Guides to the university

Program Director:
Alessandra Casarico

Field of study:
Management (no. L-18, Ministerial Decree 16 March 2007)

The World Bachelor in Business is taught entirely in English and has been jointly designed by Bocconi University, USC University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business (Los Angeles) and HKUST Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Upon completion of studies, students will earn a degree from each institution (triple degree).
The program covers four years of study: the Italian degree is three-year-long, while the foreign degrees last four years.
WBB aims to develop a business and management curriculum through real-world experience on three continents, rather than dealing with global content through a local experience.
Nowadays, Asia, Europe and North America are the major players in the world in terms of economic, cultural and social openings, and connections are likely to be closer and closer in the forthcoming years.
Future managers and business people are expected to have a deep understanding of the economy, society and culture of these crucial regions, in order to find the best job opportunities at global level.
WBB graduates will be highly acquainted with the global market and capable of innovations, thus meeting the demand for young managers with international training, emerging from the business world.


The World Bachelor in Business (WBB) has the following specific objectives:

1. Provide solid multidisciplinary foundations in:

• management, in line with world’s best standards
• economics, law and quantitative sciences, integrating the management core towards the most effective application of business skills
   

2. Develop competencies aimed at mastering IT tools and two EU languages, for effective and efficient operation in a professional context.

3. Distinguish the educational path with:

• a broad preparation focused on business-government relations, international relations and country-specific cultural themes
• courses dealing with business ethics, social responsibility, respect for diversity and multiculturalism
• seminars on doing business in Asia, Europe and the US
• basics of Chinese language.

4. Integrate the educational path with:
 

• General education courses and seminars (among the mandatory requirements for foreign degrees), dealing with country-specific topics such as culture, traditions, language, social issues
• seminars aimed at developing soft skills needed to meet the global job market demands
• workshops and field trips designed to favor the acquaintance with business environment in the US, Europe and Asia.

The WBB program will be multidisciplinary, international, multi-comprehensive and comparative, and the student experience will be enriched by exposure to cultural, historical, social and linguistic aspects, key factors for professional success in a globalized world.

WBB graduates are expected to enter the job market soon after graduation; indeed, the program aims to offer a prompt and full immersion in all the main topics related to business with a comparative and comprehensive approach. Graduates will be awarded three degrees, officially accepted in the home country as well as in the other two countries.
After their first work experiences, graduates may also apply to post-graduate/MBA programs.

Thanks to their management curriculum and the wide-ranging international experience, WBB graduates will typically access the labor market working as top manager assistants in the main areas of multinational corporations or global-oriented companies (managerial accounting, finance and control, marketing, sales and acquisitions, organization).

The World Bachelor in Business is an international program, entirely taught in English, which provides student’s attendance of the first, second and third year respectively at USC, HKUST and Bocconi.
The last year can be attended by the student in one of three universities in order to allow the choice of the labor market (the US, Europe and Asia) in which the student prefers to start his/her own career path.
The program is focused on business and economics, with the possibility of examining specific issues depending on the location of study. The program also provides a well-rounded education, giving an opportunity for students, especially during the first two years of the program, to integrate business studies with humanities subjects.

The first year at USC is introductory: training activities are planned for the achievement of foreign qualifications (General Education and activities for the development of the main soft skills) and basic activities for the achievement of the Italian title (knowledge of mathematics and economics).

During the second year of studies, in Hong Kong, students come into contact with the Asian market context; most of the courses provided (in the fields of economic, business, quantitative studies) is aimed at achieving all three academic qualifications and only some training activities are linked with the fulfillment of the requirements of the partner universities (General Education).

The third year, at Bocconi, is characterized by courses of business, financial, economic and legal field (aimed at achieving all three academic qualifications) with a focus on the Italian and European context.

The fourth year, attended the university chosen by the student, includes majors in parallel with the three universities. There are compulsory courses in business and legal fields, aimed at achieving all three qualifications.

In addition to the basic courses, characteristic and related courses, the study plan to achieve the Italian degree includes the following educational activities:

• Courses chosen by the student (in the last year of studies)
• For the knowledge of two languages of the European Union (first language in the 1st year at USC, second language in the 3rd year at Bocconi)
• For developing skills for entering the world of work:
  • Computer skills and Chinese language and culture (2nd year HKUST)
  • Seminars to understand the European, American and Asian markets (1st, 2nd and 3rd year)
• For writing the final paper (last year).

First year of studies - University of Southern California (a.y. 2021/2022) 

Second year of studies - Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (a.y. 2022/2023)

 Third year of studies - Bocconi (a.y. 2023/2024) 

Notes

Modules:

• code 30374 ‘Mathematics - Module 1 (General)’ and code 30375 ‘Mathematics - Module 2 (Applied)’ are respectively the first and the second module of the course code 30373 ‘Mathematics’;
• code 30363 ‘Accounting - Module 1 (Financial Accounting)’ and code 30364 ‘Accounting - Module 2 (Managerial Accounting)’ are respectively the first and the second module of the course code 30362 ‘Accounting’;
• code 30430 ‘Law - Module 1 (Public Law)’ and code 30431 ‘Law - Module 2 (Private Law)’ are respectively the first and the second module of the course code 30429 ‘Law’;
• code 30367 ‘Finance - Module 1 (Financial Market Institution)’ and code 30366 ‘Finance - Module 2 (Corporate Finance)’ are respectively the first and the second module of the course code 30365 ‘Finance’.

Courses divided into modules are officially passed (and can be recorded in the student academic career and certified) only after passing both modules’ examinations. The final grade is the grade point average of the two marks, which is the credit points for the course. The average is rounded up if decimals are equal or higher than 5, rounded down if they are lower than 5.  
 

Languages

Detailed information on how to choose the second language can be found in "Languages".
The educational activities referred to years of studies taught at partner universities can be subject to possible changes.

Fourth year of studies option 1 University of Southern California

Fourth year of studies option 2 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 

Fourth year of studies option 3: Bocconi

Electives

The positioning of elective courses in the first or second semesters is merely a suggestion. Students can choose how to allocate these activities along the two semesters.
The educational activities referring to the years of studies at the partner universities can be subject to any possible variations.
In accordance with the program’s qualifying goals and the ministerial tables (field of study: Management), the program structure may be subject to variations decided by the Academic Bodies

Students who decide to attend the last year at Bocconi must enter 3 elective courses in their study plan, for a total of 18 credit points, upon selecting them in one of the 6 following tracks:

1. Strategy and Entrepreneurship
2. Technology and Operations Management
3. Marketing
4. Accounting and Finance
5. Public Management and Policy
6. Economics

As an alternative, it is possible to choose the free track, which allows students to choose the elective courses from among all elective courses on offer.

Before selecting the elective courses, students are recommended to view the course profiles, class timetable and the table of incompatible courses, specifying the courses which cannot be simultaneously included in the study plan as the program is fully or in part the same.

Students attending the last year at Bocconi and who select the Direted Internship as an alternative to the elective no.3, the Program Director can allow the final validation of the experience only after having checks that such experience is coherent with the selected track; if it is not coherent, the track will be automatically changed into free track.

Below please find the 6 tracks with the relating courses.

 Students must choose 3 courses from among the following elective courses of 6 credit points

Students must choose 3 courses from among the following elective courses of 6 credit points

Students must choose 3 courses from among the following elective courses of 6 credit points:

Students must choose 3 courses from among the following elective courses of 6 credit points: 

Students must choose 3 courses from among the following elective courses of 6 credit points:

 Students must choose 3 courses from among the following elective courses of 6 credit points:

Students must choose 3 elective courses from among all the courses included in the above lists of the tracks. In addition, students can select the following courses which are not included in any tracks: