Rome includes 24 subject courses, of which 19 are compulsory and 5 optional.
Optional subjects may belong to three different areas (i.e. that of applied biological studies, the historico-juridical area, and
the technical-eductional one).
With reference to their more or less specific contents, subjects may be defined as basic (discipline di base) or specialised
(discipline di indirizzo). Basic courses may last one or two years, whereas the specialised ones are always organized on an
annual basis. Class attendance is compulsory.
The different subject courses imply corresponding examinations, usually including written and/or practical tests as well as oral
interviews. Subject examinations are graded according to a 0-30 scale, with 18/30 as the minimum qualifying mark.
At the end of the three-year diploma course, only those students who have successfully passed all the subject examinations
can take the final diploma examination, mainly consisting of the defence of a written thesis.
Grading for the diploma — all subject examinations as well as the final examination are taken into account — is based on
110ths, with 66/110 as the minimum pass grade.