Secondary School Diplomas

To complete their enrollment, admitted students must provide a valid secondary school diploma (national or international) suitable for access to the 1st cycle of academic studies (i.e. Bachelor programs) in the country to which the educational system of the school refers by the end of July 2025 (the end of August 2025 for British Qualifications). A copy of the final diploma must be always provided in original language, and with an official translation (in Italian or English) when required. A minimum final diploma score/grade/GPA is not required.

Diplomas released at the end of the year (i.e. Southern Hemisphere diplomas) must be awarded in the year before the enrollment (i.e. diploma awarded in November/December 2024 for the enrollment to 2025/26 AY).

In order to be considered valid, all the secondary school diplomas must satisfy the Italian Ministry of University and Research official requirement, that means: 

• The diploma must be awarded after at least 12 years of education (starting from the first year of primary school)
• (for non-EU systems only) the diploma must be awarded after at least 2 full years of attendance in the educational system to which the final diploma refers.
  Therefore, diplomas awarded after only 1 year of attendance during an exchange/study abroad experience will not be considered valid for enrollment.
• If there is a national test for University entrance in the country of origin (such as the Gao Kao in China, TYT and AYT in Turkey, Panelladikés Exetáseis in Greece, ENES/Vestibular in Brazil, etc.) this must be passed. 

For this reason, it is strongly recommended that Italian students who have spent the second-last year of high school abroad and obtained a national diploma, should also enroll in the final year of high school and complete the entire last year of secondary education in Italy, ensuring they take the Italian Maturità. Diplomas from American or Canadian systems awarded after just one year abroad are not considered valid for the enrollment.

If you will be awarded with an IB Diploma, British Qualifications or American Diploma, please check on specific secondary school diploma requirements below.

Diplomas awarded after a schooling time of less than 12 years MUST be supplemented with: 

• 1 full year of University with all the exams passed (for 11-year diplomas) or 2 full years of University with all the exams passed (for 10-year diplomas) (*). The year/s of integration must be fulfilled in accredited and recognized Universities, with all the exams for the 1st year passed (*)
• Completion of a Foundation course in an Italian University or abroad (*). Specific Foundation courses cannot be recommended but programs with contents similar to the ones in Bocconi programs are suggested.Foundation courses are not automatically accepted and their suitability as diploma integration will be evaluated by the Admission Committee according to the documents provided in the online application.
• Official documentation proving attendance of a pre-school year(s). This supplementary documentation is only valid if the pre-school year is compulsory and an integral part of the curriculum, the program includes comprehensive instruction in reading and writing in the country's language, and the curriculum covers the fundamental elements of arithmetic calculation.

(*) Please note that University years and/or Foundation courses used as integration to fulfil diploma requirements cannot be considered for credits recognition. 
 

For non-EU citizens and when indicated in the admission portal, the Declaration of Value (DoV) of the secondary school diploma is a compulsory requirement to complete the enrollment. If not requested by the Admissions office, non-EU applicants are kindly invited to check anyway with the Italian Authorities (Embassy/Consulate/Italian Cultural Institute) in their country if a Declaration of Value would still be required for the study visa procedure.

Please note that a Statement of Comparability issued by CIMEA (the Italian NARIC Center) is considered as a valid alternative to the declaration of value. The Statement of Comparability can be easily requested on the CIMEA website.

Bocconi reminds that the evaluation of foreign qualifications presented for enrollment to Italian higher education courses of study is under exclusive jurisdiction of higher education institutions, as established by Art. 2 of Law 148/2002. For this reason, any documentation produced by Italian diplomatic Missions or other Authorities does not affect the autonomous evaluation decisions of Bocconi University regarding foreign qualifications for admission and enrollment to courses.

This evaluation does not confer legal value to foreign diplomas. In case candidates make use of their diplomas to access another cycle of academic studies, for the participation to a public contest or for the exercise of a specific profession, the diploma recognition for such purposes must be carried out by responsible authorities.

In their decisional autonomy, Universities can decide to admit international students by evaluating their path of studies and final diploma.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is considered valid for enrollment without any translation and/or legalization. 

The full IB DP must be awarded:

• by no later than the session of May 2025 (results available at the beginning of July 2025)
• after at least 12 years of education
• with at least 24 points in six chosen subjects, 12 of which must be obtained at "Higher Level"
• with successful passing of the three core subjects: Theory of Knowledge (TOK), Creativity, Action, Service (CAS), and Extended Essay (EE)

Please note that retakes in November 2025 will not be accepted and IB Certificates by themselves are not valid for enrollment.

In order to complete the enrollment requirement, please include Bocconi University in the recipient list of your IB diploma results (Institute code: 001595 - Università Bocconi).

 In the IBIS system, please specify your Bocconi username as “Application number” and your program of admission as “Course reference”. 

The Admissions Office will check your IB results in July 2025 directly through the IBIS system. 
Only in case you already graduated, please upload a copy of the 2 pages of the diploma (in original language) in the dedicated section on the Apply2B portal. 

Please note that the legalization of the IB diploma is not required.

 

Bocconi University accepts applicants with British qualifications, namely General Certificate of Education (GCE) and International General Certificate of Education (IGCE) dispensed by official boards (Cambridge, Edexcel, AQA, OCR, WJEC), for university enrollment, as long as they have passed/will pass at least 3 subjects at Advanced Level (A Level) or Pre-University level (Pre U).

Please note that A Levels/Pre U in Critical Thinking and General Studies are NOT accepted by Bocconi. BTEC are not considered valid to replace the compulsory A Levels/Pre U.

In order to complete the enrollment, you will need to provide alternatively by the end of August 2025: 

• The provisional certificates of at least 3 A-levels results and a certified school confirmation (with stamp and signature) of your A Levels results and study completion or
• A copy of the official board certificates with at least 3 A-levels passed

For Scottish qualifications, at least 3 subjects at Advanced Higher level or, alternatively, 2 Advanced Highers and at least 4 Higher are compulsory.

Students awarded with an American high school diploma, issued by an American high school in the United States or by an American school in another country, must provide at least 3 Advanced Placement (AP) by July 2025.

In any case, all the APs final scores must be released by the College Board and passed with a minimum grade of 3 out of 5 within July 2025.

If the school does not offer any AP course, self-study candidates are accepted provided that the final AP exams are taken through the College Board.

Check the list of accepted AP subjects in the Download area of this webpage. 

Applicants who have already graduated with an American high school diploma without any AP must have completed at least 1 year of University with all the exams passed in order to be considered for admission.

In order to complete the enrollment, you will be asked to provide us with: 

• Your high school Diploma in its original language
• A complete transcript of your final year, in the original language, including the graduation date
• Proof of Advanced Placement (AP) exams: you must have passed at least 3 AP exams with a score of 3 or higher. These exam results should be electronically submitted to Bocconi University through the College Board website, using Bocconi's DI code 7206.

Students awarded with the French Baccalaureate must present the final Relevé des Notes du Baccalauréat (in original language) by the end of July 2025

Students awarded with the European Baccalaureate from an European school both in Italy or abroad, must provide a copy of the diploma and the complete final year transcript (in original language);

Students awarded with a Turkish National diploma, in order to satisfy the diploma requirement for enrollment, must provide:

• Diploma (in original language)
• Complete transcript of the final year (in original language)
• YKS (TYT and AYT) passed in the school year of graduation
• Translation in English or Italian of all the above-listed documents (if required)

Please note that for graduated students applying for a study visa, consular authorities may request a YKS exam for the current year of admission. Students are advised to verify this requirement with consular authorities.

For students who will complete their studies in Turkey but are not of Turkish citizenship, the YÖS exam is required instead of the YKS.