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The Education System in Italy

Preprimary:

  • Common name: Scuola dell'infanzia
  • Ages of attendance: As early as age 3 to age 5
  • Number of years: 1 to 3
  • Start of universal enrollment: Age 3
  • Compulsory: No

Primary:

  • Common name: Scuola primaria
  • Ages of attendance: 6 to 10
  • Number of years: 5
  • Universal enrollment: Yes
  • Compulsory: Yes

Lower secondary:

  • Common name: Scuola secondaria di primo grado
  • Ages of attendance: 11 to 13
  • Number of years: 3
  • Universal enrollment: Yes
  • Compulsory: Yes
  • Entrance/exit criteria: Yes, there is a national exit examination, which students must pass to obtain the diploma di esame di stato conclusivo del primo ciclo di istruzione and enter into upper secondary school.

Upper secondary:

  • Common name: Scuola secondaria di secondo grado
    • Istituti d'arte, liceo artistic, liceo musicale e coreutico— Fine arts schools and institutes
    • Istituti professionali—Vocational schools
    • Istituti tecnici—Technical schools
    • Liceo classico, scientifico, linguistico, delle scienze umane— Academic upper secondary schools
  • Ages of attendance: 14 to 18 (graduation generally at age 19)
  • Number of years: 5
  • Universal enrollment: Through age 16
  • Compulsory: Beginning in the 2004–05 school year, upper secondary education was classified as a "right and a duty." This terminology is used to indicate that completing upper secondary education is expected, although not required by law.
  • • Entrance/exit criteria: Students must possess the diploma di
  • esame distatoconclusivo delprimociclodiistruzione from lower secondary school to enter upper secondary school. At the end of
  • 5 years of instruction, students must pass a national examination in order to obtain a diploma di superamento dell'esame di stato.

NOTE: Every student who has completed 5 years of upper secondary school and has obtained a diploma di superamento dell'esame di stato may attend university and other forms of higher education. Students are tracked in academic as well as technical and vocational schools in Italy. Students in Italy may attend specialized art schools, such as istituti d'arte and liceo artistico at the upper secondary level. Students attending vocational schools may attend 3- or 5-year training or apprenticeship programs in applied fields, after which they often enter the labor force. Liceo linguistico focuses on modern foreign languages and cultures. The liceo classico and scientifico prepare students for university studies. Liceo classico focuses on literature, philosophy, and Latin and Greek languages. Liceo scientifico focuses on mathematics and science. Liceo socio-psico-pedagogico has a sociological, psychological, and pedagogical orientation.

Postsecondary and tertiary:

  • Common name: Accademia, scuola diretta a fini speciali, università
  • Alta formazione artistica e musicale—Arts and music
  • Scuole superiori per la mediazione linguistica—School for interpreters
  • Istruzione e formazione tecnica superiore—Technical education and training
  • Laurea, laurea specialistica, dottorato di ricerca, diploma di specializzione—Academic higher education, university
  • Ages of attendance: Varies
  • Number of years: Varies according to degree program
  • Universal enrollment: No
  • Entrance criteria: In order to enter university, students must possess a diploma di superamento dell'esame di stato, a secondary school diploma obtained after passing a national exam.

NOTE: The higher education system in Italy underwent a reform process in order to make it more compatible with the higher education systems of other European countries. Universities are now based on two main cycles (the 3-year foundation degree, or laurea, followed by a 2-year specialist degree, or laurea specialistica/ magistrale), with third-cycle degree options (dottorato di ricerca, diploma di specializzazione) that are similar to a doctorate in the United States. These changes were made to increase educational exchange between Italy and other European Union countries.

Common degree programs:

  • Accademia degrees: Fine arts, restoration, and music degrees.
  • Accademia degrees have been divided into two cycles according to the recent reforms, the first one taking 3 years to complete and the second one taking 2 years to complete. The diploma accademico di primo livello is awarded after the first cycle, and the diploma accademico di secondo livello is awarded after the second cycle.
  • Laurea: A first-level university degree taking 3 years from university entry to complete. It is characterized by both theoretical and applied studies, similar to a bachelor's degree in the United States.
  • Laurea specialistica/magistrale: Graduate specialized degree requiring 2 years of university study after a first-level degree, similar to a master's degree in the United States.
  • Master universitario di primo livello: A professional graduate program requiring at least 1 year of study after obtaining a laurea.
  • Master universitario di secondo livello: A professional graduate program requiring at least 1 year of study after obtaining a laurea specialistica/magistrale.
  • Dottorato di ricerca: Doctoral degree program focusing on research and taken at a university. Typically requires 3 years of instruction after the laurea specialistica/magistrale.
  • Diploma di specializzazione: Doctoral degree program for a specialized professional degree, such as medicine or law. Typically requires 2–6 years after the laurea specialistica/ magistrale.

Sources:

Eurybase. (2010). The Information Database on Education Systems in Europe: The Organization of the Education System in Italy,
2009/2010. Brussels: Eurydice. Retrieved December 15, 2010, from http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/eurybase/eurybase_full_reports/IT_EN.pdf.

Marlow-Ferguson, R. (Ed.) (2002). World Education Encyclopedia: A Survey of Educational Systems Worldwide, Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (1996).
Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators. Paris: Author.

Robitaille, D.F. (1997). National Contexts for Mathematics and Science Education: An Encyclopedia of the Education Systems Participating in TIMSS. Vancouver, Canada: Pacific Educational Press.