The Italian university system is structured in three cycles:
First Cycle – Bachelor’s Degree Courses
- The general access requirement is the school leaving qualification awarded on completion of 13 years of global schooling and after the relevant State examinations.
- Admission may be subject to the verification of further conditions.
- The course lasts three years and involves the acquisition of 180 university credits (CFUs).
- It can include an internship, and it ends with the discussion of a thesis.
- It grants access to competitions for the civil service, to regulated and non-regulated professions, and to second-cycle courses.
Second Cycle – Master’s or Second Degree and First-Level Postgraduate Courses
Two-year Master’s or Second Degree
- Access usually requires a Bachelor’s Degree (Laurea triennale) or a comparable foreign degree; admission is subject to specific course requirements determined by individual universities.
- It lasts two years and involves the acquisition of 120 CFUs.
- It ends with the discussion of a research thesis.
Single-cycle Master’s Degree – Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Architecture, Law
- Access is by the school leaving diploma (or a comparable foreign qualification) and after passing a selection test.
- It lasts 5 years and implies the acquisition of 300 CFUs. For the Degree Course in Medicine and Surgery the duration is 6 years, with 360 CFUs.
First-Level Postgraduate Degree Courses
- They are open to holders of a Bachelor’s Degree (or a comparable foreign degree).
- However, admission may be subject to additional conditions established on a case-by-case basis.
- Duration is at least one year and involves the acquisition of a minimum of 60 CFUs.
- It does not allow access to PhD programmes or other third-cycle courses.
Third cycle – PhD Programmes, Specialisation and Second-Level Postgraduate Courses
PhD
It enables the acquisition of the correct methodology for advanced scientific research, adopts innovative methodologies and new technologies, envisages internships abroad and attendance of research laboratories
- Admission is granted with a Second or Master’s Degree (or a comparable foreign degree) and after passing a specific competition.
- Studies last at least three years and end with the submission of an original dissertation.
Postgraduate courses
They are devised to provide students with knowledge and abilities as requested in the practice of highly qualified professions; they mainly concern medical, clinical and surgical specialities.
- Admission is granted with a Second or Master’s Degree (or a comparable foreign degree) and after passing a specific competition.
- The duration varies according to the subject area.
Second-Level Postgraduate Degree Courses
They consist in advanced scientific or higher continuing education studies.
- They are open to holders of a Second of Bachelor’s Degree (or a comparable foreign degree).
- Duration is at least one year and involves the acquisition of a minimum of 60 CFUs.
In Italy, study courses are structured in Crediti Formativi Universitari (CFUs).
The CFU is a measure of the learning work, including individual study, required of a student for the acquisition of knowledge and skills in the educational activities covered by the educational programmes:
- 1 CFU corresponds to approximately 25 hours of global work, including time for lectures and individual study.
- The average workload of a full-time student is 60 CFUs per year (1500 hours of study).
- ECTS credits – European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System – are considered equivalent to Italian CFUs.
- The CFUs corresponding to each learning activity are acquired by passing the examination or other forms of verification
- Examinations are graded in thirtieths: the minimum is 18, the maximum is 30 cum laude.
