Guides to the university

The information in this Guide refers only to activities and regulations in place at Bocconi University. For activities and regulations in place at Politecnico, please check the PoliMi widget available in the yoU@B Diary.

In order to classify levels of language knowledge, Bocconi University follows the Common European Framework established by the European Council.

In order to be admitted to a MSc program taught in English, regarding language skills, the University requires, as minimum entry level (checked upon admission), a B2 general level in English.

The “Cyber” study plan includes one EU language (4 cpu; minimum exit level B1 business), more specifically:

• for non-native Italian speakers: Italian mandatory
• for native Italian speakers: choice between French, Spanish or German

Regarding the choice of language:

• students choose their language in January of the first year of the program (see the Administrative Procedures, Regulations and Deadlines chapter);
• the native language cannot be chosen as a foreign language. Students declare their native language during the admission process and can never change it during MSc studies;
• students are allowed to change the language included in their personal study plan both during the first and second years (for selection/change methods and periods, see Chapter 9).

The curricular educational offer includes:

• B1 business course
  he course is divided into two consecutive parts:
  first part: first year, second semester (the first partial exam will be held at the end of teaching);
  second part: second year, first semester (the second partial exam/general exam will be held at the end of teaching).
   

• Preparatory Course
  Course offered in the first semester of the first year, with the aim of allowing students to successfully participate in the curricular course.

Since Cyber students will be able to access the curricular language courses one week later than the lectures starting date, as they will be engaged in other educational activities at PoliMi, the language lectures scheduled:

• in the week from 3 to 6 February 2021 - students enrolled in the first year
• in the week from 7 to 12 September 2020 - students enrolled in the second year

will be video-recorded and made available via the BBoard platform.

Detailed information on the educational offer is available in the “course profiles” published on the website www.unibocconi.eu/courses and in the “course syllabi” available on BBoard (through the yoU@B diary).

Knowledge may be assessed through an internal exam or recognition of a language certificate. In both cases:

• the grade is recorded as a score out of 30 and included in the calculation of the Grade Point Average (GPA);
• the final level of competence acquired is mentioned in the exam report and in the student’s transcript.

After passing the internal exam, a certificate can be completed at a later date, but the certificate cannot be recorded in the student's transcript. However, after a certificate is recorded on the transcript, the internal exam can no longer be taken.

Exemption from taking language exam

Rules applied to students initially enrolled starting in the 2019-2020 cohort

Students who have completed a Bocconi BSc program and who had the internal Bocconi exam or an international certification recorded in their BSc academic transcript may request a waiver both for the first and the second languages, provided that the level of internal exam/certification was equal to or higher than the minimum required for graduate studies and:

• the internal exam dates back 3 years as a maximum;
• the certification taken during undergraduate studies is still valid.

Students can request the waiver through Help&Contact – EXEMPTION topic (see deadlines in chapter 9).

N.B. It is specified that students enrolled in the first year of studies can submit application for being exempted from taking the language exam in the period referred to the second semester.

The assessment method consists of a Bocconi exam focused on assessing four skills, in line with international certifications:

• reading comprehension
• writing skills
• listening comprehension
• speaking skills

The exam can be passed in one of the following ways:

• by passing the two partial exams (in the first two exam sessions after teaching) + oral part;
• by passing the general exam (made up of a written and oral part).

Regarding partial exams:

• the first partial exam is held at the end of the second semester of the first year and includes only a written section; registration must be completed through the exam booking tool in yoU@B (only students duly enrolled in the first year of the program and enrolled in a teaching class group can take the first partial exam);
• the second partial exam is held at the end of the first semester of the second year (two dates for the second partial exam will be scheduled during the first and second general exam sessions. Registration to the second date of the partial exam is subject to the rules and limitations published in paragraph 7.6.1 NOTES FOR EXAM REGISTRATION: REGULATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS);
• only student duly enrolled in the second year of the program who passed the first partial exam during the previous semester will be able to take the second partial exam.

Both the second partial exam and the general exam session are organized into two related parts:

• written (focused on writing, reading, listening)
• oral (focused on speaking).

Please note that, to take the second partial exam or the general exam:

• students must register through the exam session booking tool in the yoU@B student diary (one single registration, valid for both written and oral parts; students that register for and pass the written part will automatically be registered for the oral part).
• both written and oral parts have to be taken in the same exam session; the oral part is the final step of a single exam, with the purpose of assessing oral skills;
• the final grade is result of the sum of the two grades (written grade + oral grade).

Further details in the course syllabus posted on BBoard.

Regarding international certificates, please note that:

• because B1 business certificates do not exist for some languages, general language certificates are recognized as an alternative, as long as the minimum level is B2 general;
• it can be recoded starting in the second semester of the first year;
• in order for it to be recorded in the transcript, students must submit the certificate to the Language Center and do not need to register for the Bocconi internal exam.

International certifications can be recorded in the academic curriculum provided that they are:

• officially recognized by the University and have been taken at an officially recognized test center in Italy or abroad;
• equal to or higher than the minimum exit level requirement;
• submitted to the Language Center within 3 years after sitting the international certification exam;
• submitted by the student; only original certifications or, as an alternative, statement of result (with stamp and signature of the certifying agency) are allowed for submission;
• verifiable by the University.

The certification can be completed during the program at Bocconi or date back to previous studies, provided that it is still valid when submitted to the Language Center.

The level and typology (general, business) will be recorded in the academic curriculum as stated by the certifying agency on the international certification.

More detailed information (list of recognized certificates, conversion tables, etc.) is available on the website www.unibocconi.eu/languagecenter, in the “Certificates” section.

NB: we remind you that it is possible to convert only the language certifications recognized by the Language Center as an alternative to the Bocconi language exam, in compliance with the rules specified on the chapter "Foreign Languages" of the Guide to the University and at page www.unibocconi.eu/languagecenter, "Language certificates" section.

Under his/her responsibility, the student must carefully check the certifications which can be recognized and the relating conversion rules, before forwarding the certification recognition request. 

In order to support students who want to earn an international certification, the Language Center offers:

• courses to prepare for some certifications (details available on the website at www.unibocconi.eu/languagecenter in the “Supplementary Activities” section);
• materials for preparation and sample examinations at the Language Lab;
• test center service for some certificates:
  • British Council/Cambridge English Language Assessment for English: IELTS Academic, BEC Vantage, BEC Higher, CAE, First Certificate
  • Chambre du Commerce de Paris for French: DFP Affaires (levels B1 and B2).

The registration procedure and the entire process strictly follow the rules established by the certifying agency. All registration fees for certification exams are at the student’s expense.

In addition to attending lectures, learning foreign languages requires a constant commitment to self-study.

At the Language Laboratory, the Language Center offers:

• tutoring service provided by the language teaching staff to support individual learning; the service is available upon reservation;
• various multimedia materials for preparing certifications and the Bocconi exam, available at the multimedia Library of the Laboratory and/or on the BBoard platform.

A Language Exchange service for students is also organized, along with a film festival for movies in their original language.

For more information: www.unibocconi.eu/languagecenter in the “Self-Study and Other Activities” section.

Curricular languages are usually recorded as included in the standard 120 cpu of the study plan, but they can also be recorded as additional activities (on top of standard 120 cpu – see chapter 9), either by passing a Bocconi exam or through recognition of a certification.

In this latter case, the certification must be:

• included in the list of certifications recognized by the Language Center;
• still valid;
• equal to or higher than the level required for that specific language in the program;
• verifiably by the University.

Moreover, also “extra” languages (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and Portuguese) can be recorded in the academic transcript but only as additional activities.

As no internal exams are organized for such languages, it is possible to register only the result of a certification (score converted in a mark out of thirty). The certification must be included in the list of certifications recognized by Bocconi university, must be still valid and verifiable by the University.

For further detailed info on “extra” language certificates, please see the website at www.unibocconi.eu/languagecenter in the “Certificates” section.