Guides to the university

The Bocconi second year study plan (third year of the program) requires a second foreign language to be chosen between Italian (minimum exit level A2 general), French, Spanish and German (minimum exit level B1 general).

Italian is mandatory for students who are not native Italian speakers. Native Italian speakers can choose between French, Spanish and German.

The educational offer includes:

• annual Italian course (level A2 general) for students who are not native Italian speakers; 
• annual course chosen from French, Spanish and German (level B1 general) for students who are native Italian speakers. 

For further details about courses, please see “course profiles” published on the website and “course syllabi” available on BBoard (accessible via the yoU@B student Diary).
 

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

• the grade will be recorded as a score out of thirty and will be included in the calculation of the Grade Point Average (GPA);
• the 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.

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

Students can sit the exam (“general” mode) starting from the end of second semester (after the end of the teaching period: May).

5 exam sessions are scheduled during the following periods:

1. May/June
2. June/July
3. late August/September
4. October
5. January/February

The exam consists of two linked parts:

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

Please note that:

• in order to sit for the 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 final grade is the result sum of the two grades (written grade + oral grade);

Further details are available in the course syllabus posted on BBoard.

Regarding international certifications, please note that:

• exams can be recorded on the transcript starting when the student arrives at Bocconi (therefore even before the first internal exam session for which the student could register);
• in order for it to be recorded in the transcript, students must submit the certificate to the Language Center (see submission methods at the page www.unibocconi.eu/languagecenter, 'Language Certification Recognition' section) 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 for recording within 3 years after sitting the international certification exam;
• submitted by the student; original certifications or statement of result (with stamp and signature of the certifying agency) only are allowed for submission;
• verifiable by the University.

NB: Please note that for some certificates, the Language Center must be authorized to view the results in order to verify the authenticity of the certificate. Authorization must be requested before sitting the exam. If this authorization is not provided, the necessary verification operations cannot be completed and, as a result, the certificate submitted by the student will not be taken into consideration.

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 at the page www.unibocconi.eu/languagecenter, in the 'Language Certification Recognition' 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, in the 'Language Certification Recognition' section.

Under his/her responsibility, the student must carefully check the certifications which can be recognized the relating conversion rules and the detailed instructions for submitting an application, 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 preparing for certificates 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 de commerce et d'industries de Paris Ile-de-France for French: DFP Affaires (levels B1 Business and B2 Business).

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 Lab, the Language Center offers:

• tutoring service provided by the language teaching staff to support individual learning; the service is available upon reservation;
• various materials for preparing certifications and the Bocconi exam.

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' sections.

Curricular languages can be recorded as additional activities (see chapter 8 Administrative rules, Procedures and Deadlines), either by passing a Bocconi exam or through recognition of a certificate.

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 languages in the program;
• verifiable 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 with score converted in a mark out of thirty.

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

The WBB program structure does not include a curricular IT skills course to be held at Bocconi University. However, students may attend extracurricular courses organized by the IT Education Center free of charge, as part of the extracurricular activities (see chapter 7.1 Courses, Seminars and other activities of the Guide to the University).
For more information on the IT Skills courses, please see the website at www.unibocconi.eu/itec, 'Extracurricular Activities' section.

Bocconi University is a test center for issuing ECDL/ICDL Full Standard and Advanced, EPM (European Project Management) and Digital Marketing. Exams are held each week according to a calendar which is updated regularly. Students may purchase the ECDL products (at a discounted cost) online, view the exam calendar and enroll directly through their yoU@B student Diary, using the special ECDL box.

For more information, please refer to the website at www.unibocconi.eu/itec, 'IT Certificates' section.