Language Requirements

Graduate Students (AY 2024-25)

Minimum Language requirements 

Level B2, obtained with a minimum grade of 25/30 or higher for English, proved by one of the options listed below:

  • University Language Exam

  • International Certification

  • Enrolment in a Degree Program entirely taught in English

  • Secondary School Diploma or Bachelor's Degree – Please contact the Study Abroad office providing any document which can be useful to evaluate your case

  • Previous Exchange Program completed

  • Citizenship
     

Level B1 or higher for all the other languages, proved by one of the options listed below:

  • University Language Exam

  • International Certification

  • Secondary School Diploma or Bachelor's Degree - Please contact the Study Abroad office providing any document which can be useful to evaluate your case

  • Previous Exchange Program completed

  • Bocconi Language Center course (for Portuguese only)

  • Citizenship

Please click on the boxes below in order to verify how to fulfill the Minimum Language Requirements for 2024-25 selection:

Applicants with the exam already registered in their Undergraduate Bocconi career (level B2 with a minimum passing grade of 25/30 for English, level B1 for other languages) do not have to submit any international certification at the time of application to the program unless requested by the destinations they apply for (check the Destinations’ list).

Students who passed the exam at a University other than Bocconi must provide proof of level and grade during the application procedure.

Language certificates must be submitted at the time of application to the program at Punto Blu by the set deadlines and must respect the following parameters:

  • be among the ones recognized by Bocconi Language Center  (IELTS INDICATOR and TOEFL ESSENTIALS are NOT recognized);

  • for the Spanish language, the Study Abroad office accepts for the Exchange application, the SIELE GLOBAL certificate (in on-site or remote mode);

  • be valid at the moment of the Exchange Program application: TOEFL and IELTS test must have been awarded no more than 2 years prior to the Exchange Program application deadline. All the other certificates must have been awarded no more than 3 years prior to the Exchange Program application deadline;

  • the certification must be equal to or higher than the required level or grade (level B2, minimum passing grade 25/30). For the minimum scores accepted, please refer to the Bocconi Language Center tables.

International certification exam

English Language Certification Minimum Score accepted
CPE (Certificate Proficiency English) C1 Pass
CAE (Certificate Advanced English) B2 Pass (178)
BEC VANTAGE (Business English Certificate Vantage) B2 bus – B (176)
BEC HIGHER (Business English Certificate Higher) B2 bus Pass (176)
IELTS ACADEMIC/Online overall ≥ 7.0
no part lower than 5.0
TOEFL IBT / Home Edition 94-95

Please refer to the CONVERSION TABLES for First Year exam - code 50127

Language certificates must be submitted at the time of application to the program at Punto Blu by the set deadlines and must respect the following parameters:

 

  • the certification must be among the ones recognized by Bocconi Language Center ;

  • the language certification must be valid at the moment of the Exchange Program application: it must have been awarded no more than 3 years prior to the Exchange Program application deadline; 

  • the certification must be equal to or higher than the required level or grade (level B1). For the minimum scores accepted, please refer to the Bocconi Language Center tables.

Portuguese

For Portuguese language only: in order to confirm the selection, students who cannot satisfy the minimum Portuguese language requirement according to one of the options listed above, will have to compulsorily attend and complete the course "Lingua portoghese" provided by the Bocconi Language Center.  

For detailed information and registration, see the dedicated page on the Language Center website and the Guidelines

Citizens from a country where English, French, Germany, Portuguese or Spanish is the first language, can certify their language proficiency by submitting their passport at the time of application to the program at Punto Blu by the set deadlines.

However, please note that ALL Bocconi students, even the onces who are mother tongue in English, French, German or Spanish MUST submit an international certificate if interested in applying for destinations where the certificate is needed to satisfy the ADDITIONAL LANUAGE REQUIREMENTS (ex. a British student MUST submit the TOEFL or the IELTS certificate if interested in applying for University of Pennsylvania).

For more details, see the section below “Additional requirements”.

Additional Language requirements (for certain schools)

On top of the Exchange program minimum requirements, some partner schools have additional requirements such as language, GPA, etc.

Check the destinations list for additional academic/language requirements.

The additional language requirements are IN ADDITION to the minimum requirements. Applicants must provide ONE of the options listed.

For regulations about the certificate VALIDITY please take into consideration the following:

  • TOEFL and IELTS certificates must have been awarded not more than two years prior to the departure date for the Exchange period (please consider also second semester departure)*

  • All the other certificates must have been awarded not more than three years prior to the to the departure date for the Exchange period (please consider also second semester departure)*

For the semester dates please refer to the graduate destinations list.

(*)If students wants to be considered eligible for a specific destination, with a set number of slots available per term (ex. 4 slots in total, of which 2 for the Fall and 2 for the Spring term) and additional language requirements are specified, they must have a certificate valid for both terms indicated on the destinations brochure. 

The IELTS certificates must be ACADEMIC.

As per the TOEFL certificates, the "My best scores" section and its results will not be taken into consideration. Please check the 2024-25 destinations list to know which Partner Universities accept the TOEFL Home Edition/IELTS online as additional, the document can be used as a reference taking into account that some information may change).

Moreover, depending on the students' nationality and on the partner university's country, additional/other proof of Language ability may be required in order to comply with Immigration Policies (it is the students' responsibility to check the relevant Immigration websites).

ALL Bocconi students, even the ones who are mother tongue in English, French, German or Spanish MUST submit an international certificate if interested in applying for destinations where the certificate is needed to satisfy the ADDITIONAL LANUAGE REQUIREMENTS (ex. a British student MUST submit the TOEFL or the IELTS certificate if interested in applying for University of Pennsylvania).