Secondary School Diploma Requirements
 

To apply for a Bachelor programme at Università Cattolica, you need to meet the following requirements set by the Italian Ministry for University and Research (MUR):

1. You must finish high school and get your Secondary School Diploma by August 30, 2025.
2. You need to have at least 12 years of education. The last 2 years must be in the school system of the same country.

If you have only 11 years of education, you can still apply if you meet one of these conditions:

1. You completed at least one year of university studies and passed all the required exams. You can’t transfer any credits from these studies.
2. You finished a recognized Foundation Course at an Italian university. Foundation courses from non-Italian universities will be evaluated case by case.

Access to university-level studies

Your high school qualification must satisfy the requirements for access to university-level studies in the awarding country.

If you need to pass a special exam to enter university in your country, you must show that you have passed it with the required scores.

Some examples are:

• Selectividad/EBAU in Spain
• Veveossi Prosvassis in Greece
• Vestibular / ENEM in Brazil
• Gao Kao in China
• YKS (TYT and AYT/YDT) in Turkey

High School qualifications that must satisfy additional criteria

• International Baccalaureate Diploma
  Carefully read Universita Cattolica IB admission policy.
   
• US High School Diploma
  To apply, you need your US high school diploma, and you must also meet one of these additional requirements:
  1. Advanced Placement (AP) Exams: Pass at least 3 AP exams with the College Board in different subjects with a minimum score of 3 on each within the graduation year. If you already passed one or more exams, upload the official AP score report to your application. If you are still at high school and have not taken these exams yet, please fill out the AP exam declaration form and include it with your application.
     Note for Italian Speakers: If Italian is your first language, do not choose the AP Italian Language and Culture exam, as it will not be considered.  
  2. University Studies: Complete at least one year of academic studies and pass all required credits. Note that you cannot transfer any credits from these studies.
  3. Foundation Course: Complete a Foundation Course at an Italian university. Courses from non-Italian universities will be evaluated case by case.

Important: Your diploma must be obtained after at least 2 years of attending the US education system.
 

• British qualifications 
  A-levels: you need to obtain at least 3 subjects at Advanced level. Each A-level must be relevant to the chosen degree course. If you have not obtained the A levels yet, please fill out the A-levels declaration and include it with your application.
  Note for Italian Speakers: If Italian is your first language, do not choose A-level Italian, as it will not be considered. 

Besides the above-listed qualifications, other high school diplomas may need additional requirements. The ARDI database provides information on the requirements of most national diplomas to access Italian universities. Should your qualification not be listed and you have any questions about its validity, you can contact us.

Read our recognised English language certificates and exemption policy.   

You must satisfy the English language requirement at the time of application and upload the proficiency certificate to the online application. If the results are not included or do not meet the required level, your application will be considered unsuccessful and there will be no opportunity to re-submit them for a second evaluation.

Priority consideration for admission will be given to candidates whose transcripts show:

• A minimum GPA of 75% or above at the time of applying (this equals to  CCC for A-levels or 31 points for the IB Diploma, according to  the IB undergraduate admission policy).
• Satisfactory grades in Mathematics

To strengthen your application, you may submit standardized test scores (SAT or ACT). 
SAT or ACT scores are required if you do not have:

• Sufficient grades in Math; or
• Quantitative subjects listed in your transcripts

Recommended scores are:

• SAT: 560 for each section
• ACT: 23 for both Composite and Maths sections