ORGANISATION OF THE COURSES
The bachelor’s degrees are divided into three years over which the student will have to complete a number of academic activities composed of:
- year-long teaching courses which are organised by semesters or semester-long courses (plus tutorials, if any)
- seminars
- proficiency test
- any internships or work placements
- final Exam
Each of these activities have a determined number of teaching credits attributed to them; the student is awarded these credits once they have passed the relevant exams for each of the different academic activities laid down in the individual Regulations, as specified below. 180 credits are required to be awarded a bachelor’s degree.
For each year of the programme teaching is organised over two semesters whose length is set by the Departmental Council as part of the Academic Calendar, which is approved by the Academic Senate. The breakdown of the courses by year, and their organisation by semester, ensures the need to build a foundational and sequential knowledge base and evenly distribute the workload over time. The year-long teaching courses are also concentrated in one semester.
Types of exams and other student progress tests
The knowledge and skills acquired in each taught course is assessed by written and/or oral exams which are taken in exam sessions. The Academic Calendar can be viewed here. Working students can take advantage of two extraordinary exams sessions, subject to having the appropriate documentation and the modes and times established by the specific University Regulation (available in the working student section).
Passing a course’s exam will result in the corresponding credits being awarded, whilst the mark achieved will contribute to the final average. No mark will be awarded for the digital literacy test (see below under ‘IT Test’) scheduled in the first year. 3 credits will be awarded for displaying proficiency by passing the test.
Internships or work placements may also be recognised as educational activities, provided they are authorised in advance by the Degree Course Council at the student’s request.
IT Test
Certified digital literacy is acquired by passing one of the modules worth 3 ECTS that the University of Pisa offers as part of the SAI@UNIPI project. Alternatively, the following certifications may be recognised for 3 ECTS:
- ECDL Core Full
- ECDL Core Start
- IC3 Standard
- IC3 Plus
- MOS Master
- Eipass
- Eipass Basic
- Eipass Progressive
In order to do so, the original certificate/diploma or a photocopy alongside a certificate of authenticity of the certification achieved must be submitted to the Student Secretariat.
The Polo5 is a test centre authorised to issue the ECDL, which can be obtained by passing the respective tests on four modules (for the Start Driving Licence) or on all seven modules (for the Full Driving Licence).
For more information: http://ecdl.unipi.it.
Final Exam
A detailed description of the manner in which the final exam will be taken will be available in the programme’s Academic Regulations.
Study Plans
The study plan outlines the academic path followed by the student in order to achieve the minimum number of credits required for graduation. If a student follows one of the paths recommended in the programme’s Academic Regulations, there is no need to submit a study plan.
The student is required to submit a study plan if:
- they are coming from a different Department and/or University;
- they intend to take exams as part of the LLP/Erasmus programme;
- they intend to choose a custom path (in which case the study plan must be accompanied by a report justifying the choice of path) by incorporating courses not envisaged in the Regulations. Nevertheless, it is required that the study plan contains enough academic activities, the passing of which totals at least 180 ECTS (including the final exam).