Learning Agreement for Italy: Choosing Courses at an Italian University (2026)

Fast answer

A Learning Agreement for Italy follows the same EU template as anywhere else: Table A lists the courses you take at the Italian university, Table B the subjects your home university recognises for them, and all three parties approve it before you leave. What changes in Italy is the detail around it: credits are called CFU (1 CFU = 1 ECTS), each university publishes its own course catalogue once a year, exams run in fixed sessions graded from 18 to 30 e lode, and you have five weeks from the start of the semester to request changes.

• Need it done for you? Odisea prepares your Learning Agreement draft with the evidence your coordinator asks for.
• Still choosing a city? Start with the Italy country guide.

Most Learning Agreement problems in Italy are not about the form. They come from choosing courses that cannot actually be taken together: two courses from different degree years that clash, a course that is only examined after you have gone home, or a catalogue from last year that no longer exists.

What is the same everywhere, and what is Italian

Credits: CFU is just ECTS with an Italian name

Italian universities count credits in CFU (crediti formativi universitari). Since the 2004 reform (DM 270/2004) one CFU is 25 hours of total student work, and one CFU equals one ECTS credit, so a course listed as 6 CFU goes into your Learning Agreement as 6 ECTS. A full-time year is 60 CFU, which is why most home universities expect around 30 per semester.

The practical trap is not the conversion. It is that an Italian course with the same name as yours can carry a very different weight: a 6 CFU course cannot fully replace a 9 ECTS subject at home unless your coordinator accepts combining it with something else.

Where the course catalogue is, and how to read it

There is no national catalogue: each university publishes its own list of course units (insegnamenti) for the coming year. The University of Bologna publishes its catalogue every July and lets you filter it by study area, campus and teaching language. Two details matter when you build your list:

1. Campus. Large universities teach on several campuses in different cities. Bologna’s catalogue lets you filter by campus because a course taught in another campus town is, in practice, not available to you. Check that your exchange agreement is tied to the campus where the course is taught. 2. Language. Filter by teaching language before anything else. A course taught in Italian only counts if your agreed language level allows it.

If you prepare your Learning Agreement before July using last year’s catalogue, expect to update it: Bologna warns incoming students that course units can change from one year to the next.

Timetables: stay inside one degree and one year when you can

Bologna says it plainly for incoming students: if you choose course units from the same year of the same degree programme, timetables and exam dates never overlap; mixing years or programmes is where clashes appear. Italian degrees schedule by cohort, so a plan built from one degree-year is the safest base, and anything outside it needs a timetable check before your coordinator signs.

Exams and grades: sessions, 18–30 and the right to refuse a grade

Italian exams are held in sessions (sessioni), each with one or more dates (appelli). In general they fall between December and February, between May and July, and in September, and you register for a specific date in advance (in Bologna, through AlmaEsami).

Grades go from 18 (pass) to 30, and the board can add lode (honours) to a 30. You can accept a grade or refuse it and sit the exam again in another session — but Bologna, for instance, requires all exams to be taken within the period agreed for your exchange, so a later session only helps if it falls before you leave.

For your Learning Agreement this has one concrete consequence: if you leave at the end of a first semester, the courses you pick must be examined in the winter session, before you go home. Ask for the exam calendar, not just the lecture timetable.

Changing the Learning Agreement once you arrive

The EU guidelines allow the student to start changes within five weeks after the start of each semester, and all parties should agree within two weeks of the request. Changes go in the ‘During the mobility’ tables and must be approved by all three parties again. Your Italian host may add its own internal deadline, so read its incoming-student page and keep the approval in writing: without an approved Learning Agreement, Bologna for example will not let you sit the exams.

Before your coordinator signs: a five-point check

1. Every course in Table A exists in the catalogue for your academic year, not last year’s. 2. Each one is taught on your campus, in a language you are allowed to take. 3. Credits add up to what your home university requires, counting 1 CFU as 1 ECTS. 4. No two courses clash, and each one is examined before you leave. 5. Each pairing in Table B has a syllabus link and a one-line reason your coordinator can check.

That last point is where most rejections come from, and it is exactly what our Learning Agreement service prepares for you: every equivalence with its course code, CFU/ECTS, syllabus link and justification, in a PDF ready for your coordinator.

Where to go next

• Italy: cost of living, cities and universities
• Bologna for exchange students
• Milan for exchange students
• Rome for exchange students
• ECTS credits explained
• Erasmus paperwork checklist

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 1 CFU the same as 1 ECTS?

Yes. Italian university credits (CFU) are equivalent to ECTS: one credit is 25 hours of student work and a full-time year is 60 credits.

When do Italian universities publish their course catalogue?

Each university sets its own date. The University of Bologna, one of the largest Erasmus hosts, publishes its course unit catalogue every July for the following academic year.

Can I change my Learning Agreement after arriving in Italy?

Yes, within five weeks of the start of the semester under the EU guidelines, with the new courses approved by you, your home university and the Italian university. Your host may set a stricter internal deadline.

What grade do I need to pass an exam in Italy?

18 out of 30. The top grade is 30 e lode. Your home university converts the grade according to its own rules or the agreement between the two universities.

Can I take courses from different degrees or years?

Often yes, but timetables and exam dates are only guaranteed not to overlap within the same year of the same degree. Check the timetable of every course you add from outside it.