Bocconi University

Bocconi University or Università Bocconi (formally known in Italian as Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi [universiˈta kommerˈtʃaːle luˈiːdʒi bokˈkoːni] – or simply Bocconi) is a non-profit private university located in Milan, Italy.

The university offers courses in social sciences, with programs in economics, management, finance, law, political science, data and computer science, and an increasing focus on artificial intelligence.

Bocconi is a founding member of CEMS – The Global Alliance in Management Education. Through its graduate business school, the SDA Bocconi School of Management, the university holds triple accreditation from AACSB, EQUIS, and AMBA. SDA Bocconi offers MBA, Executive MBA, DBA, executive education, professional development, and certification programs.

History

Bocconi University was established in 1902 as Italy's first university to offer a degree in economics.

Its founder, Ferdinando Bocconi, created the university in memory of his son Luigi, who died in the 1896 Battle of Adwa during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. The university was initially conceived to complement the Polytechnic University of Milan's engineering school with the aim of integrating technical expertise and economic knowledge, thereby training professionals equipped to meet emerging industrial and commercial needs, and adopted a teaching model based on methods used at the École Supérieure of Antwerp.

The university's first building opened in Largo Notari (today Via Statuto). In 1941, Bocconi moved to its current main campus in Via Sarfatti 25. Over the decades, the campus has expanded with new facilities, including student residences, research centers, and the business school SDA Bocconi School of Management (established in 1971).

Key milestones include the introduction of new degree programs in law, political science, data science and artificial intelligence, the launch of Italy's first MBA (1974), the creation of the CEMS alliance (1988), and the completion of the new urban campus designed by SANAA in 2019.

Campus

The university's first building opened in 1902 on Via Statuto, near the Pinacoteca di Brera. Today, the campus is located beside Parco Ravizza, between Via Sarfatti and Viale Bligny, and comprises multiple buildings near Porta Ticinese and the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio:

Sarfatti Building (1941), designed by Giuseppe Pagano, is the oldest building on campus. It houses classrooms, the aula magna, administrative offices, and a restaurant. Its entrance is flanked by two lion statues, which have become the subject of university myths.

Pensionato Building (1956), by Giovanni Muzio, contains dormitories (350 rooms), a canteen, large halls, and faculty offices. Its floors are shaped like a symmetrical "L", said to represent laude.

SDA Bocconi Building (2019) houses the new headquarters of the SDA Bocconi School of Management and is located on the site previously occupied by the Centrale del Latte. Designed by the Tokyo-based SANAA studio, the area also includes the Castiglioni Residence and the sports center.

Leonardo del Vecchio Building (Velodromo) (2001), designed by Ignazio Gardella, is ellipsoid in shape and contains classrooms for up to 150 students each. It features a geothermal heat pump system. A statue of Ferdinando Bocconi stands in the foyer.

Library Building (1962), also by Giovanni Muzio, stands in Piazza Sraffa alongside the campus chapel (San Ferdinando) and other smaller facilities.

Röntgen Building (2007), designed by Grafton Architects, won World Building of the Year at the 2008 World Architecture Festival in Barcelona. It houses the university's departments and research centers, as well as a new aula magna, seminar rooms, and exhibition areas. Its designers, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, received the 2020 Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Several other administrative and research offices are located near Parco Ravizza and Viale Isonzo.

Dormitories

Bocconi provides approximately 1,800 dormitory places for students. Residences include Bocconi, Javotte, Dubini, Spadolini, Isonzo, Bligny, and Castiglioni (opened in 2018).

Academics

Bocconi is organized into five schools:

• Undergraduate School
• Graduate School
• School of Law
• PhD School

SDA Bocconi School of Management.

The academic structure includes nine departments:

• Accounting
• Computing Sciences
• Economics
• Finance
• Management and Technology
• Marketing
• Decision Sciences
• Social and Political Sciences

Legal Studies.

Research activities are carried out within departments, research centers, and laboratories.

Undergraduate School

The Bocconi Undergraduate School offers eight Bachelor of Science programs in English and/or Italian:

• Economics
• Finance
• International Politics and Government (double degree with HEC Paris)
• Management (double degree with Peking University)
• Management and Computer Science
• Management for the Arts and Cultures
• Mathematical and Computing Sciences for Artificial Intelligence
• World Bachelor in Business (triple degree with USC Marshall School of Business and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)

Graduate School

The Bocconi Graduate School offers 14 Master of Science (MSc) programs taught in English, 1 specialized master in English, and 1 in Italian. Bocconi's MSc in Finance was among the first six programs worldwide to partner with the CFA Institute and the first in continental Europe. Its MSc in Management and International Management includes participation in the CEMS Master in International Management, of which Bocconi is a founding member.

MSc programs include Accounting and Financial Management; Artificial Intelligence; Cyber Risk Strategy and Governance; Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence in Health Sciences; Data Science and Business Analytics; Economic and Social Sciences; Economics and Management in Arts, Culture, Media and Entertainment; Economics and Management of Government and International Organizations; Finance; Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship; International Management; Marketing Management; Politics and Policy Analysis; and Transformative Sustainability.

Specialized masters include Marketing e Comunicazione (MiMeC); and Quantitative Finance and Risk Management (MAFINRISK).

Double degree programs exist with CEMS partner universities, and with many universities from all over the world such as ESSEC Business School, Fudan University, and Sciences Po, London School of Economics, HEC Paris, ESADE.

School of Law

Established in 2006, the Bocconi School of Law consolidated the university's tradition in legal studies under the "A. Sraffa" Institute for Comparative Law. It offers law courses in Italian and English and a summer academy (with the University of Trento and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies).

Research and endowment

In 2006, Bocconi's research funding came primarily from the university itself (€1.5 million), the European Union (€1.4 million), the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (€300,000), and external sources (€11 million). In 2011, the European Research Council awarded €5 million to five social sciences and humanities projects led by Bocconi professors. Bocconi has been a major recipient of European Research Council (ERC) funding since the program's inception, securing 71 grants across all ERC schemes, particularly in the social sciences and quantitative disciplines, with approximately 35 grants active in 2025.

Departments

Bocconi has departments in Accounting, Economics, Finance, Management and Technology, Marketing, Decision Sciences, Legal Studies, Social and Political Sciences, and Computing Sciences.

Permanent research centers include the Paolo Baffi Centre (economics, finance and regulation), BIDSA (data science and analytics), CERGAS (health and social care management), Dondena Centre (social dynamics and public policy), GREEN (energy and environment), ICRIOS (innovation and strategy), IGIER (economic research, jointly with NBER and CEPR).

Student life

Bocconi offers students a variety of cultural and extracurricular initiatives, including:

• Student Media Center, which includes Radio Bocconi, Bocconi TV, and the student newspaper Tra i Leoni
• Bocconi Sport, with facilities such as the Bocconi Sport Center and teams in football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, swimming, athletics, and more
• Bocconi Art Gallery (BAG), a contemporary art project on campus
• More than 100 student associations

Student publications

Student-run publications include:

Tra i Leoni, a campus magazine

Bocconi School of Law Student-Edited Papers, the official law journal

Notable people

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Alumni

• Alberto Alemanno, global clinical professor of law at New York University (NYU)
• Alberto Alesina, former Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University
• Franco Amatori, professor of Economic History at Bocconi University and past president of the European Business History Association
• Salvatore Aranzulla, blogger and entrepreneur
• Mario Arcelli, economist, minister for the Budget in the Italian government
• Giovanni Arrighi, professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University
• Jörg Asmussen, member of the executive board of the European Central Bank
• Oriana Bandiera, Sir Anthony Atkinson Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics
• Francesco Billari, demographer and sociologist, rector of Bocconi University
• Mario Biondi, novelist, travel writer, poet
• Alessandro Magnoli Bocchi, economist

Tito Boeri, professor of labour economics at Bocconi University, columnist for La Repubblica and former president of INPS (National Institute for Social Security in Italy)

Emma Bonino, former Italian minister of Foreign Affairs (2013–14)

Paolo Brera, journalist, author, and former assistant professor of political economy at Bocconi University

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)