Access requirements

I.       A first (at least three-year) degree covering one or more of the humanities or social sciences and including at least 36 credits (ECTS or international equivalent) in one or more of the following areas:  demography, economics (not including business studies) and statistics; modern or contemporary history; political studies (including political philosophy); public, private or international law; sociology.

For students taking their first degree at an Italian University, these disciplinary areas are given official classifications (“settori scientifici disciplinari”). The admissions committee has no discretion on this matter: the minimum of 36 credits must be covered by exams in the relevant “settori”:

SPS/01; SPS/02; SPS/03; SPS/04; SPS/05; SPS/06; SPS/07; SPS/08; SPS/09; SPS/10; SPS/11; SPS/12; SPS/13; SPS/14; M‐GGR/02; M‐STO/02; M‐STO/03; ;M‐STO/04; IUS/01; IUS/02; IUS/08; IUS/09; IUS/10; IUS/13; IUS/14; IUS/21; SECS‐P/01; SECS‐P/02; SECS‐P/03; SECS‐P/06; SECS‐P12; SECS‐S/01; SECS‐S/04.

II.      Proficiency in the English language at the level of the European standard C1. Applications must include one of the following English language certificates (this requirement does not apply to students who have completed a course of higher education in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, USA, or the UK):

        TOEFL Internet-based test (IBT), with a score of at least 92;

        TOEFL Paper-based test (PBT), with a score of at least 590;

        IELTS (Academic version), with a score of at least 7;

        Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE), Grade C;

       Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE), Level C1.

Applicants taking their first degree at an Italian University must have acquired at least 150 credits by the relevant application deadline.

Once the admissions committee is satisfied that an applicant meets the minimal entry requirements, it will proceed to assess the applicant’s academic qualifications (both overall and in the disciplines most relevant to the degree programme), their academic potential in the relevant fields, and their level of English. The assessment will lead either to the applicant’s direct admission to the degree program, or to an online interview to further assess their academic potential. Interview appointments will be communicated shortly after the application deadline.

How and where to take an English Language test

You can register to take the TOEFL test here: http://www.ets.org/toefl

You can register to take the IELTS test here: http://www.ielts.org/

Full instructions are provided at these websites. In most localities around the world, there are frequent opportunities to take TOEFL and IELTS (often as frequent as once a week).

Pavia students have opportunities to take English tests (Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE)  and Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency (CPE)) for reduced fees at the University’s Centro Linguistico (once a year, usually in June). There are also regular opportunities to take the TOEFL or IELTS in Milan.