Frequently Asked Questions for Studying Law at Roma Tre (SL@R3) for Erasmus and other Visiting Students
In addition to all the information you will find on our webpage at this link, the following questions and answers might be useful.
Q. When should I arrive in Rome?
A. This depends on whether or not you want to take intensive or self-guided Italian language courses that begin about a month before the start of the regular law-school semester (please see the info and chart for the CLA - University Language Center - at: )
If you do not want to take these Italian-language courses, then you should arrive about a week before classes begin, to be able to arrange all necessary logistics such as housing, learning your way around the city, and other practical matters needed to settle in to life in Rome before classes begin. This means the beginning of the last week of September for Fall (Semester 1) courses and the beginning of the last week of February for Spring (Semester 2) courses.
Q. When should I plan my return from Rome?
A. The semester class sessions run in Fall Semester from the first week of October through the end of the third week of December, and during the second semester from the first week of March through the last week of May. Exams for SL@R3 may be scheduled during the last week of class, or may be a take-home assignment of some sort.
However, exams must be recorded during the winter exam period, running from January through February. If you are an extra-EU student, (e.g., coming from the US, Australia or China) you may make a special petition to the faculty to have your fall courses’ grades recorded in a special “early-Winter” grade-recording session, so that you do not have to be present for the registration of your grades in January or February. Those extra EU-students attending only the Fall Semester could therefore safely plan to leave Rome the last weekend prior to December 25. Arrangements for the petition must be made with the program coordinator during the semester (write to ). Erasmus students, instead, should learn the exam schedule from their professors during the semester and plan accordingly.
For Spring Semester, grades are recorded from early June through late July. Each professor will schedule at least three opportunities to record grades, no less than two weeks from each other, during those two months; the first opportunity to do so for each class must be scheduled before June 16. There is no special “early-Summer” grade-recording session, like that of the Winter session. Therefore all students – Erasmus or otherwise – must plan to stay in Rome until at least June 16 to be sure to have at least one opportunity to record all grades for the courses and seminars taken in Spring semester.
Q. What is the first thing I should do at Roma Tre after arriving in Rome?
A. You MUST go to the appointment established by the Erasmus Coordinator’s office, or by the International Mobility office, to be registered officially as an Erasmus - or International Exchange - Student at Roma Tre. There you will receive your Erasmus Certificate, or International Exchange Student Certificate. At this appointment our Coordinator will register you in the Roma Tre system, which will then automactially send you an email with your student identification number, known as your “matricola,” and login credentials, necessary for a range of purposes to access the computer lab, to attend classes, and to register for exams. If you have not received an email before you leave for Rome establishing an appointment in the appropriate office, you should write either to the Erasmus office (), if you are an Erasmus student, or to the International Mobility Office (), if you come from a non-EU country.
Q. Will I receive a Student ID card?
A. No, you will receive an “Erasmus Certificate” or an “International Student Certifcate,” indicating your name and home institution and that you are enrolled at Roma Tre as a visiting student.
Q. Will there be an Orientation?
A. Yes! SL@R3 will hold an obligatory orientation, usually during the first week of lessons. It is generally held on the same day as the Erasmus orientation for all Roma Tre students, even those from Departments other than the LawSchool. SL@R3’s orientation is usually held around 1 or 2 pm, directly following the Erasmus event, which is usually held in the morning and followed by refreshments at lunchtime. You will receive notice of both these events, which you definitely should attend, before the semester begins. Please be aware that the Erasmus orientation is generally presented mostly in Italian – bear with it even if your Italian is not adequate to understand everything, and know that our SL@R3 orientation will be completely in English!
Q. What will Orientation cover?
A. These sessions will be most useful for you to acquaint yourselves with various logistic and administrative matters. In our SL@R3 portion, we will cover essential information such as procedures required to register for exams, class attendance, computer lab information, Wi-Fi, etc. In short, we’ll provide information you need “to learn the ropes" of how things work in Roma Tre'sLaw Department. We will give you a tour all over the campus, including the library and computer labs and point out nearby useful shops. You will also meet Roma Tre Italian law students, who will fill you in on extracurricular matters, including moving around the city, entertainment and other essentials for your happy survival while studying at Roma Tre. We will try to answer any and all questions you have at that point, or send you to those who can provide answers if we cannot.
Q. What if I cannot come to Orientation?
A. If for some reason you cannot attend, you must notify us, in writing, at . You must ALSO contact directly and set up an appointment for an OBLIGATORY meeting there for orientation at the UNIVERSITY LEVEL before classes begin.
Q. Do I need to register for courses?
A. Yes and No. As you will learn at orientation (in more detail than here), at Roma Tre you don’t generally register for courses, only for exams. This is the case for classes held in Italian. However, for courses in English, in our SL@R3 program, registration is essential for you to reserve a spot in the classes that interest you. You must do so by filling out the form residing here. Missed the deadline? Write us at and tell us which classes you want to enrol in and we will try to accommodate you.
Q. Is there a drop/add period?
A. No, not officially. However, if you want to drop or add a course during the first week of class, you may do so – on a space-available basis - by writing an email to the professor teaching the course and copying . Again, we will try to accommodate you. Generally, students will not be admitted to new courses or seminars after the second week of class; you will simply have missed too much to catch up. For that reason, some visiting students enrol for and attend all the courses that might interest them during the first week, and then select which ones to stay in, confirming as much with the instructor and administrators of SL@R3, once they’ve decided.
Q. What about my Learning Agreement?
A. You should complete your Learning Agreement before leaving your home institution and send it to our Erasmus Coordinators, as a PDF. You will find Roma Tre’s Erasmus Coordinators’ names and emails here. Once you are here at Roma Tre, if you need to change your Learning Agreement for any reason, you should use the form provided by your home institution and again, send it to Roma Tre’s Erasmus Coordinators for their approval.
Q. Is class attendance mandatory?
A. Yes, SL@R3 courses require attendance for several reasons. Classes are kept small so that students interact, and thus many Professors also base your grades on your participation in class.
Q. Where do I find the class schedule?
A. At this link, at this very useful page, inside our website.
Q. How do I know what work is required for the courses I will take, and what my grade will be based on?
A. All this information will be found in your course syllabi.
Q. Where do I find the syllabi for my courses?
A. The easiest place to look is at the links provided for each course on this page.
Q. Should I buy my books before classes begin?
A. Not necessarily. Most students wait until the first day of class to hear what the professor deems appropriate from the books and materials indicated on the syllabus. Of course, if you want to get a head start on your reading, you may certainly do so.
Q. What is the grading scale at Roma Tre?
A. The grading scale is based on an 18 – 30 scale, with 30 being the highest mark possible (sometimes given cum lode) and 18 being the lowest possible passing grade. Note that, in accordance with University regulations, these number grades are ONLY given for the full courses bearing seven credits (or CFUs, CreditiformativiuniversitariUniversity Instructional Credits); seminars, which by definition bear less than the requisite seven credits, will NOT be graded on the 30-point scale, but rather will be evaluated only on a pass-fail basis. Students must verify in advance with their home institutions if this procedure is compatible with their learning agreement.
Q. What about housing?
A. Roma Tre does not have dormitories, and Rome’s housing situation is difficult. Roma Tre does have an office on campus that helps students find suitable apartments, “RomaTreServizioAlloggi,” where you can view available accommodations, send messages or telephone: +39-06-57334398 (they speak English). However, you should be aware that you will not necessarily have a contract written in English, and that SL@R3 cannot provide any legal or logistic support beyond that which the staff of RomaTreServizioAlloggi can provide. Many students also learn about housing opportunities through friends of friends, former students from their own universities who have studied here with us, or through Erasmus connections, such as this Facebook page.
Q. What’s it like to live in Rome?
A. That question takes more than just a few lines; a well-known author, Silvio Negro, has written a book called “Roma, non bastauna vita” Rome: A Lifetime is not enough.” So we have devised a small booklet that should begin to answer some of your questions; you can download it at this link, which contains some cultural and a lot ofPractical Information.