GUIDES TO THE UNIVERSITY

Students enrolled in the first year of an MSc program are admitted to the second year regardless of the number of credit points earned.
After the first year of the program, students can enroll in the second year or in the first year as repeating students ("ripetente" or "fuori corso intermedio").
After the second year, students who have not yet completed their studies generally enroll as "fuori corso"; however they may still enroll as "ripetente".
Only students who are enrolled in the academic year as "regular" or "repeating" are allocated a class group for lectures.

In addition, all enrolled students:

• are allowed to sit exams;
• are granted access to the various services offered by the University (Library, IT labs, etc);
• can request enrollment certifications for the academic year in which they are enrolled.

Enrollment must be carried out during the 27 July - 31 August 2020 period, by accessing Punto Blu - Administrative Area menu, via yoU@B.

The enrollment procedures are as follows:

• select the "Enrollment in academic year" option;

• enter the enrollment data requested.

After selecting "Enrollment in the academic year", the procedure gives second-year students the option to choose a major (if any) and electives. If the elective is taught in both Italian and English then students are asked to specify the language (see "Choice of Electives").

The system will then require students to confirm both their enrollment in the academic year and choice of major (if any) and elective courses; for the 2020-2021 academic year, students enrolling in the second year may select an elective course along with the Career Starter Pack (expect for AFC students, who are not required to take the Career Starter Pack) as an activity similar to an internship. For details, see paragraph 5.1 Curricular Internship: extraordinary measures for students enrolled in the second year of a program in the 2020-2021 academic year.

Enrollment in the academic year is completed once the advance payment of the first installment of tuition and fees has been paid and recorded in the student's academic career.

If the advance payment to the first installment of tuition and fees is not paid by 7 September 2020, students will not be able to carry out any administrative or learning activities or make use of any services offered to students.

Students who do not enroll by 31 August 2020 for whatever reason, can enroll during the 1 September- 31 December 2020 (*) period on payment of a late-enrollment fee (for detailed information check the website www.unibocconi.eu/fees) and on the understanding that the possibility of choosing electives may be reduced (see following paragraphs).

After 31 December 2020 enrollment is only possible as repeating students ("fuori corso" or "fuori corso intermedio") and, students will have to pay the penalty fees (www.unibocconi.eu/fees), to the Academic Affairs Services Desk.

(*) Since 31 December 2020 is a bank holiday, the deadline is extended to the next working day (4 January 2021).

When enrolling in the second year of studies in the 2020-2021 academic year (27 July - 31 August 2020) students must:

• where applicable, choose their major;
• choose both first and second semester electives to be included in the study plan, selecting the language of instruction;
• choose an internship or an activity similar to an internship (students enrolled in the second year in the 2020-2021 a.y. can choose an elective course + Career Starter Pack - AFC students must choose an elective course only as the Career Starter Pack is not required - as an activity similar to an internship. For details, see paragraph 5.1 Curricular Internship: Extraordinary measures for students enrolled in the second year of a program in the 2020-2021 academic year).

During this period students can also change the major and electives previously chosen.

ESS students are reminded that in order to allow them to attend lectures, if they make any changes to their first year study plan during 27 July - 31 August 2020 the new elective courses are positioned in their second year study plan. For this reason exams can be taken after the end of the semester in which second year courses are held.
 

Before choosing the major and electives, students are advised to check the list of courses available, course profiles, class timetables, and the tables of "Incompatible" and "Banned" courses and Subject Groups available in the course profiles (www.unibocconi.eu/courses).

When enrolling in the academic year, where applicable, Bocconi students participating in an international program should choose elective courses coherent with their interests in case they have to sit for some exams at Bocconi (*). They will be given the opportunity to change their study plan after they have completed the conversion and recording in the academic career of exams take abroad (see 9.2.7 Study Plan Change for Students Participating in International Programs). In addition to the periods for all students (27 July - 31 August 2020 and 8-20 January 2021), they will have one additional opportunity through yoU@B (see “Allocation of Electives”).

Students who include even one exam without correspondence in the study plan as an elective course are required to change to a free track or Global experience (for students enrolled in M and ACME), if they had previously chosen a different track.

The educational offer for the 2020-21 academic year includes also an e-learning class group for some courses already taught in the same semester using traditional methods.
If required, when students are asked to choose their elective courses, they must specify the learning method (either traditional or e-learning) as well as language of instruction of electives offered both in Italian and in English.

(*) For students enrolled in M and ACME MSc Programs: the “Global Experience” major can be selected ONLY after having had the recognition of courses passed abroad.

After enrollment in the academic year allocation of first and second semester electives will take place for all students except those who have chosen the "free track" major. For them, the allocation of electives is subject to the official approval of the MSc Program Director to the Academic Services.

Allocation of electives takes into account the progressive sign-up position registered when choosing/changing courses.

As a general rule, each class group of elective courses must not have more than 110 attending students, except for incoming Exchange program and incoming Double Degree.

Bocconi students participating in international programs can include courses which have already reached the maximum number of students enrolled in their study plan only for the purposes of recording exams taken abroad.

Students who enroll in the academic year after 31 August and especially during the 1 september - 31 December 2020 period(*), can choose their first and second semester electives from the list of electives that are still available at the time of enrollment in the academic year.

(*) Since 31 December 2020 is a bank holiday, the deadline is extended to the next working day (4 January 2021).

Second-year students can change the language chosen in the first year  by using Punto Blu, after accessing yoU@B, during the periods from 27 July - 31 August 2020 and 8 - 20 January 2021.
In addition, students can apply to have the mark that is recorded in the student's undergraduate academic career validated, in order to be exempted from the MSc language exam, during the periods 1 October - 30 November 2020 and 1 March - 30 April 2021 by submitting a written request using the Help&Contact procedure in Languages>Exemption topic.
More information is available in "Foreign languages".

During the 8 - 20 January 2021 period students can change their first and second semester electives included in their study plans with other second semester electives as long as they refer to the current academic year.

During the same period, students can change the internship with a second semester elective course along with the Career Starter Pack and vice-versa (except for AFC students, who are not required to take the Career Starter Pack). For details, see paragraph 5.1 Curricular Internship: extraordinary measures for students enrolled in the second year of a program in the 2020-2021 academic year.

These modifications must meet the numerical limits specified in "Allocation of Electives".

Students participating in international programs can change their study plan in the periods scheduled for all students (27 July - 31 August 2020 and 8-20 January 2021) and only one extra time (see 9.2.3 Choice of Electives and 9.2.4. Allocation of Electives) through the yoU@B student Diary.

Once the recognition procedure of exams taken abroad has been completed and only after they have been recorded in the student’s academic career, the students will receive a message on their yoU@B Diary notifying them that they can change their study plan via the yoU@B>Punto Blu tab. In addition to the change for including the courses passed abroad in the student’s academic career, the students will be given the possibility of including only second semester courses to be taken at Bocconi as long as there are still places available.

Students who include even one exam without correspondence in the study plan as an elective course are required to change to a free track or Global experience (for students enrolled in M and ACME), if they had previously chosen a different track.

Please note that students enrolled in M and ACME MSc Programs: the “Global Experience” major can be selected ONLY after having had the conversion of courses passed abroad.

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/Statistics and Computer Science.

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 2020-2021 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 (AFC, 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 AFC, FINANZA/FINANCE, GIO 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 2020-2021 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 Services 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 AFC,FINANZA/FINANCE, GIO 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 2021 for the PhD courses of the 2021-2022 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 Services) 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 starting from 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.

Additional courses, which are courses that students choose in order to achieve more than the number of credit points required to fulfil the MSc degree requirements, can be included in the study plan for a maximum of three courses* and they can be chosen from:

• Graduate level educational activities:
  • electives of Msc Programs;
  • foreign languages;
  • Enhancing Experience Activities - curricular supplementary activities (up to a maximum of two);
  • in-depth studies* (only for students enrolled in ESS and PPA).
  • higher level courses (PhD). For detailed information on the procedures for including such courses see paragraph 9.2.8. Higher level courses.

*Detailed info on in-depht studies are available in the paragraph 2.1.2.2 Educational activities chosen by the student.

Graduate level educational activities (not including curricular supplementary activities) can be included in the study plan only after the course exams of the first 2 MSc semesters have been passed.

Please note that

• allocation of elective courses entered as additional exams is subject to the limit of places available;
• allocation of elective courses entered as additional exams, if available, is made after the allocation of the elective courses included in the student’s academic career as choice/change of study plan, i.e. after 1 September for first semester electives and after 21 January for second semester electives and depending on the availability of spots (see paragraph "Allocation of Electives").

Additional courses are included in the calculation of the Grade Point Average for a maximum of 2 courses; if students have taken more than 2, the best 2 marks are considered (if grades are the same, additional courses with more credit points are considered).

Students can choose additional courses by filling the form which can be downloaded here and sending it via Help&Contact in Study plan - topic: Study plan change between during the 27 July 2020 - 20 January 2021 period.
Additional courses can be cancelled by sending a request via H&C. An activity recorded with a passing mark cannot be eliminated.

*Please note that any additional curricular supplementary activities can be placed in the study plan as additions (and not as an alterative) to any additional courses.