The kind and levels of linguistic knowledge required are different depending on the year of enrollment.
Students enrolled in the academic year 2023/2024
Students have to do:
- English from B2 to B2plus (3 ECTS) to be obtained during the first year at SSSA
- English Language level C1 (3 ECTS) to be obtained during the second year at Trento
- a second foreign language at B2 level (6 ECTS)
Students enrolled in the academic year 2024/2025
Students are required to demonstrate language proficiency at level:
- English for International Studies course
- B2 of a second language
- A2 - Italian language (only non-Italian students)
English for International Studies
English for International Studies is a 6-credit course offered by the SIS and requires 48 hours of in-class participation.
These 48 hours include both conventional lectures and workshops. The conventional lectures will be held over the first 6 weeks of the course for the entire class. To maximize the effectiveness of the workshops, the class will be divided into two groups (surnames A-M and N-Z) with different timetables.
More details are available in the course syllabus and will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of the course.
English for International Studies is not an English Language course but an English for Specific Purpose course and therefore international certifications cannot be deemed equivalent.
B2 of a Second language
Students are required to reach a B2 level in a second language among German, French and Spanish. Other second languages – Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese - do not have courses up to B2, but examinations to obtain credits can be arranged.
How to do the language exams
You can take the exam (“prova di competenza linguistica” – test of language competences) at the University Language Centre (CLA).
Exams are held in 4 components: Listening, Reading, Writing components (online) and Oral components. You have to pass all three online components before you can enrol for the Oral component.
More details are available in the CLA website
Recognition of international certificates
International certificates recognized by the University Language Centre are available on the CLA website. You should have obtained your certificate no more than three years earlier than the beginning of your first academic year.
For the English language proficiency mandatory for the MISS students enrolled in 2023/24 only two certificates are recognized::
- IELTS (no skills lower that 6 for B2 plus level, and 6.5 for C1 level)
- TOEFL IBT (no skills lower than 23 for B2 plus level and 26 for C1 level)
You can apply for recognition of credits by uploading your certificate to the "Ufficio Offerta Formativa e Gestione Studenti" with the online application form, available each year from the end of September to the end of June.
Alternatively, if you obtained your high school diploma, bachelor's or master's degree entirely in the second language in your study plan, you can present documentation (Diploma plus documentation clearly stating the Course was entirely in the second language) to the Delegate for Foreign languages, Giacomo Pallante, and to the MISS Secretariat (sis [at] sis.unitn.it).