Admissions

You are required to submit an official transcript or certified copy of your grades (in English or Italian) and a certified copy of your graduate certificate from the college or university attended. This must include grades for individual subjects with the grading scale, the type of degree, the date of graduation and the dates of enrollment.

Applicants who obtained a university degree in Italy must provide a self-declaration of their degree certificate and transcript (form provided by their university). This self-declaration is only for students who graduated from Italian universities.

The application must be filled out exclusively online and in English. It includes several short-answer questions, carefully designed to help us better understand your personal and professional experiences, and the reasons why you want to participate in our MBA program.

The pre-interview video integrates your written application form, providing us a better understanding of your profile. You will be asked to answer a series of questions while recording a video of yourself; the on-line platform will guide you through the easy steps.

The link to the platform will be available online with the application form. The pre-interview video is a preliminary requirement that precedes the admission interview. You should upload it during the application process and in any case no later than one week after submitting the online application.

On average, students in our MBA program have 5 years’ work experience, ranging between 3 and 10 years. If you do not have this requirement you can only be admitted if you have an excellent academic background, test scores, transversal skills, and motivation. We do not expect you to have traditional managerial experience. Instead, we are more concerned with your professional growth, management potential, ability to work in teams, and willingness to take on responsibilities. In addition, the business sector or function is less important than the quality of the experience you gained in that sector.

The MBA program is held entirely in English, thus all applicants must be highly proficient in written and spoken English. If English is not your mother tongue, you must submit a result of the TOEFL, IELTS, PTE Academic or CPE tests.

At the testing site, you can specify that your results be sent directly to SDA Bocconi (TOEFL School Code: 0698, PTE School Code: R7G-6R-23). If you have already taken one of these tests, the original results must be sent directly to the school. Test results prior to January 2017 are no longer valid.

A test result may be waived for mother-tongue English speakers and for students who got their degree in English, or can document significant professional experience in an English-speaking country.

This is mandatory for all applicants. The GMAT must include the Analytical Writing Assessment and the Integrated Reasoning. The GMAT and GRE are internationally recognized tests in English that evaluate your quantitative, verbal, and analytical skills. Although there is no required minimum score for admission, a high score is beneficial during the admission process. When the test is taken, the name of the school should be specified, which will allow our Admission Services to receive the results directly. The identification code for our MBA program are: GMAT: 3WJ-L8-42, GRE: 3710. Test results prior to January 2014 are no longer valid.

As an exception, and for very specific reasons, candidates can ask Admission Services for authorization to take the SDA Test as an alternative to the GMAT/GRE. The SDA Test is organized by SDA Bocconi, and assesses quantitative, logical, and verbal skills. Enrollment for the test is organized directly through Admission Services after submission of the application for admission. The fee for the SDA Test is EUR 100.

Reference letters must be from people who know you well, and can comment knowledgeably about your professional and/or academic background, and can provide a detailed evaluation of your qualifications for our MBA. The online application reference letters’ automatic tool should be used providing your referee’s company email address.

If your company intends to financially support your participation in the MBA program (through partial or total payment of the tuition fee), an additional document must be completed by a company representative. A special form is available in our online application.

After an initial review of your application, a selected number of candidates will be invited for an admission interview. This will allow you to show that you possess the essential skills, talents and motivation that are essential to getting the most out of our MBA program. The interview may be held:

• In Milan at SDA Bocconi. This format allows you to get to know us better by being on-campus and assessing the environment, which could soon see you as an MBA student.
• In/near your current city of residence. Admission Services has alumni interviewers collaborating with us on admission interviews throughout Italy and throughout the world. For those unable to travel to Milan for an interview, we will attempt to connect you with the alumni interviewer located closer to your current location.
• Remotely (via webcam). In some cases the interview may take place remotely.

It is important to note that having the interview on-campus in Milan does not give an advantage in the admission process. The global nature of our applicant pool makes it challenging for many applicants to travel the vast distance from their current city to Milan for an interview, and the interviewing format has been constructed to accommodate this reality.