Foundation Course About the Foundation Course Pre-university program 1 year duration Language: English (with an introduction to Italian language and culture) 2 study tracks: Humanities and Science 2 study options: online and blended Description The Foundation Course is a pre-university program in English designed for international students who do not meet the minimum academic requirements to apply for an undergraduate degree at an Italian university. The Course is recognized by the Italian government as a way to fill the gap between the secondary school and the University. The program is aimed at students who: Have a high school diploma obtained after 11 years of school and do not have the 12 years of schooling required for admission to Italian universities. Wish to improve their educational and language skills, despite having 12 years of schooling. Duration One academic year, 60 ECTS Study options Online: the entire program can be accessed and completed via the Unimarconi platform which is available 24 hours a day. The adopted e-learning model provides for assisted learning along the whole educational path, with access to specially developed educational materials available online and a repertoire of interactive educational activities. The utilization of the materials is mediated by computer and guided by tutors, technological and content experts who interact with the learners responding to their questions. The educational material consists mainly of asynchronous lectures that can be undertaken according to each learner’s schedule and availability, 24 hours a day. Blended: the program is accessed online; furthermore, the students will have the possibility to spend a week in person in Rome in order to complete their preparation in Italian language and take the corresponding exam. Blended learning is an approach to education that combines online educational materials and opportunities for interaction with traditional place-based classroom methods. During the period spent in the Rome Campus, students will have the possibility to take part in academic and social initiatives like, for instance, seminars, laboratories, practical introductions to Italian culture and lifestyle and so on. Students will also have the opportunity to visit Rome, meet with their classmates and engage in networking activities. This would also be a good occasion to get familiar with the Schools and Departments of Unimarconi. The students will be hosted at the beautiful Unimarconi residence located in downtown Rome (at Piazza Cavour, very close to Vatican City), reserved for the university international guests. Deadline for Applications Applications can be submitted at any time. Italian language Both the Foundation Course Humanities and the Foundation Course Science include 24 ECTS of Italian language classes, distributed over the whole year of study, whose aim is to bring all students to a B2 level in Italian, regardless of their starting level. Online preparatory Italian language courses are also available through the Unimarconi platform, which all students can complete before starting classes. In particular, students with absolutely no prior exposure to the Italian language are warmly recommended to attend this preparatory course to be better prepared for the FC Italian class. An attendance certificate will be released at the end of the preparatory course. Study tracks The Foundation Course is a one-year academic program that offers two different study tracks: Science and Humanities. Each study track consists of a total of 60 ECTS credits, subdivided in: 24 credits for Italian language and culture 6 credits for English language and culture Note: Students with an official certification issued by accredited bodies demonstrating proficiency in Italian and/or English at a level equivalent to B2 or higher may acquire these credits just presenting such a certification. 30 credits for the subjects specific of the study track Note: Once selected, the study track cannot be modified. Science The Foundation Course Science (FCS) is a 1-year program consisting of 60 credits (ECTS). Lectures are taught in English; 24 ECTS are dedicated to the Italian language, ranging from levels A1 to B2, with the aim to bring all students to a B2 level in Italian, regardless of their starting level. The FCS prepares students interested in scientific courses such as Medicine, Dentistry, Health Sciences, Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, Math, Natural Sciences, Pharmacy, Physics and so on. Academic Coordinator: Prof. Fabio Rinaldi Subjects, credits and online classes English Language and Culture (6 ECTS – 15 hours of online lectures) Italian Language and Culture (24 ECTS – 60 hours of online lectures) Basic Mathematical Language (6 ECTS – 15 hours of online lectures) Physics (6 ECTS – 15 hours of online lectures) Chemistry (3 ECTS – 8 hours of online lectures) Biology (6 ECTS – 15 hours of online lectures) Advanced Math (3 ECTS – 8 hours of online lectures) Foundation of Informatics (3 ECTS – 8 hours of online lectures) Principles of economics and management (3 ECTS – 8 hours of online lectures) Humanities The Foundation Course Humanities (FCH) is a 1-year program consisting of 60 credits (ECTS). Lectures are taught in English; 24 ECTS are dedicated to the Italian language, ranging from levels A1 to B2, with the aim to bring all students to a B2 level in Italian, regardless of their starting level. The FCS prepares students interested in humanity and social sciences courses such as History, Psychology, Law, Political Sciences, Philosophy, Arts, Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, Philology, Linguistics, Philosophy, Modern Languages and Literatures, Educational Sciences, Pedagogy and so on. Academic Coordinator: Prof. Massimo Colella Subjects, credits and online classes English Language and Culture (6 ECTS – 15 hours of online lectures) Italian Language and Culture (24 ECTS – 60 hours of online lectures) Italian Literature: An Introduction (9 ECTS – 23 hours of online lectures) Greek and Roman Archaeology (3 ECTS – 8 hours of online lectures) Contemporary History (6 ECTS – 15 hours of online lectures) History of Art: An Introduction (6 ECTS – 15 hours of online lectures) Introduction to Philosophical Thought (3 ECTS – 8 hours of online lectures) Introduction to Psychology (3 ECTS – 8 hours of online lectures) Entry requirements and mandatory documentation To be eligible for admission to the Foundation Course, applicants must meet the following requirements: English language proficiency: provide an English language certificate of at least B1 level issued by an accredited body. The international certificates accepted are: IELTS (minimum 4.5), TOEFL IBT (minimum 34), Cambridge english qualification (minimum 140), Duolingo (minimum 80). Info about IELTS here, Info about TOEFL IBT here, Info about Cambridge english qualifications here, info about Duolingo here. Secondary school leaving qualification obtained after 11 years of school. Underage Applicants To be admitted to the program, candidates must be at least 17 years old. If under 18 years old, the student who opts for the blended option must have a lawfully appointed tutor (usually a parent) that must fill out a Statement of responsibility for minors and send it to admissions@unimarconi.com. Applicants holding the Final Secondary School Diploma Students who have already obtained their final High school Diploma must compulsorily upload the following documentation: Final secondary school diploma. In order to apply for the Foundation Course, the student’s Secondary School Certificate must give the student the right to apply to the university in the country to which his/her school system belongs. School report of the final year translated into English. CIMEA Statement of verification to be requested online at the following link: https://www.cimea.it/EN/ If the country issuing the final qualification is on the list of signatories to the Lisbon Convention, it is possible to submit the Certificate of Correspondence which can be downloaded independently by the candidate free of charge on the ARDI platform: https://ardi.cimea.it/en If the issuing country is not on the list of signatories to the Lisbon Convention, the higher education institution responsible for the recognition of the student’s qualification has to contact CIMEA (https://ardi.cimea.it/en). Applicants who are attending the last year of the Secondary School Applicants who are currently enrolled in the last year of secondary school, or students who have recently completed their studies and have not received yet their final diploma, may attach to their application: A certificate of enrolment of the last school year issued by the school and school reports from all previous school years, both translated into English. In this case, application procedure will be completed once the student has provided the rest of the documentation namely: Final secondary school diploma CIMEA Statement of verification to be requested online at the following link: https://www.cimea.it/EN/ If the country issuing the final qualification is on the list of signatories to the Lisbon Convention it is possible to submit the Certificate of Correspondence which can be downloaded independently by the candidate free of charge on the ARDI platform: https://ardi.cimea.it/en If the issuing country is not on the list of signatories to the Lisbon Convention, the higher education institution responsible for the recognition of the student’s qualification has to contact CIMEA (https://ardi.cimea.it/en). Note: Students are not eligible to apply if they have received a partial higher education within their school system (for example, if they have only completed 11 years of schooling in a system that requires 12 or 13 years in total). Incomplete applications will be rejected. For further information please contact admissions@unimarconi.com. Organization of the classes, attendance and exams The lectures will be held exclusively online. Information and schedule will be sent to the accepted candidates. Attendance of all online courses is mandatory and will be monitored through the Unimarconi platform. Each course will end with a final exam. Only students who have attended at least 70% of the lectures of the course will be eligible to take the exam. The exam consists of a written test and may include multiple choices or open questions. More information will be sent to the accepted candidates. Students who do not pass all the exams by the end of the year (according to the enrolment date) can have an additional session, as long as they have reached the required attendance rate. The additional session cannot replace the previous ones, meaning that students cannot decide to skip the ordinary sessions to take the exams directly later. The additional session is the last one and students who miss it or do not pass all the exams by then will not have any further chances to take the exams. Students who do not take the exam in the ordinary sessions by the end of the year (according to the enrolment date) cannot have access to the additional session and will be considered to have withdrawn. Students that do not complete all the requested exams in the ordinary or additional sessions will not have completed the program. They might, however, enrol in the FC the subsequent year, paying again all the needed fees, and ask for a recognition of the exams successfully passed. Italian Language Exam in Person Students eligible to take the Italian language exam can decide to take it in presence at the Rome Unimarconi Campus, instead of using the online test. Final Foundation Course qualification Students will obtain their final FC qualification if they will meet the following requirements: Regular attendance in all courses Achievement of all the expected 60 credits in the chosen study track Achievement of at least the B1 Italian Language level The final FC qualification gives students the right to apply for all the Bachelor’s degrees at Unimarconi. Applying to another university after the Foundation Course at Unimarconi If students want to apply to another university, they should ask it in advance what are the academic requirements for the enrolment, apart from having a High School Diploma/Secondary School Leaving Qualification and the Foundation Course Certificate (Humanities/Science). The Foundation Course is recognized by the Italian government as a way to fill the gap between the secondary school and the University, but each University holds a certain degree of autonomy regarding the admission of its students; so, students are invited to contact the Universities of their interest in advance and ask them whether or not they will accept them with their Secondary School Leaving Qualification plus a Foundation Course certificate.