Some highly-motivated and deserving MSc students will be allowed to obtain academic credit from Higher Level Courses. That is, courses held as part of the following Bocconi PhD Programs: PhD in Economics and Finance, PhD in Business Administration and Management, PhD in Public Policy and Administration and, PhD in Statistics.
This is a unique opportunity to enrich your academic curriculum with higher level courses.
This opportunity is offered to a limited number of students.
Considering the high level of complexity of PhD courses and the small number of students admitted, the selection procedures need to be rigorous. Assessment is based on a series of factors (described below) but it is necessarily comprehensive and qualitative depending on the applicant’s profile and the course requested in relation to the profiles of other candidates. It is not possible to challenge the final selection decisions made by the PhD School. Submitting an application for a higher level studies course implies acceptance of the assessment, whether positive or negative, given by the PhD School at the end of the selection.
At the same time, admission to PhD School courses implies acceptance of its rules.
Selection requirements
- Only students who have been awarded a graduation grade of the undergraduate program of at least 105 out of 110 can be admitted in the selection procedure;
- students enrolled in the first or second year of studies (as regular students 'in corso') for the 2019-2020 academic year can apply;
- students cannot apply for PhD courses taught in the same semester in which they have been selected for an Exchange or Free-mover Semester programs. However, students selected for such programs can apply for PhD courses held while they are attending lectures at Bocconi;
- students admitted to a Double Degree program are excluded from the selection; these programs include the attendance of the second year of studies at partner universities.
Number of PhD courses that can be selected
Students enrolled in ESS programs can choose up to 3 PhD courses. Of these, they can request recognition of 2 courses in place of MSc electives and 1 course as an additional course.
Students enrolled in other MSc programs (FINANZA/FINANCE, GIO, DSBA and PPA) can choose up to 2 PhD courses: of these they can request recognition of 1 course in place of an MSc elective (*) and 1 course as an additional course.
When selecting PhD courses, students cannot express an alternative choice for any course. Decisions are final. This choice is unavoidable due to the complexity and non-mechanical nature of the selection procedure.
The list of available PhD courses for MSc program students includes the name of the PhD Course Director, the teaching period, the MSc program the course is offered in and the maximum number of places available for MSc students for each course. All courses are taught in English.
Some PhD courses and MSc courses may be incompatible courses in terms of content. Therefore, students cannot record both courses in their study plans. Students must verify any incompatible courses when choosing courses.
(*) Students in the MSc programs FINANZA/FINANCE, GIO, DSBA e PPA who enter a PhD course in the study plan as an elective course are required to change to a free track major if they had chosen a different major in the past.
Selection procedure
The assessment of each student is based on his/her academic career and degree of motivation.
The list of candidates admitted is determined by the Dean of the PhD School. The decision is final.
If a student who has been selected wishes to stop attending the PhD course(s) for whatever reason, those slots will not be reassigned to other students.
The criteria for selection are the following:
- percentage of credit points earned (by the end of the February exam session) compared to the total number of credit points that can be earned
- grade point average (weighted on the credit points)
- letter of motivation
- CV
- any GMAT or GRE certification
- graduation grade of the undergraduate degree.
Deadlines and procedures
Detailed information on timelines and procedures for the 2019-2020 will be made available during the year.
- Students apply in May:
- via yoU@B Diary, by specifying the courses they wish to attend;
- by submitting a brief letter of motivation, CV and any GMAT or GRE certification to the Academic Affairs Desk.
- By the first half of July students will receive an admission/non-admission message concerning the courses via yoU@B;
- In August students will include elective courses provided in the Master of Science program list only (they do not enter the PhD courses they applied for). If students pass PhD exams they can record up to 1 exam (up to 2 exams for ESS students) in place of one (two) of the MSc elective courses (*) previously included in the study plan. Should students, for whatever reason, not pass the PhD exams, then the study plan and elective courses selected in August will be considered. Students selected for one or more PhD exams are not given other chances to modify the MSc elective courses other than those usually provided for all students.
The class timetable may not be available when making the choice, and PhD classes and other MSc course lessons might overlap.
(*) Students in the MSc programs FINANZA/FINANCE, GIO, DSBA and PPA who enter a PhD course in the study plan as an elective course are required to change to a free track major if they had chosen a different major in the past.
PhD Teaching and exam
Classroom activities consist of a limited number of students (usually 5 to 15).
Lectures are scheduled during quarters. Therefore, teaching for each course is generally not held during the entire duration of one semester. At the end of the course students have only ONE chance to sit the exam.
Students can attend the PhD course for the academic year to which he/she has applied. In other words, students applying in May 2020 for the PhD courses of the 2020-2021 academic year must sit the PhD exam for that academic year.
Recording in the student’s academic career
After passing PhD exams, students are contacted by the Study Planning Office (Academic Affairs) in order to define the composition of their study plan, therefore to evaluate the possibility of including the course in place of an elective course or as an additional course.
The exams passed are recorded in the student’s academic career as courses without Bocconi correspondence, taken as part of the Bocconi PhD School. Only for ESS students, can the PhD exam be recorded as a course with Bocconi correspondence in the student’s academic career. The exams passed are recorded in the student’s academic career with a grade out of thirty and they are calculated in the GPA.
The recording is automatic and students cannot refuse the grade. Assessment of the PhD exam is made fairly without special regard for students who access the exam as an MSc program student. This should be carefully weighed by each student when applying for a PhD course.
Each course is worth 6 credit points.
Students who pass a PhD course during the 2019-2020 edition of the HLC program and enroll in a Bocconi PhD program after graduation may recognize it as a replacement of a course in the PhD study plan.
Recording PhD courses in the academic career by students who have not been admitted to attend such courses through the procedure described above is absolutely not allowed.
