Each year the Italian Ministry of Education establishes a number of quotas for foreigners in the universities of Italy.
First of all, foreign students have the right to enter the course Laurea Triennale (bachelor’s degree), to be given a degree of the 1st level. The basic requirements for entry to this course are 12 years of school education and knowledge of Italian, that is checked by interview.
Laura Triennale lasts 3years and is equivalent to 180 credits. In Italy the universities give for each exam a certain number of credits – CFU. Typically, a CFU is equal to 25 hours of student work (lectures, practice).
In case of the Laurea magistrale (degree of the 2d level) the basic entry requirements are 15 years of school and university education and a good knowledge of Italian. You can choose only the specialty you have studied in your country! The Laurea Magistrale lasts 2 years, and is equivalent to 120 credits (120 CFU).
Italy also has opportunities for higher education in English language, which is the best solution for students who love Italy and want to study in Italy, but don’t speak Italian. Most of these programs have to do with economics and engineering. At the same time the choice of specialties for bachelors is very limited. At present there are only two undergraduate programs in English available to international students – economy (Business and Economics) and biological sciences (Biosciences and Biotechnology).
Also in Italy there is a number of courses lasting 5 or 6 years for a more complete professional training. It’s called Laurea a ciclo unico and provides the following fields: Medicine and Surgery (6 years) Dentistry (5 years) Veterinary Medicine (5 years), Pharmaceuticals (5 years) Architecture (5 years), Engineering Design (5 years), Law (5 years).
