Marco Polo Programme

The Marco Polo programme was launched in 2004 by the Conference of Italian University Rectors (CRUI), at the direct request of the Presidency of the Italian Republic, to strengthen scientific collaboration with China and increase the presence of Chinese students on Italian campuses.

Thanks to an intergovernmental agreement between the two countries, Chinese students who apply for pre-enrolment in a Bachelor's or Master's degree programme at an Italian university (or at Italian performing arts academia under the Turandot project) can more easily obtain a student visa to Italy.

To obtain a student visa, you must:

• pre-enrol in the chosen programme one year ahead
• score at least 400/750 on the "Gaokao" final State exam
• enrol in a preparatory Italian language course at any Italian university offering it.

The course takes place over a period of 10 months, starting in November, and lasts 800 hours.

The 5,500-euro enrolment fee includes:

• language lessons and learning materials
• CELI Italian language certificate exam

The course provides students with the Italian language skills corresponding to the B1/B2 level of Italian language proficiency under the Common European Framework of Reference for languages; at the end of the course, students who will have attended at least 75% of the course will be admitted to sit the end-of-course test.

In August all students enrolled on the course will be offered the opportunity to sit the CELI 2 or CELI 3 certification exam, whose certificate is valid to enrol at universities in Italy, within the number of seats available to non-Italian-speaking students

The preparatory Italian course is open to all Chinese students from the Marco Polo and Turandot programmes. It is taught by highly qualified language trainers and is integrated with cultural and recreational activities.