Bachelor in Economics and Social Sciences

Economics and Social Sciences

If you have an interest in economics, politics and social issues, and you like exploring them from several different points of view, this is the right degree course for you. 

Course description

How much room for negotiation on economic issues is there for the decision-makers in charge? What impact do their choices have on social development and what is the impact of their decisions on legislation? How do decision-makers work? How much power do they actually have? What is their long-term strategy in the global context? Why do countries join wars or end them? How has democracy evolved in different countries? During this study programme we will discuss these types of issues from a philosophical point of view and you will be able to develop your own critical thinking and analytical skills.

You will study Economic Science; what the ethical implications of economic activities are; how to reconcile principles and practice and the link between economics, politics and society. The degree course also includes Law, and specifically: Constitutional Law, the organisation of modern states and of the European Union; Public Law; government intervention in business and the troubled relationship that results from such intervention.

Courses will definetely be starting

unibz guarantees to all freshers that courses will start as planned in Fall 2020 and that no student will be left behind. First year courses will be offered both on campus and online.

At a glance

Courses will be taught in: Italian, German and English (trilingual)Places available: 80 EU + 5 non-EUCampus: Bozen-Bolzano

Structure of the course

This interdisciplinary programme offers two curricula. The first study year is the same for both curricula. At the beginning of the second year, students have to choose between Social Sciences and Economic Sciences.

Study course structure

Student Representative in the Course Council: Francesca Giacco

Peer tutoring

First-year students will be supported through a personalised tutoring aimed at welcoming them and guiding them in their educational path. Each student will be assigned to a peer tutor, who, for example, will assist them in organising their study activities, in choosing courses to attend or with general questions about student life at unibz.

Exchange programmes and internships

Currently we offer exchange programmes with more than 50 partner universities all over the world and we are part of a large network of collaboration with employers in Italy and abroad. An internship as well as a period in another, preferably foreign, university (min. 20 – max. 80 credit points), through exchange programmes (LLP/Erasmus+, Bilateral Agreements, Free Mover), are compulsary.

Career opportunities

Our graduates are working in the services sector, in public institutions or private businesses, in national and international NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) and in charities, in the field of economics and politics as wells as in consulting and may also work in the diplomatic corps, in banking and in finance. However, most students continue to postgraduate study, choosing master programmes in Economics, Economic Policy, Management or International Relations.

Well prepared and ready for the job market. On the website of AlmaLaurea you can check statistical data about graduates’ satisfaction and their employability.

Project officer, Dolomiti UNESCO Foundation, Cortina d’Ampezzo

I tre anni di PPE a Bolzano mi hanno permesso di allargare i miei orizzonti, facendomi conoscere nuove idee e mettendomi a contatto con culture diverse. Grazie ai programmi di scambio ho trascorso un semestre alla University of Tasmania, ad Hobart, e tramite il tirocinio alla Fondazione Dolomiti Unesco a Cortina d’Ampezzo sono riuscita ad inserirmi subito - e con soddisfazione - nel mondo del lavoro.

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Application and Admission

You can find all you need to know in order to apply and gain admission to this study programme by browsing through the information below.

Language exams: 15 - 22/04/2020 (registration 31/03 - 07/04/2020)Admission procedure and publication of ranking lists: by 18/05/2020Payment of the 1st instalment of the tuition fees: by 28/05/2020 (by noon local time)Enrolment: 15/07 - 27/07/2020 (by noon local time)

Late Application

Language exams: 29/06 - 03/07/2020, if necessary, also on 04/07 or 06/07 (registration 25/05 - 19/06/2020)Admission procedure and publication of ranking lists: by 29/07/2020Payment of the 1st instalment of the tuition fees: by 06/08/2020 (by noon local time)Enrolment: 29/07 - 06/08/2020 (by noon local time)

Preparatory courses and Freshers Days

Preparatory Course “Mathematics for Economists” (recommended): 24/08 - 04/09/2020Intensive language courses: 07 - 25/09/2020 (Monday to Friday, 8 h/day)Freshers Days: 28 - 29/09/2020

Holidays: 24/12/2020 - 06/01/2021

Exams: 14/06 - 10/07/2021

Early Bird Application: 60

Early Bird Application: 5

• a secondary school leaving certificate (Italian system)
• equivalent qualification obtained abroad.

Foreign school leaving certificates are considered equivalent if obtained after 12 years of education. In this case, you furthermore must have attended at least the last two years in the foreign school system (e.g. Irish Leaving Certificate: it is not enough to attend one year and obtain the foreign certificate).The Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research has set specific admission requirements for holders of certain certificates (e.g. American high school diplomas, British and Greek certificates). For more information: apply@unibz.it (Advisory Service).

To be admitted, you must fulfil the language requirements indicated in the section “Language requirements”.

Concurrent enrolment at several universities or in several study programmes at the same university is not allowed.

The official teaching languages are German, Italian and English. Therefore, the following language requirements apply, otherwise you will be excluded from the admission procedure:

Entry level (to gain admission)1st language: B2

After one year

Exit level (to graduate)

The levels of the Common European Framework of Reference apply.

Your first language is the language in which you have the highest level of proficiency (B2 or C1). Your third language is instead the language in which you are weaker (or in which you are an absolute beginner). 

You can demonstrate your language proficiency in the application portal (in the section “upload language certificates” and/or “enrol for language exams”) after you have created an application in the section “create/manage applications”. The certification is mandatory for the first and second language, for the third language it is recommended (from B1 onwards).

• In case your final certificate has been awarded by an Italian public institution, you need to submit a self-declaration.
• In case your final certificate has been awarded by a foreign public institution, you need to upload diploma scanned copy of the original.

You can demonstrate language proficiency through:

1. the main teaching language in your final high school year if German, Italian or English (recognised as C1) (Ladin upper secondary schools: recognised as B2 in German and Italian).
2. a bachelor or master degree in Italian, German or English (recognised as C1). unibz graduates must upload the language certificates obtained and/or declare that they have passed language exams at the unibz Language Centre (B2, B2+ or C1)
3. a recognised language certificate (see the list of recognised certificates: https://www.unibz.it/en/services/language-centre/study-in-three-languages/) If you cannot upload the certificates, you can send them by e-mail as PDF files or deliver them in person to the Language Centre by the application deadline (see “Deadlines” section).
4. language exams organised by the unibz Language Centre. You can register for these exams online through the application portal (in the section “enrol for language exams”) after you have filled out your application in the section “create/manage applications”. The registration periods are indicated in the "Deadlines" section. If you start your application outside a language exams registration period, you must return to the portal during one of the periods indicated above in order to register for an exam. 

Information regarding the structure of the language proficiency exams, their duration, their administration, and typical processing time for the publication of the results can be found on the following webpage: https://www.unibz.it/en/services/language-centre/language-exams/.

Secondary schools in a foreign country/Bi- or multilingual schools

If the foreign language proficiency levels (for German, Italian, or English) are explicitly indicated on the diploma of graduation according to the Common European Framework of Reference (i.e., B1, B2 or C1), and if all four language abilities (reading, listening, speaking, writing) have been assessed, then the indicated levels will be accepted as a proof of proficiency for the second and/or third language.

Please upload your school-leaving certificate to the application portal in the section “upload language certificates” under the respective language. The Language Centre will decide on its recognition.

Third language/Intensive language courses in September

If you have already acquired a language certificate in the third teaching language, please upload it to the portal. If you are not able to certify your language competence in the third language and you are admitted to unibz, you will have to take a placement test. You will receive further information about the test by e-mail. Based on the result of the placement test, you will be assigned to a certain learning path so that you will be able to reach level B2 as soon as possible.

If you are an absolute beginner in the third language, or if you have a level below B2, you may attend a three-week intensive language course during the pre-semester session in September in order to start the learning path.

The dates of the extensive courses are indicated in the “Deadlines” section. Beginner courses (A1) will be offered exclusively during the pre-semester intensive course session in September will no longer be offered during the academic year. Therefore, absolute beginners should start their learning path for the third language by attending the intensive courses in September.

There will be extensive courses (4 hours per week) during the semesters and intensive courses (8 hours per week) during the time between semesters.

The language courses offered by the Language Centre are free of charge and aim to help the students reach the following target levels in the third language:

• B1 level by the end of the 1st year;
• B2 level by the end of the 2nd year.

If you are not able to certify level B1 in the 3rd language by the end of the 1st year, you cannot enroll for the second study year and you cannot not take degree course exams in that language.

Your application must be submitted online through the Application Portal. The deadlines are indicated in the “Deadlines” section.

• You need to create an account;
• Then fill in the form online and check if the required information is complete;
• Upload the required attachments for every selected study programme in the portal and submit the application by the deadline. Once the application has been sent, it cannot be modified. Filled-in forms which have not been sent correctly will not be taken into consideration.

Please note: Mendacious declarations will be criminally prosecuted and will result in the automatic exclusion from the ranking list.

You have to upload:

• a passport-size colour photo;
• a photocopy of a valid identity card or passport (front/back). Please note: if your document is invalid, incomplete or unreadable, you will be excluded from the admission procedure;
• the attachments listed under “Admission procedure”.

If you gained your qualification abroad, you must also upload:

• the diploma of your qualification: if you are not yet in possession of the diploma, you can upload it upon enrolment at the very latest - until you have not uploaded your diploma, you can only gain conditional admission;
• an official translation of the qualification into Italian (not necessary for qualifications in German or English);
• the declaration of equivalent value of your qualification: if you are not yet in possession of the declaration, you can upload it upon enrolment at the very latest;
• the valid permit to stay for Italy (only for non-EU citizens legally resident in Italy) - see below chapter “EU-citizens and equivalent” point 2.

The declaration of equivalent value (not necessary for qualifications gained in Austria or Germany, but unibz reserves the right to request it in case of doubt)

If you have a foreign qualification, you must certify that your qualification would grant you admission to a similar study programme in the country where you gained this qualification. For this reason, you must:

• apply for the “dichiarazione di valore” (declaration of equivalent value) at an Italian consulate or embassy abroad (please apply for the declaration as soon as possible since processing times might be long);
• upload the declaration upon enrolment at the very latest, together with the other relevant documents.

EU-Citizens and equivalent

You might apply for more than one study programme. If you are excluded in the first session, you might apply again in the second one.

Considered as equivalent are:

1. Citizens from Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, San Marino and the Vatican City State;
2. Non-EU citizens with a valid permit to stay in Italy (see article 39, paragraph 5 of decree no. 286 of 25.07.1998: "permesso di soggiorno" (residence permit) for work, family reasons, political or humanitarian asylum, religious reasons). In this case, you apply directly to the University as described above and must submit a copy of your valid permit to stay. A permit to stay for study reasons or a visa for tourism is not sufficient. If the permit has expired, you must attach a renewal request. Please note that if you do not provide the permit, you will be automatically considered a non-EU citizen living abroad and therefore subject to the admission procedure through the Italian authorities in your country of origin.

Non-EU-Citizens (living outside of Italy)

Only one application period is offered. After the deadline it is not possible to apply anymore. Application fee: € 30.

As a non-EU citizen living abroad:

• You will also have to apply at the Italian authorities (consulate or embassy) in your country. The deadlines set by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (http://www.studiare-in-italia.it/studentistranieri/) must be met. At the Italian authorities, you can apply for one study programme only. Should you not follow this procedure with the local Italian authorities, your direct online application to unibz will be declared null and void.
• At the beginning of September, you must also sit a separate Italian language test before you can enrol.

The admission procedure is based on the following criteria:

• The final score is obtained from the grade average in your third-last and penultimate year of secondary school (weight in %: 67% for the marks of the penultimate year and 33% for the marks of the third-last year). Marks for behaviour, religion, physical education, music-related subjects (e.g. music, vocals, specific musical instruments) and subjects closely connected to the hotel business (e.g. kitchen area and connected areas, service area and enology etc.) are not taken into consideration.

The evaluation of the criteria mentioned above will be stated in thirtieth by the Admission Committee. You have to have at least 21/30 points (no rounding up) to be admitted to the Bachelor in Economics and Social Sciences based on the points awarded following the evaluation criteria.

In the event of equal scores, applicants with a higher-grade average obtained in their penultimate year of secondary school will be given priority. If scores are still equal, the younger applicant will be given priority.

In the application portal, you shall:

• Insert, using self-declaration, your grades for the subjects of your third-last and penultimate year of school*. Please note: Mendacious declarations will be penalised by criminal penalties and will result in the automatic exclusion (secondary schools in Germany: please insert the grades of the “Jahreszeugnis” – should it not be available, insert the average grades of the two “Halbjahreszeugnisse” – with decimal place). In the event of self-declared years being concluded abroad, a copy of the relevant school report cards must be uploaded in the portal;
• Upload the official translation of your school report cards into Italian, German or English if needed.

(*) If you do not provide the grades for the third-last year and/or penultimate year of secondary school, the Admission Committee will assign a final score, which corresponds to a “sufficient merit” for the high school year, for which you have not provided a school report/self-declaration. If you have attended a school whose system differs substantially from the Italian system and you do not have the reports with the final grades of the third-last and/or penultimate year of study of your secondary school, the Admission Committee reserves the right to evaluate the possible final reports of the secondary school that refer to years different from the penultimate or third-last. If you are already in possession of a university degree, the Admission Committee will consider the average grades of the university exams.

Ranking lists

The Admission Committee will only evaluate the documents uploaded in the portal by the application deadline. The ranking lists with the admitted students will be published here and are only valid for the respective academic year.

If you have been admitted to more than one study programme, you can only secure your admission in one of them. Doing so you refrain from the admission to other study programmes.

1. Choose the study programme and pay the fees (to secure your admission) in the application portal.

The deadlines are indicated in the “Deadlines” section.

If you do not meet this deadline, you will automatically be excluded and the next applicant in the ranking list will be admitted.

For EU citizens and citizens given parity of treatment only: any remaining places of the early bird application, will be offered in the late application.

Please note that you do not gain full student status by only paying the tuition fees. This status will only be acquired upon enrolment. If you have secured your admission, there will be no refund of the tuition fees unless you do not pass your secondary school final exam or, in the event of non-EU applicants living abroad, you do not receive the documents necessary for enrolment from the Italian authorities in your country.

2. Enrol online in the application portal.

The deadlines are indicated in the “Deadlines” section.

Enrolment is recommended as early as possible, so you have the possibility to upload incomplete documents before the deadline.

If you do not meet the enrolment deadline, you will be excluded and the next applicant in the ranking list will be admitted.

If you have gained your secondary school qualification abroad, you must upload (if not uploaded upon application):

• secondary school diploma
• official translation of the secondary school diploma into Italian (translation is not necessary if it has been issued in German or English)
• declaration of equivalent value of your secondary school diploma, issued by the Italian consulate or embassy abroad (not necessary for qualifications gained in Austria or Germany, but unibz reserves the right to request it in case of doubt)

At the beginning of the academic year you must submit the originals of the above-mentioned documents to the Student Secretariat.

Please note that if you do not possess a valid admission qualification, you could be excluded with Rector’s decree even after enrolment.

If you are a non-EU citizen living abroad:

If you are eligible for admission (check the ranking lists), the Italian Authorities in your own country will issue you the entry visa for studies/university. This will allow you to arrive in Italy to sit the Italian-language test (for bachelor programmes), any entrance tests you have to take, and to enrol for the study programme that you have applied for, after passing the admission procedure.

The Italian-language test, which all students applying for bachelor programmes must sit, usually takes place at the beginning of September in Bozen-Bolzano. Students might also sit the oral exam online.

According to Italian law, within 8 working days of your arrival in Italy, you must have applied for the residence permit: as soon as you arrive, get in touch with the Advisory Service and you will be given the necessary information for starting the procedure.

Once you will obtain your residence permit (permesso di soggiorno), you have to hand it in at the Student Secretariat personally or via e-mail.

Students intending to transfer from another Italian University to unibz have to submit to the Student Secretariat - at the beginning of the academic year - a copy of the transfer application presented at the university of provenance.

Fees amount to € 1348.50.

• 1st instalment (€ 748.50)*: includes the provincial tax for the right to study of € 148.50 and a revenue stamp of € 16.
• 2nd instalment (€ 600): must be paid by 31 March 2021.

Delayed payment of the second instalment will result in a fine being levied. If you have not paid the tuition fees, you will be unable to take exams and will not be able to transfer to other universities or other study programmes.

If you drop out of a programme, interrupt your studies or are excluded from studies, you are not entitled to reimbursement of the fees.

Exemption from the tuition fees (and the provincial tax) is granted to:

• Students with a disability recognized under article 3, paragraph 1, of Law No 104/1992, or with a disability up to or exceeding 66%: the disability certificate, issued by the health authorities, must be handed in at the beginning of the academic year.
• Foreign students who have been granted a scholarship from the Italian government.

Students who benefit from a scholarship granted by the Autonomous Province of Bozen-Bolzano are entitled to receive a refund of the tuition fees.

Credit points from previous university studies can only be recognised after enrolment if the exams taken at the university of provenance are equivalent in content to those offered at unibz. You can fill out the application after enrolment at your Faculty Secretariat.

The Advisory Service provides support regarding your choice of study. In many cases a simple call or a short request is enough to get the relevant information (Tel. +39 0471 012100).

Italy - 39100, Bozen-Bolzano

Wednesday and Friday: 10:00 - 12:30For appointments outside the opening hours:T. +39 0471 012100 or apply@unibz.it

Italy - 39100, Bozen-Bolzano

Friday: 10:00 - 12:00