Specialised Communication

In Bologna the Language Centre offers two semester courses:  Italian for healthcare (in the 1st semester) and Italian for Economics and Law (in the 2nd semester).  These courses are onsite for learners admitted to B1. They last for 50 hours and take place over 13 weeks (October-December or February-May).

The courses in Specialised Communication are open to everyone who studies or works at the University of Bologna:

• International students at the University of Bologna who attend first and second-cycle degree programmes, single cycle degrees, PhDs, specialisation school courses, Professional Master’s, and Post-graduate vocational training programmes as well as individual course units.
• Personnel involved in teaching, research or administration at the University of Bologna.
• If there are places available, you can also attend provided:
• You are on an international exchange at the University of Bologna and on a study programme such as Erasmus+, Erasmus Mundus, Overseas, etc., or if you work as a visiting fellow.
• You can participate thanks to institutional agreements (conventions with specific bodies, programmes for refugees etc).

It’s possible to attend two courses at the same time and in the same semester: one in Specialised Communicaton and one in Italian language for international learners or Academic Italian.

In Bologna, the Language Centre offers semester courses in Specialised Communication. These are both onsite and for learners admitted to B1. They last for 50 hours and take place twice a year over approximately 13 weeks (October-December for Healthcare and February-May for Economics and Law).

Course in Specialised Communication for Healthcare

The aim of the course is to develop communicative competency for healthcare. The healthcare topics are tackled via the analysis of interactions, the comprehension and production of written texts and conversations, the analysis of grammatical structures and specific lexis as well as practical exercises. The teaching materials derive from manuals of specialised Italian, websites, newspapers and TV programmes.

This course is recommended for students at B1-level, and in particular for those of you who will do a traineeship in medical facilities. Veterinary, dentistry, nursing and pharmacy students are also admitted.

How to apply

To enrol in this course you need to:

• Take the online test for Italian courses for international students. To find out how and when, please consult the timeline for Italian language semester courses.
• Send your application to cla.italianospecial@unibo.it by the 26th September at 5pm

In your application it is important to indicate your university course as well as any language certifications you have.

As long as you apply by the deadline you will receive an email with instructions on how to do the individual admission interview that will take place online.

Course timetable: Monday and Wednesday 5pm-7.30pm

Course starts: 9th October 2023.

Course ends: 18th December 2023.

Course in Specialised Communication for Economics and Law

The aim of the course is to develop your linguistic competencies in Economics and Law. The course tackles specific topics via the analysis of interactions, the comprehension and production of written texts and conversations, the analysis of grammatical structures and lexis specific to the field as well as practical exercises. The teaching materials derive from the media.

The course is recommended for B1-level students who study law and economics.

How to apply

To enrol in this course you need to:

• Take the online test for Italian courses for international students. To find out how and when, please consult the timeline for Italian language semester courses.
• Send your application to cla.italianospecial@unibo.it by the 16th February at 12pm

In your application it is important to indicate your university course as well as any language certifications you have.

As long as you apply by the deadline you will receive an email with instructions on how to do the individual admission interview that will take place online.

Course timetable: Monday and Wednesday 11:00 am-1:00pm

Course starts: 26th February 2024

Course ends: 29th May 2024

Typically, the first course is free while subsequent courses have an enrolment fee, but some students are required to pay for the first course as well, as outlined below.

For the first course there is no enrolment fee (€ 0,00) for:

• for students on international exchanges at the University of Bologna (study programmes such as Erasmus+, Erasmus Mundus, Overseas, etc.)
• for students at the University of Bologna on first and second-cycle degree programmes, single cycle degrees, PhDs, specialisation school courses, and individual course units.

Courses with an enrolment fee of € 210,00:

• from the first course for students on Professional Master’s Programmes or Post-graduate vocational training programmes at the University of Bologna
• from the first course for participants from affiliated institutions (Conservatory etc)
• from the first course for people who work at the University of Bologna (teaching staff, research fellows, tutors, IT specialists, administrative staff and visiting fellows etc)
• from the second course for students on international exchanges at the University of Bologna on study programmes like Erasmus+, Erasmus Mundus, Overseas etc.
• from the second course for students at the University of Bologna on first and second-cycle degree programmes, single cycle degrees, PhDs, specialisation school courses, and individual course units.

Courses with an enrolment fee of € 150,00:

• from the third course (if taken in the same academic year) for everyone who works and studies at the University of Bologna either permanently or temporarily with no exceptions.
• From the second course for students who are covered by the "No Tax Area" (please see the ISEE - Indicatore della Situazione Economica Equivalente – indicated on your application in order to receive UNIBO student contributions)
• From the second course (if taken in the same academic year) for students on Professional Master’s or Post-graduate vocational training programmes at the University of Bologna
• From the second course for participants from affiliated institutions (Conservatory etc.)
• From the second course (if taken in the same academic year) for people who work at the University of Bologna (teaching staff, research fellows, tutors, IT specialists, visiting fellows etc).

You can only ask for the enrolment fee to be refunded for matters connected to the Language Centre administration (for example, the cancellation of a course)

To check whether CFU are recognised, you need to contact the Student Office for your course of studies and ask if it is possible to recognise free credits for the course.

Anyone on international exchange programmes can receive the 5 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits. The final course evaluation is "idonea/o" (pass) o "non idonea/o" (fail): there are no grades. In order to receive the 5 ECTS credits you must have the minimum attendance (70% of the lessons) as well as pass the final test(s). You can receive another 5 ECTS credits for a second or third course if the course is at a higher level (for example, 5 ECTS credits for an A2 course and 5 ECTS credits for a B1 course) or for a different type of course (Academic Italian or Specialised Communication). The Student Office records the course on your study plan.

At the end of the course you can request a certificate.

• Contact for Italian for Healthcare and Italian for Economics and Law cla.italianospecial@unibo.it