APPLICATION PROCESS

A basic condition for admission to the BSc study is the completion of full secondary education, or full secondary vocational education.

For applicants who acquired the mandatory education abroad, the basic prerequisite for admission is the recognition that their final examination and the documents confirming the final level of education meet the requirements of the Higher Education Act.

Further admission prerequisites for the study under the accredited study programs at the FAD STU are:

• successful completion of the complete entrance exam,
• payment of the fee for the material ensurance of the admission procedure.

The admission process works as follows:

1. Complete the application form, and present the necessary documents for recognition of academic eligibility.
2. Should the candidate be successful; you will be invited for an entrance exam, to test your skills, with the academic committee for final admission to the school.
3. Upon a successful interview, the student will be notified by the FAD STU about their acceptance into the program.

• A concise CV of the applicant
• Proof of payment of the fee covering the material ensurance of the admission procedure. It is to be submitted electronically, as an attachment to the application form in pdf format
• An applicant who graduated earlier than in 2022 must attach a notary authenticated copy of the School Leaving Certificate (SLC / matriculation certificate) in paper form at the same time as submitting the application in electronic form (if provided subsequently, a notary authenticated copy of the matriculation certificate has to be submitted to the study department of the Faculty, however it has to be done no later than the date of the admission procedure).
• The SLC must not be delivered later than 8 days after the School Leaving Examination (SLE) has been passed. The latest date of SLC delivery is the date of registration for the study.
• An applicant with a Slovak citizenship who has passed the SLE abroad and the applicant with a foreign citizenship alike, who want to study at the Faculty, have to apply for equivalency of their secondary school study.
• An electronic version of the portfolio of original graphic works submitted through AIS and processed according to the requirements specified for individual fields of study and with the applicant’s declaration of oath confirming the authorship of the applicant’s work (in one file in pdf format max. up to 40 MB in size, to be submitted by May 31, 2023 till 11:59 p.m.).
• Applicants for study in the English language shall submit to the application a certificate of language proficiency (TOEFL, IELTS, certificate min. B2) or a certificate of completion of secondary school studies with the language of instruction in English (bilingual grammar schools, foreign secondary schools). The certificate must be submitted no later than 31 May 2023 by 11:59 p.m.).

If the application form does not contain the required information and/or documents, or if the applicant does not submit them within the date given by the FAD STU, the applicant will not be allowed to take the admission examination.

Form and content of the admission examination

The entrance exam is organized in one round (in one or two parts), physically at at FAD STU. Since admission examination for 2023/2024, we do not offer distant nor online form.

Part 1

• The aim of the entrance examination in the Bachelor’s degree program Architecture and Urban Planning is to verify the applicant’s prerequisites for study. These are verified by a test and graphic tasks.
  In the test, the candidate demonstrates his/her knowledge of architecture and art as well as his/her spatial imagination.
  In the graphic tasks, the candidate expresses his/her ability to perceive and reproduce space and its elements using the principles of representation (drawing according to a model) in the form of a linear pencil drawing, as well ability to assembles and documents a composition on a specified theme from specified geometric solids. The expression of basic spatial relationships, correctness of representation (orthogonal and perspective representation), correct proportions of the elements depicted, placement on the format, the inventiveness of the design in the case of a compositional task is evaluated.

Part 2

• In his/her portfolio of original graphic works, the applicant is supposed to demonstrate skill in developing a drawing according to a real, visually perceived reality. The correct representation of proportions and shapes is required, as well as the correct artistic and graphic expression in the chosen format. (Portfolio should consist of selection of max. 20 works in A3 or A2 format from the field of graphic, fine art, sculptural creation).

Method of verifying the fulfillment of the conditions of the admission examination

Round 1/Part 1

The admission examination is conducted as a one-day talent test consisting of a graphic and a written part, where the candidate’s prerequisites for studies are verified by processing the individual assignments. Verification of the fulfillment of the conditions in the form of an admission examination is divided into individual assignments, where the applicant can obtain the following scores (max. 1,000 pts).

• Linear pencil drawing according to the model:
  1/ still life: 250 pts
  2/ bust: 250 pts
• Design of spatial composition – pencil drawing
  3/ composition of geometric solids: 300 pts
• Test
  4/ general knowledge of architecture, art and design: 50 pts
  5/ spatial imagination test: 150 pts

After the evaluation of the results from the Round 1/ Part 1:

Applicants who obtain at least 550 points or higher number of points will be proposed for admission based on their performance in the Round 1/ Part 1 of the admission examination, without the need to participate in the Part 2 of the admission examination.

Applicants who obtained a total of 250 – 549.9 points will be allowed to proceed to the Round 1/ Part 2 of the admission examination.

Applicants who obtained less than 249.9 points or did not pass all parts of the Round 1/ Part 1 of the admission examination do not continue in the Round 1/ Part 2 and will be informed that they have not been successful in the admission examinations.

Round 1/Part 2

Round 1/Part 2 is to verify the knowledge and artistic prerequisites of the applicant for the study of architecture and urban planning. The content and form of the portfolio will be assessed: Verification of the artistic prerequisites of the applicant for study at FAD STU – original portfolio of the applicant’s works: max. 350 points

All work completed in the Round 1/ Part 1 of the admission procedure are marked with a QR code in order to ensure anonymity. The evaluation of the results of the admission exam takes place in the form of an anonymous point evaluation of individual assignments. The results of the entrance exam are determined by the total number of points obtained from individual assignments 1 – 5.

The planned number of the accepted applicants for BSc individual study program: 20

The results of the admission exam will be published on the website of the Faculty of Architecture and Design of STU. The applicant will find out the total number of points he/she achieved in the admission exam after entering his/her social security number at the following address.

Fees for the admission administration procedure in a foreign language: 80,- €

The fee for the full time, and in person, form of study for students studying in the English language course: 3 600,- € per year

The fee should be paid by bank transfer to the given account (see Full Instructions for BSc Admission Process).

Download Full Instructions for BSc Admission Process

The basic conditions for admission to the study program of the second degree of higher education at FAD STU:

• the completed education of the first degree or completed education of the second degree;
• when the candidate has accumulated a total of at least 300 ECTS credits, for a previous university study;
• the compliance of the content of the education in the field or a related field of study in the previous bachelor’s degree, or applicant’s engineering studies.

For applicants who completed their previous education abroad, the basic condition for admission is the recognition of their final examination, and presentation of the documents, confirming completion of the study level, that are in accordance with the required level of education. 

A further condition of admission to the Architecture, or Urban Design study programs, is the successful completion of the admission examination and the payment of the fee for the material supply of the admission procedure.

All students are required to have mastered a B2-level knowledge of the English language.

• An authenticated copy of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, or a Diploma supplement;
• Applicants – both foreign and Slovak Republic Nationals who completed the previous Bachelor’s or Master’s study abroad – must submit a certified copy of the issued document (certificate) on the equivalence of education at a foreign university, translated into Slovak;
• A document proving the remittance of the fee for the materials provided for the admission examination. It is to be submitted electronically as an attachment to the application form in pdf format;
• CV
• Applicants who pass the state final examination of the current study level after the term of the Admission examination, will submit the authenticated copy of their Bachelor’s or Master’s diploma and certificates in the Slovak language at the Study Department of the Faculty, immediately after having passed the final state examination. This can be submitted at the latest, on the day of study registration;
• List of subjects and grades from previous studies.

Should the application form not contain the required information, and/or documents, and if the applicant does not submit them within the date given by the FAD STU, they will not be allowed to participate in the admission examination.

The aim of the admission examination is to evaluate the creative skills and prerequisites of an applicant, who wishes to pursue their studies in a selected MSc study programme. The examination is not anonymous, and the applicant has to prove the required level of his/her creativity, inventiveness and ability in finding logical solutions to creative professional tasks.

The verification of the fulfillment of the prerequisites is performed by a study commission that will assess specific parts of the exam. Evaluation of the results of the admission examination, is in the form of points evaluation, of individual parts of the examination. 

• Portfolio: max. 60 points: Applicants must provide the FAD STU, with a portfolio of architectonic and urbanistic works from the time of his/her BSc study. Describe the necessary data, such as the name of the work, where the work was done, date of work, collaboration, pedagogue and other information based on applicant’s own discretion. The works have to be verified and must be confirmed to be their own intellectual property.
• Results of previous study: max. 40 points: The applicant will provide an electronic summary of his/her grades acquired during their BSc study or during his/her whole study accordingly.

The aim of the admission exam is to check the creative abilities and prerequisites of the applicant to study in the chosen master study program. The exam will be held physically at the FAD STU.

All applicants for Master degree studies are obliged to submit not later than 17 June 2023 by 11:59 p.m. a mandatory pdf summary portfolio of their studio works as an electronic attachment to their application.

The test is talent-based and consists of a practical and an oral part. It is non-anonymous.

In the practical part, the applicant must demonstrate the required degree of creativity, invention and logical ability to solve the creative tasks of the field using the abilities and skills acquired in the bachelor’s degree.

The oral part of the exam is aimed at evaluating the candidate in terms of his argumentative ability to factually and convincingly justify the solution to the assigned task and works from the portfolio. The applicant documents previous studies with a list of completed subjects and a portfolio of studio and other school works from the period of study.

• Practical part of the exam (practical work) – preparation of a proposal on the given topic with regard to the chosen study program, in which the creative and technical skills acquired in the bachelor’s or master studies are synthetised while a strong emphasis is put on inventiveness.
• Oral part of the exam and portfolio – defense of the practical work, quality of discussion of the works in the portfolio and evaluation of the content and results of the previous study.

The evaluation of the results of the admission exam is done by commissions appointed by the Dean of FAD STU in accordance with applicable regulations. Each evaluation committee has at least three members. In the individual parts of the entrance exam, the applicant can be evaluated with the following points:

Practical part Practical work: max. 60 pts

• originality and invention of the design, idea of the design, artistic and graphic processing, proof of typological and technical or other knowledge, demonstrating spatial imaging skills.

Oral part: max. 40 pts

• defense of practical work (10 pts)
• the composition and quality of the presented portfolio of studio works from the previous study ( 20 pts)
• evaluation of the study results of the previous education (10 pts)

The planned number of the accepted applicants for MSc study program (English language): 20.

The admission examination results will be released on the web page of the Faculty of Architecture and design STU. The applicant will find the total number of reached points after entering their birth number on the following address.

Fees for admission administration procedure in the foreign language: 80,- €

The fee for the full time, and in person, form of study for students studying in the English language course: 3 600,- € per year

The fee should be paid by bank transfer to the given account (see Full Instructions for MSc Admission Process).

Download Full Instructions for MSc Admission Process

The basic prerequisite for the study admission of the third grade is graduation from second grade of university study.

For the applicants who graduated from foreign universities, the basic prerequisite for admission is the acknowledgement of documents that confirm the required level of completed education and successful final examination.

Further conditions for the study admission:

• the successful pass of the admission examination. For the doctoral study within the fields of Architecture and Urbanism, only the graduates from the related fields can be admitted;
• the payment for the admission process.

General content:

• Admission examination is held as oral interview (in person / online) with preceding test on foreign language skills (the online test, B2 level). The aim of the interview is to check the applicant’s knowledge and information in subjects on Engineering or Master Degree level of studies, within the studied field, which are related to the selected topic of dissertation. The aim of the admission process is to find out the applicant’s eligibility for self-reliant creative activity in science and technology, as well as to find out if his/her professional knowledge is sufficient for the study.

The way of assessment of the admission examination:

• A sequence of applicants will be established, based on acquired points for professional knowledge and the language test.

Release of the admission examination results:

• The results will be released on the FAD STU web page.

• CV;
• A verified copy of the applicant’s Engineering or Master Degree diploma;
• Foreign applicants and Slovak state citizens who graduated from engineering and Master’s studies abroad will submit the documents in accordance with the Act No. 422/2015 Coll. on recognition of documents on education;
• The applicants who pass the state final examinations in the current grade of the study after the term of the admission examination are required to present their verified copy of the diploma and the state exam certificate in Slovak language immediately after having passed the state exam, not later than by 14/07/2023;
• List of published scientific works of the applicant or the list of his/her professional or artistic works, eventually the references on these works or activities;
• A certificate of state exam in foreign language or any internationally accredited certificate on foreign language if relevant;
• Extract of subjects and marks from the previous (engineering/master) study;
• A letter of motivation
• An outline of the doctoral dissertation project (recommended range of 3 – 5 pages: introduction to the topic, objectives, current state, expected outputs…).

In case that the application form does not contain the required information and/or documents and the applicant does not submit them within the date given by the FAD STU, he/she will not be allowed to take the admission examination.

The admission board will work out the sequence of applicants according to the following criteria:

• the level of oral interview (in person / online), the level of professional knowledge, their prerequisites for individual creative activity in science;
• extent and quality of publication activity, published results of work;
• extent and quality of artistic activity, awards of studio works (Prof. Lacko Prize, proposal for Prof. Lacko Prize, Prof. Vilhan Prize, Prof. Hruška Prize, Assoc. Prof. Kodoň Prize, etc.), works prized in international students competitions or public competitions;
• English language proficiency verified by a test (in order to pass the test the applicants have to gain min. 50% of total points), if 75% of the total points is achieved – the candidate obtains 15 points;
• the reached study results on the engineering/master grade of study (according to General Conditions of Study);
• results in students research and professional competitions (e.g. PRO Teoria,…);
• participation in foreign students mobility (Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci), participation in students workshops, summer schools, etc.

Assessment of professional knowledge and verification of prerequisitives for creative work in science : 75 pts

Previous study results, prizes, awards, professional activities: 15 pts

Foreign language: 15 pts

Total: max. 100 pts

Fees for admission administration procedure in the foreign language: 80,- €

The variable symbol and the bank account number are stated in the electronic application form in the section informing about the payment.

The fee should be paid by bank transfer to the given account.

The fee for full-time students studying in the English language: 3 600,- € per year.

The fee for part-time students studying in the English language: 3 600,- € per year.

Download Full Instructions for PhD Admission Process