Eligibility

Program designated for Wharton and Huntsman students who have completed B.S. Econ. core with priority to juniors and first semester seniors. College economics or political economy majors may be considered on a space available basis. Italian Program: Completion of four semesters of college-level Italian or equivalent prior to departure. English Program: Completion of Italian 110 prior to departure.

The City of Milan

Milan, the second largest city in Italy with a population of two million, is the capital of Lombardy and the Province of Milano. The city is a vibrant mix of ancient and modern, where visitors can tour both historic buildings and modern museums. Like much of the rest of Italy, Milan was controlled by a wide range of powers throughout its extensive history, adding to rich cultural heritage. Founded by local tribes around 400 BC, Milan came under Roman, French, Spanish and Austrian control before unifying with the other Italian city-states to form the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. The city was one of the most important during the Italian Renaissance in the 15th and 16th century, and although the city lost its political importance after Italy’s unification, it remained one of the premier economic centers of the country and of Europe.

Milan is home to Teatro alla Scala, one of the world’s leading and most important opera houses, and it offers an excellent and varied choice of entertainment, including theatre, opera, cinema, symphonic and chamber music, lectures, symposia and nightlife. The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, which houses one of the most famous paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, is found in Milan, as well as numerous other cultural and historical sites.

For shopping, open air markets are a Milanese experience not to be missed. Milan is renowned as one of the world capitals of design and fashion. The Lombard metropolis is famous for its fashion houses and shops (such as along via Montenapoleone) and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in the Piazza Duomo (reputed to be the world's oldest shopping mall).

L'Università Bocconi

Founded in 1902, the Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi is a private university located near the city center of Milan, not far from the Porta Ticinese. Originally, Bocconi was located in Via Statuto, near the Pinacoteca di Brera, where its first building was inaugurated in 1902. The current campus of Bocconi is located between Via Sarfatti and Viale Bligny and consists of different buildings, all at walking distance to Porta Ticinese, the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio and the Torre Velasca skyscraper. The first building in Via Sarfatti was designed in 1936 by the famous architect Giuseppe Pagano and is an epitome of modernism in Italian architecture. It hosts many classrooms, an aula magna, a restaurant and most of the administrative offices. The university has a student body of approximately 7,000, of which almost 1,000 are exchange students studying at Bocconi for a semester or the academic year.

It was the first university in Italy to grant a degree in economics and today, is recognized as one of Europe’s leading institutions in business and economics education. The University remains faithful to its mission of training students in economics and business administration and integrating teaching and research. Bocconi also emphasizes cultural awareness and professional flexibility, seeking to teach its graduates how to deal with the most pressing problems of economic and social life. Bocconi continues to guarantee independence in research and teaching, and it stresses the plurality of ideologies to foster open-minded cultural development.

The University has gained international recognition while still maintaining its deep Milanese roots. The university has been ranked among the top 20 best business schools in the world by The Wall Street Journal international rankings, especially thanks to its M.B.A. program, which in 2007 placed it no. 17 in the world in terms of graduate recruitment preference by major multinational companies. Forbes has ranked Bocconi no.1 worldwide in the specific category Value for Money. In May 2008, Bocconi overtook several traditionally top global business schools in the Financial Times Executive education ranking, reaching no. 5 in Europe and no. 15 in the world.

The University library, with over 450,000 volumes and over 2,000 periodicals, is open to students who participate in the exchange program. There is a large holding of foreign books, seating for 500 people, and a section of the library providing “open shelf” access to the books. A language laboratory with modern multimedia equipment and two computer labs with PCs are also available for the use of exchange students. A bookshop (EGEA) is located on the ground floor of the main building of Bocconi University. There is a small athletic center located underneath the Pensionato Bocconi which includes facilities for weightlifting and aerobics.

Program website: http://www.ir.unibocconi.it/

Penn Students at Bocconi

A full range of courses is offered in Italian in Business Administration and Economics as well as in related social science subjects. There is also am ever-growing number of courses taught in English. Please note that Penn students may take a maximum of one course in English; the remaining courses must be in Italian.

Italian Language Pre-Session Course

An intensive, one-month Italian course will be offered before each semester. The course is divided into elementary, intermediate and advanced Italian levels. A minimum knowledge of elementary Italian is required, and students must register in advance. Students attending this course will be required to pay a registration fee of about €130, including all course materials. The registration fee is to be paid at the beginning of the course. Although the course is optional and non-credit, those who choose to register must attend class. Students arriving later than three days after the beginning of classes will not be admitted to the course.

Course Load

The full course load for the Bocconi program is four to five classes per semester. Penn Abroad participants must maintain a full course load for their period of study abroad. The program provides academic advisors to help exchange students choose their courses at Bocconi. Final university course selection takes place at the beginning of the term, as course availability and scheduling are not known fully in advance.

Grading

Fall examinations are usually held in January and early February. However, foreign students on exchange are allowed to take all of their exams before Christmas. Spring examinations are held from the end of May to mid-July (no special sessions of exams allowed in this term). Exams may be either oral or written. Students are permitted to take exams in English with the Professor's approval. Some courses may require written work during the semester (paper or midterm). This also may be presented in Italian or English, subject to the Professor's approval. Italian university grades are awarded on a thirty point scale (i.e., 18 is considered passing, optimal grades are in the upper 20s). The scale is not based on an equal distribution of points nor on a percentage. In the Italian system, a perfect exam or paper may not always be awarded a grade of 30 depending on individual professors' practices. Students are frequently assessed on solely on the results of a final oral exam. Grades are reported to Penn on the Italian scale, and then converted to Penn grades according to standard Italian - U.S. grade equivalencies:

• A = 29-30
• A- = 28
• B+ = 27
• B = 26
• C+ = 25
• C = 24
• D+ = 22-23
• D = 18-21
• F = 17 and below

As on all Penn Abroad programs, grades are recorded on the Penn transcript and are calculated in the cumulative grade point average. The pass/fail option can be exercised according to the Penn on-campus policy.

Academic Calendar

Fall semester: early September – mid-December

Spring semester: mid-January – late June

Living Arrangements

Participants must be willing to live under local conditions for students. Many amenities to which students become accustomed at Penn may not be available during the period of study abroad. Students make arrangements in a dormitory or shared apartments with other exchange students or Italian students. There is a student cafeteria and sandwich shop and a coffee bar on the Bocconi campus that is open to all students. Additionally, there are numerous snack bars close to the university, and restaurants to suit any budget.

Student Life

Each student is encouraged to become involved in a university-based or community-based activity as early as possible in the semester, and to remain involved in the activity for the duration of his or her stay in Milan. Because developing cross-cultural competence takes effort and time, students should be willing to devote several hours per week to community and university activities, and they must be willing to speak Italian at all times.

A group of former Bocconi exchange students have organized a dynamic student exchange network (SEN), offering a multitude of social and cultural opportunities throughout the semester. SEN's office is open to all foreign students, and the organization's bulletin board reflects the constantly evolving activities at the University. Each of the exchange students will be assigned to a SEN "buddy" upon arrival at Bocconi. The Bocconi branch of ISU (student assistance service) provides hospitality, and organizes cultural and recreational activities and sporting events.