Degree programme choice orientation
The SOrT is Sapienza’s integrated guidance and orientation service. The service has a central office located in the University City campus, as well as local help desks distributed across the Faculties. At the SOrT offices, students can find more specific information about Faculties and degree programmes, as well as support in making informed choices. The central office, together with faculty members from the Faculties, coordinates incoming orientation and tutoring projects, manages relations with upper secondary schools and with teachers responsible for guidance activities, proposes support actions during the delicate transition from school to university, provides assistance to enrolled students, and offers information on the educational offer and on the administrative procedures for access to degree programmes.
Orientation initiatives and projects
1. “Porte aperte alla Sapienza” (Open Days at Sapienza)
This initiative, held annually at the University City campus, is the University’s main event dedicated primarily to prospective first-year students. During the three orientation days, participants can meet academic staff and current students, receive information, and attend presentations in the Aula Magna on the educational offer of all the University’s Faculties. The initiative is intended for all those wishing to enrol in Sapienza’s Bachelor’s, Single-Cycle Master’s, and Master’s Degree Programmes, with particular attention to students in the final years of upper secondary school. For each stakeholder, the event represents an opportunity to become acquainted with Sapienza, its educational offer, its study, cultural, and social spaces, and the wide range of services available to students, including libraries and study rooms, museums, university residences, sports facilities, and the university theatre. In addition to information on teaching activities, participants may obtain guidance, both during the meetings and at the Faculty stands located along the avenues of the campus, as well as through virtual stands, on the administrative procedures, both of a general nature and, more specifically, on enrolment procedures for the various degree programmes, as well as detailed information on calls for applications for admission tests.
Furthermore, in order to foster inclusive environments and access to university education, the Unit for Relations with Students with Disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) promotes spaces for discussion concerning career management through personalized and individualized study plans, with the activation of educational, financial, and/or logistical support measures available for vulnerable students. Lastly, the Unit guides students through the procedures to be followed in order to request support measures, including information on the clinical certifications that may be submitted.
2. “Orientamento Sapienza” Portal
To support students in choosing their degree programme, the University has developed an online portal that allows for an immersive and anticipatory experience of university life: users can explore, through navigable images and videos, the campus, classrooms, laboratories, libraries, the theatre, and spaces dedicated to music and sport; they can also access online teaching modules on the main subjects covered by the degree programmes and assess and improve their preparation for admission or knowledge assessment tests.
In addition, the portal serves as the main point of contact for information on orientation events organized by the various Faculties and Departments throughout the year, and hosts presentation videos of the Faculties, Bachelor’s Degree Programmes, Single-Cycle Master’s Degree Programmes, and Master’s Degree Programmes, particularly newly established ones. All orientation initiatives are promoted through the University’s social media channels in order to reach potentially interested students.
The portal is also available in English in order to promote orientation activities among international students.
3. “A Bridge between School and University” Project
The project was created with the aim of facilitating a smoother transition for students leaving upper secondary schools and entering university, as well as easing their subsequent integration into the new academic environment.
The project is structured into two initiatives:
a) Sapienza Presents Itself – presentations of the Faculties and sample lectures delivered by Sapienza faculty members and addressed to secondary school students on topics related to each teaching area;
b) Sapienza through Students’ Voices – activities carried out in schools to present the services offered by Sapienza and to share the university experience through specially trained “mentor” and “senior” students.
4. Self-assessment tools
(developed by Sapienza experts and scientifically tested)
a) “Know Yourself” – an effective tool to support the decision-making process involved in choosing a study path. Once completed, the tool provides a personality profile, an academic profile, and a professional profile.
b) “Me, Myself and Others” – a tool designed to measure soft skills, namely those attitudes and competencies that are relevant for integration into society and the world of work.
5. “Orientamento in rete” Project
This is an orientation and academic alignment project focused on the minimum knowledge required to best tackle admission tests for degree programmes in the biomedical and psychological areas. The initiative includes a preparatory course structured in two phases: an initial phase based on distance learning and a second phase consisting of intensive in-person courses, aimed at students in the final years of upper secondary school who wish to access degree programmes with restricted admission in the biomedical, health, and psychological areas.
6. “Percorsi per le competenze trasversali e per l’orientamento – PCTO”
(formerly school-work alternation pathways)
This is a teaching method which, through practical experience, helps upper secondary school students consolidate the knowledge acquired at school and test their aptitudes in the field, while at the same time enriching their education and guiding their study choices.
7. “Orientamento Next Generation (ONG)”
This is a joint project involving all universities in the Lazio Region, funded through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and designed to help students in the Region make informed choices about their educational path after school and define their personal and professional trajectory.
The project consists of a 15-hour training pathway delivered by Sapienza faculty members, available in person and as part of the curricular offer, structured into five 3-hour modules delivered over five preferably consecutive days, unless otherwise agreed with the schools. The contents include, by way of example:
• Module A – Why is studying important?
• Module B – How does one study at university?
• Module C – How can I best prepare for university studies?
• Module D – Who am I and who will I become?
• Module E – Which professions can I aspire to?
8. Preparation for admission tests
Sapienza makes use of the CISIA Online Entrance Tests (TOLC), which may be taken by upper secondary school students through the CISIA portal, which also allows students to practice through the Student Placement Tests (PPS). The PPS are real tests that provide students with immediate feedback on their level of preparation, based on comparison between their answers and the scores obtained on the same questions by participants in previous editions of the same TOLC.
9. “Saperi Minimi” (Minimum Knowledge)
This project, dedicated to the alignment of minimum knowledge, namely the basic competencies required to attend the chosen degree programme successfully, offers access to recorded lectures delivered by university faculty members with the specific aim of strengthening incoming knowledge and enabling a more informed and motivated university career.
10. “Of@Sapienza”
In order to improve preparation for admission tests and prevent the assignment of OFA (Additional Learning Requirements) in Italian and Mathematics, Sapienza offers the Of@Sapienza e-learning channel. Here, students can find useful tools for independent practice and for strengthening the minimum knowledge required by degree programmes in the humanities, engineering, and architecture.
11. “Orientation events”
The webpage dedicated to orientation events collects, in chronological order, all orientation initiatives organized by the University, the Faculties, the Departments, and the Area Didattica/degree programme structures.
In addition, to support study choice and to illustrate the active services available for students with disabilities and SLD, Sapienza organizes meetings with schools and individual orientation sessions with upper secondary schools. The University subsequently supports students with disabilities and SLD throughout the delicate and highly important process of orientation, assessment, and selection for admission.
The Unit for Students with Disabilities and SLD assesses which individualized arrangements for admission tests may be necessary in light of the certifications presented by students. For enrolment in locally or nationally restricted-admission degree programmes requiring a selective entry test, persons with disabilities may request a range of compensatory measures, such as a dedicated classroom, extra time, a reading tutor, an accompanying tutor, an Italian Sign Language interpreter, or a calculator, following the request procedures indicated in the admission notices. Likewise, for enrolment in degree programmes requiring TOLC admission tests managed by the CISIA Consortium, whether taken in person or remotely through the TOLC@CASA mode, persons with disabilities and/or SLD may request support measures in compliance with the procedures and deadlines established by the administrative test registration process.
Lastly, the Unit for Students with Disabilities and SLD is responsible for welcoming newly enrolled students in vulnerable conditions, with the support of specialized tutors, peer tutors, and Italian Sign Language interpreters.
**Degree Programme activities**
The Degree Programme in Medicine and Surgery is intended for students from all over the world, as well as from Italy, and aims to create an international and multicultural community capable of training medical doctors with excellent theoretical and practical preparation, up to date with the scientific and technological advances of medicine, and particularly skilled in interacting with colleagues, researchers, and patients from different nationalities and cultural backgrounds. The delivery of teaching in English is instrumental to achieving this objective. The educational offer of this type of degree programme, already presented through the orientation initiatives promoted by the University, must necessarily be extended to an international audience composed of students from upper secondary schools worldwide.
A synchronous online event is envisaged for the presentation, at the international level, of the Degree Programmes in the Health Sciences Area, namely Medicine and Surgery, Dentistry and Dental Prosthodontics, and Nursing. The event consists of an introductory video in English illustrating the three programmes, followed by a detailed presentation by the Chairs of each Degree Programme and a Q&A session. The first edition of the event was held on 6 June 2023 and was promoted internationally through a press release by the International Promotion and Recruitment Unit of the Student Services Area, as well as through social media channels. The event was recorded and made available on the University’s official YouTube channel. The second event was held on 12 May 2025, in hybrid format, both in person and online, and was likewise recorded and made available on the University’s official YouTube channel.
The Degree Programme has identified a faculty member responsible for international advertising initiatives, Professor Dario Coletti, who has been appointed to the Technical Committee for the didactic and pedagogical planning of the programme. The faculty member participates, upon invitation, in all dissemination initiatives relating to the programme at European upper secondary schools and plans ad hoc initiatives for the international promotion of the programme and the orientation of international students.
All students interested in the programme may also contact the SOrT office through the contact details provided on the Degree Programme website and on the Faculty and SOrT webpages.
The Sapienza Orientation Portal, which is also available in English, offers an immersive and anticipatory experience of university life through videos and photographs of the University’s facilities.