Italian for international learners

What it is
The chance to study Italian at university
Who it’s for
International learners (A2 to B2 levels)
What it’s for
To improve your understanding and use of Italian
When
Four times a year in intensive courses and one-semester courses.

Italian courses – outline

If you are interested, you need to know:

who can attend our courses
which course to choose
when you can enrol
if the course is free or if there is an enrolment fee
if you can obtain credits for the course.

Who can attend the courses – Our courses are open to anyone studying or working at the University of Bologna. For more details, see section “Learners”.

Which course to choose – Bologna University Language Centre (CLA) offers intensive and one-semester Italian courses at A2, B1 and B2 levels. For more details, see section “Courses”.

When to enrol – There are intensive courses (September and January, in Bologna only) and one-semester courses (October-December, or February-May, in both Bologna and Romagna). For more details, see section “How and when to enrol”.

Free or with an enrolment fee – Generally, your first course is free, but subsequent courses have an enrolment fee. The fee charged depends on what type of student you are. For more details, see section “How and when to enrol”.

Course certificate and study credits – Course participants who successfully complete a course will receive a course certificate.
Bologna University students cannot usually obtain CFU (Crediti formativi Universitari) study credits. You should check with your Department’s Student Office whether this also applies to your degree at the University of Bologna. Students and workers on international exchange programmes can be awarded 5 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credits. For more details, see section “Credits and course certificates”.

Learners

Who can attend our courses – Our courses are open to people studying or working at the University of Bologna, namely:

students at Bologna University on an exchange programme (Erasmus+, Erasmus Mundus, Overseas, etc).
international students enrolled on a Bologna University course: First (Bachelor) and Second (Master) cycle degree (Laurea and Laurea Magistrale), Single cycle degree (Laurea a ciclo unico), PhD, Specialisation Schools, Professional Master’s Programmes (Master universitari), post-graduate vocational training programmes (Alta Formazione) and single learning activities (corsi di singoli insegnamenti)
anyone covered by an institutional agreement (agreements with specific organisations, refugee programmes, etc.).
anyone working on a temporary contract at the University of Bologna in a teaching, research or technical role (research fellows, visiting professors, etc)

Courses

Italian courses – The Language Centre offers intensive and one-semester Italian language courses.

The intensive courses are held at the beginning of each semester (approximately two weeks in September and in January). These are face-to-face courses and are offered only in Bologna. They are 50-hour courses over 10 days (40 hours in the classroom and 10 hours of guided self-study). Three levels are usually offered: A2, B1 and B2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

The one-semester courses are offered face-to-face and online over approximately 13 weeks (October-December and February-May). They are 50-hour courses (40 hours in the classroom and 10 hours of guided self-study, or 50 classroom hours).
In Romagna, these courses are offered at two levels, A2 and B1 of the CEFR. In Bologna, courses are offered at 3 CEFR levels and their respective sub-levels: A2.1, A2.2, A2.3, B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B2.1, B2.2, B2.3.

Italian for academic or special purposes – The Language Centre also offers courses in Italian for academic purposes and for specific subjects. For more details, see the pages related to Academic Italian (B2-C1 levels) and Specialised Communication (B1)

How and when to enrol

Enrolment procedure and entry test

To enrol on an Italian course, you need to:

use your UniBo credentials (firstname.familyname@studio.unibo.it or firstname.familyname@unibo.it)
apply online: a) complete an initial questionnaire; b) take the entry test; c) book an oral test
take the oral test
enrol online and if required, pay the enrolment fee. The level of the course depends on the results of the two entry tests (written and oral).

It is important to apply as soon as the application procedure opens as there is a limited number of places in the courses.

NB: For information about courses at Ravenna Campus, please contact CLA Ravenna Secretariat

The dates to apply, enrol and attend the courses are:

Bologna, intensive courses (September 2023) – Courses timeline (fully booked)
Bologna, one-semester courses (October-December 2023) – Courses timeline
Romagna, one-semester courses (October-December 2023) – Courses timeline

Course timetable

Check the timetable

Free courses and courses with an enrolment fee

Generally, the first course is free of charge and subsequent courses have an enrolment fee. However, some participants may have to pay for the first course as well, as indicated in this list.

You do not have to pay for your first course if:

you are at Bologna University on an exchange programme as a student (Erasmus+, Erasmus Mundus, Overseas, etc).
you are enrolled on a Bologna University course: First (Bachelor) and Second (Master) cycle degree (Laurea and Laurea Magistrale), Single cycle degree (Laurea a ciclo unico), PhD, Specialisation Schools, and single learning activities (corsi di singoli insegnamenti) and your first language is not Italian

You have to pay an enrolment fee of € 210.00:

for your first course, if you are a student on Professional Master’s Programmes (Master universitari) or post-graduate Vocational Training Programmes (Alta Formazione), or from an organization that has an agreement with the University of Bologna
for your first course, if you are working at the University on a temporary contract in a teaching, research or technical role (research fellows, visiting professors, etc).
for your second course, if you are at Bologna University on an exchange programme as a student (Erasmus+, Erasmus Mundus, Overseas, etc).
for your second course, if you are enrolled on a Bologna University course: First (Bachelor) and Second (Master) cycle degree (Laurea and Laurea Magistrale), Single cycle degree (Laurea a ciclo unico), PhD, Specialisation Schools, and single learning activities (corsi di singoli insegnamenti) and your first language is not Italian

If you take another course within the same academic year, you have to pay an enrolment fee of € 150.00:

for your third course, if you study or work at Bologna University.
for your second course, if you are included in the ‘No Tax Area’ (see the ISEE - Equivalent Economic Situation Indicator - indicated in your application for Unibo student subsidies)
for your second course, if you are enrolled on Professional Master’s Programmes (Master universitari) or post-graduate Vocational Training Programmes (Alta Formazione), or if you are from an organization that has an agreement with the University of Bologna
for your second course, if you are working at the University on a temporary contract in a teaching, research or technical role (research fellows, visiting professors, etc)
for your third course, if you are at Bologna University on an exchange programme as students (Erasmus+, Erasmus Mundus, Overseas etc) or for work as a visiting fellow etc.

Enrolment fees may only be refunded for administrative reasons (e.g. course cancellation).

NB: If you find you are not able to attend your course, you must inform the teacher before the 5^th lesson in order to free your place for another student. If you do not do this, and then you enrol on another course, this will be considered as your second course.

Credits and course certificate

Course participants on international exchange programmes can be awarded 5 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credits. The final result is expressed as idonea/o (pass) or non idonea/o (fail); there are no grades.

In order to obtain the 5 ECTS credits, you need to attend at least 70% of the lessons and pass the end-of-course tests. You can obtain a further 5 ECTS for a second or third course if these are at a higher level (e.g., 5 ECTS credits for an A2 course and 5 ECTS credits for a B1 course).

Bologna University students cannot usually obtain CFU (Crediti Formativi Universitari) study credits. You should check with your Department’s Student Office to see if CFU credits are recognized.

Only for students of the Romagna Campus (Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna e Rimini) to obtain ECTS credits, exchange students must insert the code of their course in their Transcript of Records as indicated in ‘Studenti Online’:

Italian A2 – Course code: 38655
Italian B1 – Course code: 38656

Only for students of the Bologna Campus the course will be entered automatically in the student's Transcript of Record by the administrative office.

At the end of a course, all the participants receive a course certificate. You can download this from StudentiOnline in the section “certificati e autocertificazioni”.