What is ISIA

ISIA Firenze is the first university-level public institution for Design education in Italy. ISIA has been training designers and doing research in the field of design for over 40 years. ISIA belongs to the AFAM – Higher Artistic and Musical Education – sector of the Ministry of University and Research (MUR).

ISIA Firenze offers one 1st level degree (Bachelor’s) and one 2nd level degree (Master’s). The Bachelor’s is a three-year course in “Design” and the Master’s is a two two-year course in “Design” with two specialisations: in “Industrial product and systems design” and in “Communication and digital product design”.

The ISIA model is characterised by a limited number of students, selected with an admission test, and a teaching staff made up of qualified scholars and professionals. Both the Bachelor’s and the Master’s curricula have a multidisciplinary approach and every course has compulsory attendance. Curricular lectures are joined by conferences and workshops held by important personalities in the design world, aiming at involving students in the debate on the development of the discipline.

The ISIA teaching model is characterised by a high educational quality and an experimental method capable of combining research, cultural and theoretical knowledge with practical / technical skills and experiences.

The Institute has numerous collaborations with national and international companies, thus allowing students to learn from real-life experiences and strengthening its learn-by-doing approach. It is a member of the Erasmus+ program and has activated numerous agreements with European and non-European schools and universities. ISIA is a modern school which aims at innovation and whose quality has been confirmed over the years by the numerous national and international awards obtained.

Students and teachers experience ISIA as a sort of atelier, a cultural laboratory closely connected with the production realities, and capable of stimulating an ever-increasing sensitivity towards social and ethical issues, now central themes for every designer. The designers who study at ISIA have a high level of technical skills, ample flexibility and an aptitude for transversal thinking. They are aware of the importance and responsibility of their role in building future methods of development, production, distribution and sale of goods.