Marco Polo Programme

“Marco Polo” programme is an intergovernmental agreement, between Italy and China, created in order to facilitate the presence of Chinese students in Italian Universities. Chinese students have the possibility to obtain a Visa for study reasons, if they enrol in a preparatory course of Italian language and culture, which takes place entirely in Italy, and pre-enrol in an Italian University to attend an academic course, either of first or second level.

The application form for the “Marco Polo” programme consisting of the enrolment in the Italian language course, and the pre-enrolment in an academic course, must be given in either at the Italian Embassy or Consulate in China. At the moment of the pre-enrollment the student must opt for an academic course (only one), which cannot be changed later on.

Marco Polo students are therefore asked to attend an Italian language course, which takes place during the academic year before the enrolment. If the student completes the above-mentioned course, (s)he does not need to sit the Italian language exam mandatory for Extra-EU students who wish to enrol in an Italian University.

The University of Milan-Bicocca has signed an agreement with the following Institutions for the provision of Italian language courses for Marco Polo students: 

Required documents

The documents required for access to bachelor's, master's and single-cycle master's degrees are the same documents required for NON-EU candidates. In addition, during the pre-enrolment phase on the UNIVERSITALY Portal, it is necessary to upload the registration for the chosen Italian language course and the receipt of the scholarship to support participation in the Marco Polo Program.