The Foundation Year in Design is a preparatory course primarily addressed to international students with a high school diploma who wish to enroll into an accredited Bachelor's degree offered by Accademia Italiana but miss some requirements for direct admission. Nevertheless, Foundation Year is also a perfect choice for students looking a creative and exciting gap year in Italy, with a full immersion into the uniqueness of Italian art, design and language. This program offers a general curriculum balanced between Italian language classes and both very practical and theoretical lessons on Italian style, History of Italian art and design culture and methodology for the arts.

Foundation Year is aimed at students attracted by Made in Italy, understood not only as a sign of distinction and style but also as a qualitative approach to life. It is precisely in this context that the Foundation Course fits in: a 60-credit supplementary course that aims to introduce students to the cultural, design, historical and artistic subjects with which they will be confronted, in even greater depth, in the years to come.

A two-semester preparatory program for students with less than 12 years of schooling, enabling them to meet university entry requirements in Italy. It awards 60 Foundation Credits and blends online and on-campus learning. The curriculum covers economics, law, socio-political studies, computational thinking, English, and Italian, along with soft skills training in coding, negotiation, and public speaking. The program includes continuous assessment and, upon completion, allows students to apply for admission to Luiss.