Guides to the university

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

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:

• Italian course (level A2) for students who are not native Italian speakers in the second semester; 
• course chosen from French, Spanish and German (level B1) for students who are native Italian speakers in the second semester;
• preparatory courses in the first semester.

For further details about courses, please see “course profiles” published on the website and “course syllabi” available on Blackboard (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 a written part (focused on writing, reading, listening) and an oral part (focused on speaking). The two parts are generally held on the same day, subject to possible extensions due to the number of students registered for the exam.

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.

Further details on exam methods and assessment criteria are available in the course syllabus posted on Blackboard.

Regarding international certifications, please note that 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 for the Language Center for recording within 3 years after sitting the certification exam (2 years for TOEFL; IELTS can be converted within two years from the date of the original test also in the “IELTS One Skill Retake” version; Goethe Zertifikat can be converted only if the four skills are completed on a single date or within one year. In any case, the conversion request must be sent within three years from the date the first module was taken if the certificate was completed on different dates);
• submitted by the student; only original certifications or, as an alternative, statement of results 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 conversion request submitted by the student will not be taken into consideration.

More detailed information (list of recognized certificates, conversion tables, etc.) is available on the website at the page www.unibocconi.eu/languagecenter, in the '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);
• test center service for some certificates, including:
  • for English: IELTS Academic
  • for French: DFP Affaires

Detailed information and the list of certifications that can be completed are available on the page www.unibocconi.eu/languagecenter in the “Certifications” section.

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

The Language Center offers:

• tutoring service, i.e. practice sessions for students taking second language absolute beginner preparatory courses, that can only be accessed by reservation through the “Appuntamenti/Appointments” procedure available on the yoU@B student diary;
• various materials for improving language skills;
• digital applications and tools to enhance language study.

A Language Exchange activity for students is also organized, along with a film festival for movies in their original language (Movies & Languages Film Festival).

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.

Moreover, also non-curricular 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). 

For further detailed info on recognition of certifications, please see the website at www.unibocconi.eu/languagecenter, 'Certification Recognition' section.

To improve IT skills, students can attend extracurricular IT Skills courses organized by the IT Education Center, which are part of the extracurricular activities (see chapter 7.1. Supplementary activities, courses and seminars).

These courses, held in English and/or Italian, have limited spots and a duration ranging from 10 to 24 hours. Participation is recognized through the issuance of an Open Badge, a digital certificate that can be shared online (LinkedIn) or on a CV.

Supplementary IT activities, which are optional and cross-curricular for all degree programs (BSc, MSc, IMA, Specialized Master, PhD) focus on a variety of topics, including:

• Microsoft Office at an advanced level;
• Applications for Mathematical, Statistical and Econometric Analysis;
• Programming in Visual Basic for Applications, MATLAB and Python;
• Data Analysis, Business Intelligence and Big Data;
• Project Management;
• Social Media, Web Analytics, Digital Marketing and Website Creation;
• Generative Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Realty;
• Bitcoin, Blockchain and Cyber Security.

Registration for courses must be completed through the yoU@B Student Diary, in the "Sign Up for Various Activities" box. Registration will be available approximately four weeks before the start of each activity.

For more information on the IT Skills courses, please see the website at www.unibocconi.eu/itec, Supplementary Activities' section.

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

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