Guides to the university

     

            

To classify language competence levels, Università Bocconi follows the Common European Framework established by the Council of Europe.

Basic User	A1	Elementary
	A2	Pre-intermediate
Independent User	B1	Intermediate
	B2	Post-intermediate
Proficient User	C1	Advanced
	C2	Proficient

 

Language skills for each level are available in the Language Centre website (www.unibocconi.it/languagecentre) in Teaching>Curricular Activities>Bachelor Programs.

The program requirements of all Bachelor programs in the "Management" and "Economics" fields of study (respectively 17 and 28) include a first and a second European Union language.

The objective of the foreign language course is to provide students with the ability to use the language in a general context.

For first and second language:

	First year		Second year		Third year
	lessons	exam	lessons	exam	lessons	exam
First language	I and II semester	II semester 3 CP	I and II semester	II semester 3 CP	not present
Second language	not present		not present		I and II semester	II semester 2 CP

 

Students earn the above credits upon passing the exam.

The first-year exam (first language) is a prerequisite to the second-year exam. The first-year exam credits are computed in the number of first-year credits required to move on to the second year (see "Administrative rules, procedures and deadlines").

The second language (third year) includes an optional partial exam in the first semester and a compulsory exam in the second semester.

Credits are not awarded for the partial exam but extra points expressed in marks out of thirty which integrate the final exam mark may be awarded (see the language course profiles and syllabuses published on the website respectively at www.unibocconi.it/profiles and www.unibocconi.it/languagecentre  in Language Teaching).

The student's language knowledge assessment for both the first and second language is marked out of thirty; marks are included in the calculation of the Grade Point Average (GPA).

Students can opt to have an international certification from among those recognized by the University registered in their academic career instead of taking the Bocconi exam (see "Initial evaluation of English and Italian").

The choice of foreign languages follows the same criteria for both first and second languages. This depends on:

• the class group's language of instruction: Italian or English;
• the native language of the student: chosen languages must be different from the student's native language.

If students have more than one mother tongue language (e.g., coming from or residing in a multilingual Country or living with parents from two different nationalities) they must choose one language as their mother tongue language for the whole duration of their studies.

English is always taken as the first language for students who are not native speakers and it is:

• compulsory for class groups taught in Italian;
• optional for class groups taught in English.

Italian can be taken as either the first or second language for students who are not native speakers and it is: 

• compulsory for class groups taught in English;
• optional for class groups taught in Italian.

The table below shows first and second language availability:

	First language	Second language
Class groups taught in Italian	English(*)	French - Italian - Portuguese - Spanish - German
Class groups taught in English(**)	French - English - Italian - Portuguese - Spanish - German	French - Italian - Portuguese - Spanish - German

 

(*)Students whose mother tongue is English must choose from the other curricular languages.
(**) For students whose mother tongue is not Italian, one of the two languages must be Italian.

The language course codes are:

Language	1st language		2nd language
	First-year exam	Second-year exam	Third-year exam
French	6023	6024	6035
English	6021	6022
Italian	6025	6026	6036
Portuguese	6027	6028	6037
Spanish	6029	6030	6038
German	6031	6032	6039

 

First-year students will have English assigned automatically as their first language in their study plan.

Students enrolled in class groups held in English can change the first language when completing the enrolment at the Admissions Office (from 15 to 26 September 2008).

English native speakers students  enrolled in Bachelor Programs taught in italian  can change the language when they finalize enrolment via Punto Blu or Virtual Punto Blu (between 15-26 September 2008).

Any successive changes of languages can be made between 7-30 January 2009 via Punto Blu or Virtual Punto Blu. Students are advised to start following the teaching activities of their preferred language which they intend to add to their study plan as soon as possible.

Students choose their second language when enrolling in the third year of the Bachelor Program.

The minimum exit levels are:

	Class groups taught in Italian		Class groups taught in English
	Language	Exit level	Language	Exit level
First language	English	B2 or C1(*)	English	C1
	French - Portuguese - Spanish - German	B2	French - Italian - Portuguese - Spanish - German	B2
	Italian	C1
Second language	French - Portuguese - Spanish	B1	French - Italian - Portuguese - Spanish	B1
	Italian	C1
	German	A2	German	A2

 

(*) Students state the exit level when registering for the final exam (second year) at Punto Blu or Virtual Punto Blu regardless of the study path. In the same way students choose the level of the first-year exam.

Students can achieve higher exit levels only if they submit an international language certification.

Students enrolled in the Dual Degree Central European University (CEU) -  Università Bocconi must adhere to specific rules:

•  language choice procedures;
•  exit levels.

Language choice procedures

For non-native speakers of English and non-native speakers of Italian the choice is compulsory:

•  first language: English
•  second language: Italian

 

For native speakers of English the first foreign language may be chosen from one of the following European Union languages: French, Portuguese, Spanish, German.

For native speakers of Italian the second foreign language may be chosen from one of the European Union languages: French, Portuguese, Spanish, German.

Exit levels
The European Council exit levels are:   English first language C1 Italian second language B1   For native speakers of English the first language exit level for French, Portuguese, Spanish, or German is B2.   For native speakers of Italian the second language exit level for French, Portuguese or Spanish is B1, the second language exit level for German is A2.

The educational activities designed to assist students in learning foreign languages offered by the Language Centre can be divided in 2 main areas:

• classroom teaching;
• guided individual study.
  

A. Classroom teaching

The teaching activities are organized by the Language Centre and include curricular courses for both first and second languages. Generally lessons are offered if there is a sufficient number of students.

First language
First language lessons last 2 years, and are structured as follows:

Language	Exit level
	B2	C1
English	Path 1 or Path 2	Path 3
French - Portuguese - Spanish - German	Path 1	not present
Italian	Path 1	Path 3

 

For English with B2 as the exit level:

• Path 1 or Path 2 is assigned depending on the student's initial preparation (see "Evaluation of initial language level for English and Italian").

For English with C1 as the exit level, Path 3 is assigned:

• automatically, to students enrolled in class groups taught in English;
• under specific request, to students enrolled in class groups taught in Italian, if they have at least an initial B2 level of English (for information "Initial evaluation of Italian and English").

Methods for enrolling in Path 3 for students in class groups taught in Italian are available on the Internet at www.unibocconi.it/languagecentre in Language Teaching > Bachelor Programs.

For French, Portuguese, Spanish and German, Path 1 is assigned automatically. For these languages no initial language evaluation is required, but at least an A2 initial preparation (pre-intermediate)is strongly advised.

For Italian:

• to students enrolled in class groups taught in English, Path 1(B2 exit level) is assigned automatically;
• to students enrolled in class groups taught in Italian, Path 3 (C1 exit level)is assigned automatically.

The following table shows the number of classroom teaching hours per year for each path:

Year of studies	Path 1	Path 2	Path 3
1st year	144 hours	96 hours	72 hours
2nd year	96 hours	96 hours	96 hours

Second language
The classroom activities for the second language last one year and involve one single path only which is assigned automatically when students choose languages. The path is made up of 144 hours of lessons.

Attending first and second language courses is strongly recommended: attending courses is considered the most effective way of learning the language and preparing for the final exam.  Active participation and individual study may result in awarding up to 2 extra points to the final exam mark (detailed information is presented in the exam requirements and in courses syllabuses for every language and they are available on the Internet site at www.unibocconi.it/languagecentre).

Students can check their class timetable at Punto Blu terminals or Virtual Punto Blu after enrolling in the third year of studies.

The summarized course programs (course profiles) of the language courses are available on the Internet site at www.unibocconi.it/profiles.

The detailed course programs (course syllabuses and exam requirements) are available on the Internet site at www.unibocconi.it/languagecentre in Language Teaching > Bachelor Programs.

B. Guided individual study

The study of foreign languages  requires students to be committed to individual study for the entire duration of university studies, in addition to regular attendance of lessons.

The Language Centre also offers a service which provides information and guidance on language study and suggests ways for utilizing different tools (multimedia library) for exam preparation, which are available at the Language Labs. Extra support materials for different languages are available on the website (see www.unibocconi.it/languagecentre in Languages Laboratories).
Guided individual study involves students carrying out a series of activities based on the specific instructions given by teachers in class. These instructions may include activities to be carried out with the support of the student's own materials (e.g. exercises in books), assistance which is available at the Language Lab (e.g. multimedia courses) and recommended materials which are available online.

The detailed course programs (course syllabuses) are available on the website at www.unibocconi.it/languagecentre. In addition to information about classroom teaching they also provide information about guided individual study. Study exercises are also indicated for the related topics covered during lessons.

The following table shows the recommended number of hours per week that should be dedicated to individual study based on the assigned learning path (path 1, path 2, path 3, or Single path).

 

	Year of studies	Path 1	Path 2	Path 3
First language	1st year	5 hours	3 hours	2 hours
	2nd year	5 hours	5 hours	4 hours
Second language	3rd year	5 hours (single path)

In order to have the correct learning path assigned, all non-English native speakers enrolled in class groups taught in Italian must assess their initial level of English knowledge, according to one of the methods below:

• when finalizing the enrolment, students must show that they have at least one of the language requirements indicated by the University, stated when they applyed for admission online (see the website www.unibocconi.it/admission > Admission-Bachelor Programs > Admission Criteria > General Information), or
• when making the selection "Italian candidates", students take the aptitude test entirely in English, or
• when making the selection "Italian candidates", students  take an initial language evaluation test  together with the aptitude test (in Italian).

For English, Università Bocconi suggests the minimum preparation needed to attend courses successfully.

The preparation suggested, for Italian class groups , is at least A2 (pre-intermediate)of the Common European Framework for languages (see "European Framework").

For information on language competence and knowledge required and self-study paths to be followed to reach the desired levels according to the initial preparation, check the website at www.unibocconi.it/languagecentre  in Language Teaching > Bachelor Programs.

Students who are not native Italian speakers, non-EU citizens who do not have Italian residency must take a compulsory test to evaluate their initial Italian knowledge (first or second language), in accordance with current Ministerial regulations.

The schedule will be communicated to the interested parties by the Admissions Office.

All students with Italian in their study plans will have their language path assigned automatically.

Knowledge is assessed by one of the following methods:

• Bocconi exam, or
• international certification from among those recognized by the University.
  

Bocconi exam

Language knowledge is assessed by an exam. This exam is designed to test the student's comprehension and knowledge of both written and spoken language adapted to the appropriate language level of competence required.

With regard to the first language, the first-year exam is a prerequisite of the second-year exam. For the second language there is one final exam (compulsory) and also one partial exam (optional) which is scheduled for the first semester of the third year (for information on partial exams check the website at www.unibocconi.it/languagecentre in Language Teaching).

Exams are prepared in accordance with the same standards relating to international certifications.

In addition to the final exam results, language assessment also takes into consideration the learning progress made specifically:

• for the 1st language:
  - positive results for active class participation and guided individual study each year;
• for the 2nd language:
  - active class participation;
  - positive partial exam results.

The exam is marked out of thirty and is included in the calculation of the Grade Point Average (GPA).

The language level achieved will be specifically indicated on the official exam report and official academic transcript.

Students can achieve higher exit levels than the curricular courses for both 1st and 2nd languages. This is only possible through the registration of one of the international certifications recognized by the University in the student's academic career.

International certifications

Students can choose to take an exam for only one of the international certifications recognized by the University instead of the Bocconi exam. Students will then apply to have the result converted into a mark out of thirty by the Language Centre Secretary's Office under presentation of the original certification and recorded in their academic career.

The level of the international certification must at least correspond to or be higher than the exit level set for the language in question (see "Exit levels").

For the 1st language, international certifications replace both exams.

International certifications can be presented even in the first year of studies; this applies to both 1st and 2nd languages. In any case, students will have the credit points and marks expressed out of thirty registered for the year of studies in which the course is placed in the program structure.

With reference to the first language, it is important to note that the registration of an international certification in the student's academic career is only possible in the following 2 cases:

• if the certification is submitted in the first year of studies, 3 credit points will be registered in the student's academic career in the first year of studies and the other 3 credit points from the second year of the program. In this case, only the credit points awarded for the first-year exam will be included in the calculation of credit points that are required in order to continue studies in the second year, only if the certification is handed in by 15 July 2009;
• if the certification is submitted in the second year of studies or later, the student will have an exam debit for the credit points attributed to each year until registration has been completed.

In both cases, with reference to the first language the following will apply if at the time of certification registration the student:

• has not passed any Bocconi exams: the certification mark which has been converted into a mark out of thirty will be shown as the mark achieved for both the first and second exams;
• has already passed and registered the first Bocconi exam in the study plan: the certification mark which has been converted into a mark out of thirty will be shown as the mark for the second exam only.

Students must take the exams for international certifications through an official Examination Centre, either in Italy or abroad.

Students are responsible for the costs associated with sitting the exams for international certifications.

For the purpose of registering international certifications in the academic career, certifications are valid for a period of 3 years from the date they were obtained.

The certifications indicated as language prerequisites for admission to class groups taught in English or to English language teaching Path 3 can also be used as an alternative to the Bocconi exam. These certifications can only be submitted if they satisfy the exit level requirement and are among those recognized by the University.

The list of the international language certifications recognized for the different exams is published on the website at www.unibocconi.it/languagecentre in International certificate, in Recognised as an alternative to the Bocconi exam.

In addition to the list of international general language certifications, the University also recognizes special language certifications for MSc programs published on the same website section.

The Language Centre offers a service which is designed to give guidance and information on the exam assessment methods and to provide specific preparation materials and past exam papers which are available at the language laboratories. This service is offered to all students interested in taking the Bocconi exams or in international certifications.

 

·       International Certifications recognized by Università Bocconi - Table (italian version)

 

The program requirements of all Bachelor Programs offered at Università Bocconi include a computer skills course, aimed to fulfill the specific requirements of the students study paths.

The computer skills course, code 6033 Informatica per l'economia / Computer Skills for Economics, is taken during the second semester of the first year of studies, and is assigned 3 credit points.

There are two procedures for exams, according to whether students attend the course, or not:

• attending students
  Students may sit partial exams or the final general exam.
• non-attending students
  Final general exam.

In both procedures, the exam is written.

Please note that in order to be admitted to the exam students must have one of the following certifications: a complete ECDL certification (seven modules), ECDL advanced (all four modules), MOS Master, IC3 2005 Plus or other equivalent certifications recognized by SEDIN. The certification must be completed and forwarded to SEDIN through automatic procedure in the yoU@B  student diary within the deadlines published on the website www.unibocconi.it/sedin.

It is strongly recommended that students gain the ECDL license or other certifications recognized before attending the computer skills course.

Students who do not yet possess the complete ECDL certification may take it at Università Bocconi. Exams are held each week according to a calendar which is updated regularly. Students may view the exam calendar and enrol through their yoU@B student diary, using the special ECDL box.

If students do not hold a skills card, the official document needed to sit exams, they may purchase it at SEDIN for 45,00 euros. Each exam module costs 12,00 euros.

For further information please refer to the website at www.unibocconi.it/sedin.