How to enroll#

Warning

All the information given here can be found on the official webpage dedicated to ACSAI and other restricted access degrees. It is mandatory to check this webpage and the official call for applications (bando) before starting the procedure: deadlines, test validity windows, and available places change every year. In particular, carefully read the documents in the Downloads box.

If you encounter problems…

If you encounter any problem during the procedure, please join the Telegram group chat: you can ask for help to your fellow collegues!

Enrolling in Applied Computer Science requires you to follow the following crucial steps:

1. Preliminary steps
2. Taking an admission test
3. Signing up for the preselection (mandatory for non-EU applicants)
4. Applying for a visa (only for non-EU applicants)
5. Registering with Infostud and paying the fee for a selection round (there are two selection rounds you can apply to)
6. Enrolling

Preliminary steps#

Before starting, there will be some steps that vary depending on which is your nationality. In the call for the course, students are either referred to as EU or non-EU students; here, we’ll use that same split.

You are considered a EU student if:

• you have an Italian citizenship / a citizenship from any EU country;
• you have a non-EU country citizenship but are in possession of a regular residence permit in Italy.

If you do not fall in one of the previous cases, then you are considered as a non-EU student.

All students, regardless of their citizenship, must have the following documents in order to enroll:

• a upper secondary school diploma taken in / to be obtained by the year specified in the official call for applications (if you are a non-EU citizen applying for a student visa, a GPA of no less than 75/100 is required);
• a valid entrance test (see the admission tests section for further details);
• an adequate knowledge of the English language (see the English requirements section for further details).

Now, if you are a EU citizen, you can skip the following two sections and go directly here, otherwise, you should read the following sections, since they contain important info for you.

Extra documents and visa (for non-EU applicants only)#

Here we will mention what non-EU students will need in order to participate to the selection rounds, so any extra documents, the requirements for the visa and some details over MoveIN, the platform used by Sapienza for making non-EU students enroll.

Extra documents#

Non-EU students will need, together with the documents mentioned in the preliminary steps, the following documents:

• the pre-acceptance letter (in .pdf format) from the pre-selection procedure carried out on MoveIN via https://www.uniroma1.it/en/admissions. Note that a fee of 30,00 € is required for this pre-selection process;
• the online pre-enrolment application for the “university enrolment study visa” from the Universitaly platform. The application must be carried out by the deadline specified in the official call for applications on the platform for the relevant academic year.

Visa#

Non-EU citizens must apply for a student visa at the Italian Embassy or Consulate of their jurisdiction. Check if you need a student visa on the Visa for Italy portal.

If your application has been positively evaluated, the chosen institution will be able to issue a Letter of eligibility for enrolment. The competent Italian higher education institution will validate online your application with all the evaluation details required by the competent Italian Diplomatic Consular Mission/Embassy to start your visa application.

Fill in the section Visa of the online form: once your request is approved by the Italian Diplomatic Consular Mission/Embassy for the visa, you have to take an appointment and go to the Diplomatic Consular Mission/Embassy to obtain your visa.

The validation procedure done by higher education institutions does not imply any right to obtain the visa: the decision on visa for study purposes is of exclusive jurisdiction of the competent Italian Diplomatic Consular Mission/Embassy.

If you are an EU citizen or come from EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), you do not need a visa. However, if stay in Italy for more than 3 months, you should register with the Anagrafe (Register office) of your Municipality of residence.

Preselection (mandatory for non-EU applicants)#

The MoveIN pre-selection is a required preliminary assessment for non-EU candidates residing abroad and optional for Italian, EU candidates, and non-EU citizens residing in Italy. A positive outcome results in a pre-acceptance letter, inviting the candidate to proceed to the selection process.

For non-EU citizens abroad, this allows them to submit a pre-enrolment application on Universitaly for a study visa by the deadline indicated in the official call. The MoveIN pre-selection requires a 30,00 € fee and must be completed by the deadline set in the call. Registration details and timeframes for the MoveIN pre-selections are outlined at this link.

To be pre-selected for the degree programme, the following is required:

• A upper secondary school diploma (or equivalent qualification) obtained after no less than 12 years of study, within the timeframe specified in the call;
• Evidence of adequate knowledge of the English language according to the parameters indicated in the call (see the English requirements section);
• At least one of the admission tests indicated passed with a result of not less than 36/100 (mind that non-EU candidates applying for a visa can only take the English TOLC-I, CEnT-S, or SAT) (see the admission tests section).

Mind that pre-selection alone is not sufficient for enrolment. The following admission process depends on passing the selection. Candidates from non-EU countries legally residing abroad cannot participate in the selection rounds without receiving the pre-acceptance letter and confirming the invitation it contains. For more details, click here.

English requirements#

In addition to the steps explained below, applicants must meet one of the following requirements in English language:

1. a Cambridge English Certificate between FCE, CAE or CPE;
2. a TOEFL iBT with a minimum score of 72 out of 120;
3. an IELTS (Academic) with a minimum score of 5.5 out of 9;
4. a PTE (Pearson Test of English General) of level 3 – B2 CEFR or higher;
5. a PTE (Pearson Test of English – Academic) with a score no lower than 42;
6. an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma or a General Certificate of Education (GCE);
7. a diploma/degree awarded in English from an accredited institution in the EU/EEA/Schengen or in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, and USA.

Furthermore, the requirements in English language can also be met if:

• the applicant has taken the SAT, English TOLC-I or CEnT-S test;
• the applicant obtains at least 24/30 points in the English section of the Italian TOLC-I or TOLC-S.

If you are an applicant that needs to provide one of the certificates explained in the options 1-7, the certificate must be uploaded on MoveIN by the pre-acceptance deadline (if you are non-EU requiring a visa) or sent to acsai@di.uniroma1.it by the deadline for the enrollment fee payment (if you are EU or non-EU legally residing in Italy). The email subject must be: “ACSAI - Knowledge of English: Certificate” followed by your Infostud ID number.

Admission Tests#

The only official admission tests to access the selections are: TOLC-I, English TOLC-I, TOLC-S, CEnT-S or SAT. Please note: if you are a non-EU citizen applying for a student visa, you are only allowed to take the English TOLC-I, CEnT-S, or SAT. Furthermore, the test must be taken before the deadline of the registration period of the chosen selection round (see the Infostud section).

Please refer carefully to the official call for applications to verify the exact test validity window for your academic year.

TOLC and CEnT-S#

TOLCs and CEnT-S can be booked on the official CISIA website, where you will have to create a personal account. Then, you can access the personal area to book a test. You can choose whether to attend a test @UNI (in one of the many CISIA centers around Italy) or @CASA / @HOME (an online test, which can be done while you are at home).

Warning

The booking period for a test usually closes a week before the date of the test itself at 2:00 PM!

TOLC-I and English TOLC-I include:

• a Math section with 20 questions (50 minutes)
• a Logic section with 10 questions (20 minutes)
• a Science section with 10 questions (20 minutes)
• a Comprehension section with 10 questions (20 minutes)

TOLC-S includes:

• a Basic Mathematics section with 20 questions (50 minutes)
• a Reasoning, problems and reading comprehension section with 15 questions (30 minutes)
• Biology (5 questions), Chemistry (5 questions), Physics (5 questions), Earth Sciences (5 questions)

CEnT-S for ACSAI only evaluates the following sections (35 questions in total):

• Mathematics with 15 questions (30 minutes)
• Reasoning on text and data with 15 questions (30 minutes)
• Physics with 5 questions (10 minutes)

Test Frequencies

You may retake each type of TOLC no more than once per calendar month. However, for CEnT-S, you may take the exam only once per macro-period for each type of CEnT.

TOLC & CEnT-S scores

Each correct answer gives 1 point and each wrong answer subtracts 0.25 point. Not given answers count as 0. Note that Sapienza considers the unnormalised score for CEnT-S.

Minimum Score and OFA

The minimum score required for admission to the degree programme is 36/100. However, if you obtain a score lower than 40/100, you will be required to complete Further Required Courses (OFAs) in Mathematics within the first year of the degree programme.

Furthermore, TOLC-I and TOLC-S in Italian include 30 questions of basic English grammar (15 minutes): this section does not contribute to the score relevant to the selections, but can be used to meet the English requirement.

Important

Sapienza acquires automatically the results of the test through tax code (or fiscal code). Therefore, you must use the same code when creating the personal area in CISIA and registering to Infostud. If you take more than one test, Sapienza will automatically acquire the one with the highest score.

SAT#

SATs can be booked on the official College Board website, where you will have to create a personal account. Then, you can access the personal area: here you can book a SAT. SAT includes:

• a Reading section with 52 questions (65 minutes)
• a Writing and language section with 44 questions (35 minutes)
• a Math test (no calculator) with 20 questions (25 minutes)
• a Math test (calculator) with 38 questions (55 minutes)

SAT scores

The total score is reported on a scale from 400 to 1600.

SAT Dates & Deadlines

SAT tests are not held every month (there are usually around 7 test dates per academic year, with no sessions in months like January or April). Make sure to check thoroughly the official dates and deadlines on the College Board platform.

Warning

SAT scores are not acquired automatically by Sapienza. You must send them through the College Board platform, indicating:

• Sapienza University of Rome as the name of the institution
• 9038 as the institution code

Infostud#

Warning

Check thoroughly all the deadlines for registering for a selection on the document posted in the download box at ACSAI and other restricted access degrees

First things first, you have to register on Infostud in order to obtain an ID number (matricola). The email address inserted during the procedures will be used for communications, so it is better to chose an address you frequently check. Once registered, you can access your private area: here click on “Bachelor and Master Degree Programmes” and then ‘Admission to Programmes":

Finally, enter the code 14824 and pay the 10€ fee. The fee must be payed within the registration period for the round itself: please check deadlines and dates of the selection rounds on this website. Furthermore, the fee is valid for only one round: if you want to partecipate in a second round you must pay the fee again following the same process.

Rankings and Interviews#

Once the application period closes, candidates are ranked in descending order based on their standardized score.

Tie-breaker & Interviews

• In the event of a tie, priority is given to the younger candidate.
• Online Interview: The assessment panel reserves the right to invite candidates to an online interview to evaluate their knowledge. If invited, passing the interview is mandatory; a decision of non-admission results in the loss of enrolment rights regardless of the test score.

The rankings are published by student ID number on the Sapienza website.

Enrollment#

Warning

Check thoroughly all the deadlines for enrollment on the document posted in the download box at ACSAI and other restricted access degrees

If you registered correctly to a selection round, your ID number will show up on the rankings uploaded on the Sapienza website.

If you participated to a selection and you passed it, you must enroll during the period indicated on the official call for applications. If you do not enroll during this period by paying the first instalment of your tuition fees, Sapienza will consider your application as dropped-out.

In order to enroll you have to log-in on Infostud and go to “Bachelor and Master Degree Programmes”; then, click on “Year One” (under the section “Tuition Fees”, image): follow the procedure and, when asked, insert the course code 33502. At the end, click on “Generate Payment Slips”: two slips will be generated (one with the first instalment only, the other with all three instalments) and you can choose which one you would like to pay. Anyhow, you must pay with PagoPA one of them before the deadline of enrollment for your selection round.