Foundation Year at the University of Parma

The Foundation Year is an eleven-month, full immersion preparatory programme offered by the University of Parma to guarantee prospective international students the opportunity to approach the Italian academic world, improve their communicative and cultural competence and fill educational or linguistic gaps, in view of their enrolment on degree courses at the University of Parma or application to other Italian universities.

The Foundation Year prepares students as to allow them to meet the minimum requirements requested by the Italian higher education system. In particular it is designed for students who lack some fundamental requisites:

• certified competence in the Italian language at a B2 level
• a minimum of 12 years of schooling

Thanks to this programme, international students will have the opportunity to improve their language competence in Italian, their intercultural communicative skills and cultural knowledge of Italy and the Italian way of life. They will also be introduced to the Italian academic world in order to acquire essential skills as regards methodological issues and successful interaction with university life.

By the end of the course, students who have reached a B2 level in Italian will be able to sit for a language exam to obtain an international certificate in Italian. Such a certificate will allow them to enroll on a degree course at any Italian university. As an alternative, students who wish to enroll on a degree course at the University of Parma will be allowed to acquire a language certificate called Italstudio Università issued by the University of Parma which suits the purpose.