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University of Cagliari (Università degli Studi di Cagliari)
Welcome to a Mediterranean centre of learning
Many applicants search for English‑taught programs in Italy that blend research quality, personal support, and modest fees. The University of Cagliari answers that call. As one of the long‑standing public Italian universities, it offers chances to study in Italy in English while keeping costs close to those at many tuition‑free universities Italy. Established in 1626 and rebuilt after the Second World War, the institution stands today among global rankings for its scientific output, student satisfaction, and regional impact.
A brief history with modern reach
The university began as a Spanish crown college, teaching law, medicine, and philosophy to serve Sardinia. Centuries later, it has evolved into a full research hub with 15 departments and more than 25,000 students. Times Higher Education places it in the 501‑600 band worldwide, noting strong citation scores in physics, computer science, and medicine. Local companies partner with university labs to refine drug discovery, marine engineering, and renewable‑energy storage, building the school’s reputation far beyond the island.
Key academic areas
- Engineering and Architecture: civil, environmental, chemical, and computer engineering.
- Life Sciences: biotechnology, bioinformatics, and marine biology.
- Medicine and Surgery: clinical practice, neuroscience, and sports science.
- Economics, Law, and Political Science: international management, data analytics, and EU policy studies.
- Humanities and Education: archaeology, linguistics, and digital communication.
Many of these departments host English‑taught postgraduate tracks, joint doctorates, and Erasmus mobility exchange, reinforcing the university’s role within the circle of English‑taught programs in Italy.
English‑taught programs in Italy: degree map at Cagliari
The university offers more than a dozen full degrees and numerous single modules in English.
- Master of Computer Engineering, Cybersecurity stream
- Master of Electronic Engineering
- Master of International Management and Sustainability
- Master of Biosciences and Biotechnology
- Joint Doctorate in Sustainable Tourism Management (shared with Spanish and French partners)
Short specialist tracks include Deep Learning for Robotics and Big‑Data Mining for Finance. These options let you study in Italy in English while linking classroom theory to Mediterranean case studies.
Students who prefer Italian instruction can still select up to 40 ECTS in English modules, keeping language skills fresh. Tandem‑learning clubs pair locals and internationals, so everyone benefits.
Scholarships, fees, and the DSU grant
Like all public Italian universities, the University of Cagliari uses income‑based tuition. Annual fees rarely exceed €3,000 and may shrink below €500 when family income meets low‑band thresholds.
DSU grant overview
- Tuition waiver: 100 % of fees removed for eligible income brackets.
- Living stipend: up to €5,600 each academic year.
- Meal plan: two free meals per day in campus cafeterias.
- Accommodation: discounted rooms at university halls.
Regional bodies such as ERSU Sardegna handle DSU applications, yet ApplyAZ guides you through each form, translation, and deadline.
Other support
- Excellence awards: €2,000‑€4,000 for students in the top 10 %.
- Research assistantships: part‑time roles in labs for €600‑€800 per month.
- Industry fellowships: Port Authority and Tiscali sponsor final‑semester projects.
These scholarships for international students in Italy can combine with the DSU grant, lowering net costs to near zero.
Campus architecture and learning resources
Cagliari’s main hub sits on a hill overlooking the lagoon. Buildings mix Baroque façades with high‑glass labs and open makerspaces. Facilities include:
- Digital Innovation Centre: home to Sardegna Ricerche supercomputers.
- Marine Station: vessels, scuba gear, and ocean sensors for field courses.
- Biomedical Complex: simulation wards, MRI scanners, and tissue‑culture suites.
- Language Centre: free IELTS preparation, Italian A1‑C1 classes, and subtitling labs.
Each faculty offers evening help sessions led by doctoral tutors—ideal for non‑native English speakers adjusting to technical vocabulary.
The city: life, cost, and daily rhythm
Cagliari, Sardinia’s capital, hugs a gulf framed by limestone cliffs and pink‑salt lagoons. Its population of 150,000 blends island heritage with student energy.
Affordability
- Rent: €250‑€350 per month for a shared flat.
- Groceries: €150 on average, lower if you use open markets.
- Transport: €25 monthly pass covers buses, trams, and suburban trains.
Compared with mainland metros, you save 20 %‑30 % on living costs, stretching scholarship funds further.
Climate
- Winter: mild, 12 °C average, plenty of sunshine.
- Spring and autumn: perfect for hiking coastal trails.
- Summer: hot but breezy; classes mostly end by July, letting you enjoy beaches.
Public transport
Orange CTM buses run day and night, linking dorms, labs, and entertainment areas. Bike‑sharing stations and e‑scooters serve the flat lowlands. The airport sits 10 minutes by train, connecting you to Rome and Milan in one hour.
Culture and leisure
- Roman amphitheatre concerts and open‑air cinema nights.
- Sardinian folk festivals with masks, horses, and pipe music.
- Street‑art routes and indie‑music bars in the Marina district.
- Mediterranean diet celebrated in student canteens: fregola, sea urchin pasta, and pecorino cheese.
Erasmus Student Network organises wind‑surf weekends and language‑exchange aperitivos, making it easy to build friendships.
Industry scene: jobs and internships
Sardinia’s economy blends traditional and high‑tech domains.
Key sectors
- ICT: Tiscali, CRS4 research park, and start‑ups in cybersecurity and cloud computing.
- Energy transition: Enel Green Power solar projects and Wave Power pilot plants.
- Marine and aerospace: Fincantieri ship repair, Dassault Systems flight‑test outpost.
- Tourism and culture: luxury resorts, archaeological consulting, and event management.
- Agri‑food: organic wine, botanical extracts, and nutraceutical labs.
Internship offices connect students with these employers through career days and project challenges. For example, data‑science students may analyse sailing‑race telemetry, while automation engineers program robots that pack pecorino rounds. Humanities students curate VR tours of Nuragic ruins, merging culture with tech.
Innovation hubs
- Parco Tecnologico di Pula: houses biotech and AI ventures; offers summer traineeships.
- INAF‑Sardinia Radio Telescope: physics students assist in pulsar data crunching.
- Port of Cagliari Smart Logistics Cluster: engineers model container‑flow algorithms.
Local authorities run “Voucher Tirocinio” schemes giving stipends to companies that host international interns. These keep costs down for small firms and open many positions.
Relevant industries for every faculty
- Economic analysis: fintech for small islands and blue economy forecasting.
- Engineering: aerospace composites, renewable micro‑grids, and hydrogen storage.
- Life sciences: marine pharmaceutics, coral eco‑genomics, and anti‑aging compounds.
- Law and policy: EU maritime law, migration studies, and smart city governance.
- Humanities: digital archives of Phoenician artefacts and endangered dialect preservation.
This variety ensures that whatever field you choose, Cagliari provides specialised avenues for research, internships, or entrepreneurial trials.
Support services and student welfare
- Buddy programme: older internationals help new arrivals with housing and healthcare forms.
- Counselling centre: free sessions in English and Italian.
- Sports association: discounted sailing, climbing, and five‑a‑side leagues.
- Career mentoring: LinkedIn clinics, mock interviews, and start‑up incubator workshops.
These services ensure you can focus on learning rather than paperwork or stress.
Why Cagliari stands out
- Historic campus plus modern labs in one setting.
- Lower living costs than mainland capitals.
- Strong funding through DSU grant and additional aid.
- Fast air links to Europe and rich Sardinian culture at your doorstep.
- Job market that values English‑speaking graduates with technical or creative skills.
Picture your next step
Imagine coding a hydro‑meter predictor by day, watching flamingos at sunset, and enjoying pasta alla bottarga with classmates after study. Picture printing your thesis on algae‑derived paper, knowing the research fed directly into a start‑up trial. This is the rhythm that awaits at the University of Cagliari.
In two minutes we’ll confirm whether you meet the basic entry rules for tuition-free, English-taught degrees in Italy. We’ll then quickly see if we still have space for you this month. If so, you’ll get a personalised offer. Accept it, and our experts hand-craft a shortlist of majors that fit your grades, goals, and career plans. Upload your documents once; we submit every university and scholarship application, line up multiple admission letters, and guide you through the visa process—backed by our admission-and-scholarship guarantee.
Civil Engineering LM‑23 at University of Cagliari (Università degli Studi di Cagliari)
Starting a master’s abroad means balancing cost, language, and academic depth. English‑taught programs in Italy solve that puzzle. They blend rigorous coursework, accessible professors, and fees much lower than many English countries. The Civil Engineering LM‑23 degree at the University of Cagliari helps you study in Italy in English while taking advantage of the funding model that places many public Italian universities alongside tuition‑free universities Italy for affordability.
1. Programme vision and learning goals
Civil engineers design the infrastructure that underpins society—bridges, roads, water works, and earthquake‑safe buildings. This LM‑23 master moves beyond basic design. It trains you to build climate‑resilient systems, integrate digital tools, and protect communities. The curriculum links European standards with global best practice and addresses emerging themes such as low‑carbon concrete, smart materials, and parametric modelling.
Key objectives
- Develop advanced structural and hydraulic analysis skills.
- Apply digital modelling, GIS (Geographical Information Systems), and BIM (Building Information Modelling) in every design phase.
- Understand life‑cycle assessment to reduce embodied carbon.
- Master Eurocodes and ISO norms for cross‑border compliance.
- Build project‑management and communication skills for multicultural teams.
Graduates leave ready to lead projects, join research teams, or pursue chartered‑engineer status across Europe.
2. Curriculum structure: two years, four semesters, 120 ECTS
The programme follows the Bologna Process template, so credits transfer easily across Europe.
Year 1: advanced foundations
- Structural Mechanics and Non‑linear Analysis (9 ECTS)
- Behaviour of reinforced and prestressed systems.
- Plastic hinge formation and capacity design.
- Hydrology and River Engineering (9 ECTS)
- Stochastic rainfall models, flood routing, sediment transport.
- Geotechnical Engineering for Complex Soils (9 ECTS)
- Constitutive models, slope stability, ground‑improvement methods.
- Construction Materials and Durability (6 ECTS)
- High‑performance concrete, fibre‑reinforced polymers, recycled aggregates.
- Numerical Methods for Civil Engineers (6 ECTS)
- Finite‑element coding in MATLAB and open‑source suites.
- Project Studio 1 (6 ECTS)
- Teams design a pedestrian bridge, including BIM model, cost estimate, and life‑cycle carbon report.
Year 2: specialisation and thesis
Choose two thematic blocks (12 ECTS each):
- Seismic Design and Risk Mitigation
- Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure
- Water Resources and Coastal Protection
- Digital Construction and Smart Cities
Complementary modules:
- Construction Management and Procurement (6 ECTS)
- Ethics, Law, and Contracts in Engineering (6 ECTS)
- Project Studio 2 (6 ECTS) – design‑and‑build simulation with external mentors.
The degree ends with a 30 ECTS master’s thesis. Many students collaborate with companies or research consortia. Topics range from modelling tsunami forces on breakwaters to applying AI for bridge‑health monitoring.
3. Teaching methods: active, digital, and applied
Flipped classrooms
Each week begins with short theory videos. Live sessions then focus on solving real calculations—shear walls under seismic load, culvert hydraulics, or settlement prediction using Python scripts.
Studio projects
Studio courses mimic professional practice:
- Work in groups of four or five.
- Use BIM software (Revit, Tekla, or openBIM tools) to generate 3‑D models.
- Present design reviews to a jury of professors and industry engineers.
Field labs and equipment
- Structures Lab: 2 MN servo‑controlled press for full‑scale beam tests.
- Geotech Lab: triaxial, oedometer, and direct shear rigs with digital sensors.
- Hydraulics Flume: 30‑metre channel for sediment transport and scour studies.
- Materials Lab: X‑ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, accelerated corrosion chambers.
Students receive training on safety and instrument calibration in the first month.
E‑learning platform
All lecture notes, videos, and code templates appear on a Moodle portal. Personal accounts track quizzes and offer instant feedback. The system integrates with cloud storage, so you can collaborate on large BIM files without hardware limits.
4. Research and industry links
Professors coordinate EU Horizon projects on topics such as:
- Recycled aggregates in marine environments.
- Smart sensors for landslide early warning.
- Hydrogen‑powered freight terminals.
As a master’s candidate, you can:
- Work as a paid research assistant (average 10 hours/week).
- Co‑author conference papers and journal articles.
- Access high‑performance computing clusters for finite‑element simulations.
Partner firms include leading Italian construction groups, global design consultancies, and public agencies. Visiting engineers give guest lectures on project finance, permits, and site safety.
5. Funding: DSU grant and other scholarships
Income‑linked tuition
Italy regulates fees nationally. The University of Cagliari sets a maximum of about €3,500 per year. Submit income documents, and the charge can drop below €1,000.
DSU grant essentials
- Full tuition waiver for qualifying incomes.
- Annual stipend up to €6,000 for rent, food, and books.
- Daily canteen meal vouchers.
- Priority dormitory place.
Criteria mix economic need and merit; first‑year selection depends on bachelor’s grade, second‑year on credits passed.
Additional scholarships for international students in Italy
- Excellence awards of €2,000 for top applicants.
- Women in Engineering bursary (€1,500) to promote gender balance.
- Erasmus+ mobility grants for a semester abroad.
- Industry fellowships covering thesis expenses on green concrete or AI design.
6. Admission process
- Online application – upload transcript, passport, CV, and a 700‑word motivation letter.
- Academic review – faculty committee checks credit match; extra bridging modules may be assigned.
- English proof – IELTS 6.0, TOEFL iBT 80, or evidence of prior English‑medium degree.
- Conditional offer – usually within four weeks.
- Scholarship filing – DSU and merit forms.
- Visa – non‑EU citizens book embassy slots.
- Final enrolment – present originals and pay the first fee instalment; grant refunds follow.
7. Career paths and accreditation
Roles after graduation
- Structural designer at consulting firms.
- Geotechnical engineer for tunnelling or offshore foundations.
- Water‑resource planner for dams and irrigation.
- BIM coordinator controlling digital workflows.
- Research associate pursuing a PhD in earthquake engineering.
Accreditation
The LM‑23 label corresponds to Level 7 of the European Qualification Framework. Graduates can sit the Italian State Exam for Professional Engineer (Ingegnere) registration. Eurocodes competence also eases licence procedures in other EU countries.
Placement statistics
Internal surveys show 88 % employment within six months. Average starting salary aligns with OECD civil‑engineer benchmarks. Alumni work in Italy, Germany, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
8. Soft skills and professional growth
Beyond calculations, modern projects demand:
- Leadership and teamwork – studio tasks require coordinated deadlines.
- Communication – write concise reports and defend designs to mixed audiences.
- Ethics and sustainability – evaluate social impact, biodiversity, and carbon footprint.
- Digital literacy – automate workflows with Python scripts, parametric modelling, and cloud collaboration.
Workshops on public speaking, conflict resolution, and contract law run each semester.
9. Continuous improvement and student voice
End‑of‑course surveys feed into a quality committee that includes elected student reps. Recent updates from feedback:
- Added a short module on timber and bamboo structures.
- Increased hands‑on sessions in the geotechnical centrifuge.
- Integrated open‑data GIS exercises for flood mapping.
10. Typical week snapshot
DayMorningAfternoonMondayHydrology lectureStructural lab sessionTuesdayGeotech problem classProject Studio meetingWednesdayMaterials test demoBIM workshopThursdayNumerical Methods quizGroup report writingFridayGuest lecture on EurocodesEthics seminar
Each block lasts 50 minutes with short breaks, making learning manageable even for non‑native speakers.
11. Technology stack and software licences
- Structural analysis – SAP2000, OpenSees, Midas Civil.
- Geotechnical – PLAXIS 2D/3D, GeoStudio.
- Hydraulic modelling – HEC‑RAS, TELEMAC‑2D.
- BIM and CAD – Autodesk Revit, Tekla Structures, Trimble SketchUp.
- Programming – MATLAB, Python (NumPy, SciPy, Pandas), R.
Students access these packages via campus VPN, so you can compute from dorms.
12. Research‑to‑startup pipeline
The university runs an incubator focused on engineering innovation:
- Seed funding for prototypes like recycled‑aggregate bricks.
- Mentorship from patent lawyers and venture capitalists.
- Demo days where investors review capstone projects.
Several alumni companies now sell modular flood barriers and low‑carbon fibre beams.
13. Network and alumni
Graduates join an alumni platform with 6,000 engineers. Benefits:
- Annual job fair.
- Mentorship scheme linking students to industry mentors abroad.
- Webinars on coding, certifications, and project leadership.
14. Why choose this LM‑23 programme
- Study in Italy in English within an accredited framework.
- Access high‑tech labs and EU research grants.
- Pay modest fees thanks to income‑linked policy and DSU grant.
- Build employable skills: seismic design, BIM management, sustainability metrics.
- Graduate ready for global engineering roles.
Ready for this programme?
If you qualify and we still have a spot this month, we’ll reserve your place with ApplyAZ. Our team will tailor a set of best-fit majors—including this course—and handle every form and deadline for you. One upload, many applications, guaranteed offers, DSU grant support, and visa coaching: that’s the ApplyAZ promise. Start now and secure your spot before this month’s intake fills up.
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