Valid Recognized Qualifications
Eligibility Criteria
International applicants may participate in the selection process if they have obtained or will obtain a valid and recognized first-cycle qualification (undergraduate level) by 31 October 2026.
To be eligible for admission to a Master of Science program at Bocconi University, candidates must hold a Bachelor’s diploma (first-cycle qualification) that is:
- suitable and valid for accessing a second-cycle program (such as a Master of Science program);
- recognized by the educational system of the country in which it was issued.
Recognition and Evaluation of Qualifications
The suitability of an academic degree for admission to a Master of Science program is determined by the university to which the application is submitted. Each institution defines its own admission criteria and required documentation.
Bocconi University considers valid a Bachelor's diploma (first-level degree/undergraduate program) that meets the following criteria:
- Consists of at least 180 ECTS (or equivalent)
- Has a minimum duration of 3 years
- It is non-professional
- It is comparable to an Italian undergraduate degree
- Is issued by a foreign university recognized by the national education system of the awarding country, and allows access to a second-cycle (postgraduate) program in that system. For example, a U.S. undergraduate degree earned at an American university operating in Greece must be recognized as valid for access to postgraduate study in the United States.)
A first-cycle degree awarded by a Bocconi Partner University is automatically considered valid.
Evaluation and Additional Requirements
The Bocconi Admissions Office carefully evaluates the academic background of each applicant. For questions about the validity of your degree, please contact the Admissions Office only after completing your online application.
Please note:
- Applicants holding a degree in Economics or other fields may be admitted. In the latter case, admission may depend on an additional evaluation by the relevant Program Director.
- Depending on your academic background, preparatory courses (non-credit, no exams) may be recommended prior to the start of the program.
- Bocconi University does not consider certain degrees suitable due to their content or structure. These may include:
- Professional training programs
- Programs completed through distance learning
- Academic diplomas not aligned with university-level studies in economics
Additional Documentation
If the Admissions Office is unable to assess the suitability of your degree based on the submitted documents, you may be asked to provide additional documentation, such as:
- A Diploma Supplement (if applicable in your educational system), and/or
- A Declaration of Value (DoV) issued by the Italian authorities.
If the Declaration of Value is required, a specific message will appear in your selection results. In that case, you must submit the Declaration of Value during the enrollment process by September 2026.
The Declaration of Value (DoV) is an official document (written in Italian) that confirms the validity of the diploma issued by the competent Italian Authorities (Embassy/Consulate/Italian Cultural Institute) in the Country to which the educational system of your University refers.
If you are studying, for example, in a U.S. University in Europe or Asia, the Italian Authority in charge will be the territorially competent Italian Consulate/Embassy in the United States.
When specially required in the admission “Result”, the Declaration of Value (DoV) is a compulsory condition for enrollment.
The Declaration of Value usually includes the following information:
- legal status and nature of the awarding institution: the University awarding the diploma is legally accredited in the Country to which the educational system of your undergraduate University refers (nationally valid in the Country);
- requirements needed for admission to the program ending in the qualification concerned;
- legal duration of studies (i.e. Bachelor program 3-4 year long) and global workload in hours/credits;
- validity of the qualification in the awarding country to academic and/or professional ends.
If you are asked to provide the Admissions Office with the Declaration of Value, please note that this document should be related to your undergraduate academic path (Bachelor level) only and not to your Secondary School diploma, unless you are asked so by the competent Italian Authorities.
As alternative to the Declaration of value, if the home University of the student has adhered to the so-called “Bologna Process”, we can evaluate to accept the “Diploma Supplement Document”.
The Diploma Supplement is not a further qualification, but a particular certification produced following a template that was agreed upon by the three principal international organizations of European breadth (The Council of Europe, UNESCO – Europe region, European Union). The European DS model envisages that it is drafted in two or more languages (the national language of the Country in question and at least one commonly-spoken foreign language, such as English) and that it provides a whole list of very detailed information.
The information is grouped into 8 categories, which run from the personal details of the qualification holder, to the level of the qualification itself, the curriculum (list of subjects and, if possible, their principal contents), the rights it bestows (utilization for further studies or in the workplace), to the type of issuing institution, and to an abbreviated description of the higher education system it belongs to.
We strongly recommend students submit the declaration of value/diploma supplement to the Admissions Office as soon as they have it, uploading it on the My Application - Admission Portal by the end of August/ beginning of September 2026.
Please note that a Statement of Comparability issued by CIMEA (the Italian NARIC Center) is considered a valid alternative to the declaration of value. The Statement of Comparability can be easily requested on the CIMEA website.