Business School in Pisa, Italy

Department of Economics and Management - University of Pisa:
The Department of Economics and Management at the University of Pisa in Northern Tuscany in Italy offers high profile post graduate Master and Phd programmes with international partners including our Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme. Our approach to teaching results from a combination of traditional academic lessons, exercises, cases studies. We provide an effective learning experience that brings together up-to-date research and best practices from the business world. We welcome international students, organise group Italian language courses for all levels, and provide study materials and advice for independent, individual learning.

The University of Pisa MBA is a 12 month full-time programme running from January to December 2015.

The goal of the programme, entirely held in English, is to acquire managerial skills and to develop professional and personal competences in business administration. The faculty is composed of prominent academic professors and lecturers from the top universities and business schools. Experienced managers and professionals from our corporate and professional network are invited as guest speakers.

The programme is articulated in two terms:
In the first term, Fundamental and Specialist Courses provide the pillars of business administration and sharpen the management skills in order to develop professional competences in several key areas. After the first course dedicated to the team building and personal development, the programme deals with basic competences and core management skills in a wide range of disciplines.

The second term is dedicated to the preparation of the project work. The Master Thesis can be either a research project or a case study, it can also be developed through a field project or an internship. The study offer is enriched with continuous learning programmes.

Pisa has a stimulating cultural and social life, enlivened by the activities of many cultural and political associations of various orientations, which provide many opportunities for exchange, learning and friendship.

Pisa has an excellent geographical position for getting to know central Italy, being situated an hour by train from Florence, half an hour from Lucca and Leghorn and 30 minutes by bus from the coast. The Migliarino San Rossore Nature Reserve is close by; and little further, the Apuan Alps offer mountain enthusiasts the possibility of long walks and spectacular views. Pisa has a typically Mediterranean climate and the sea's vicinity has the beneficial effects of ensuring mild winters and not too torrid summers.

Pisa can be said to be a city on a student-scale. The 50,000 students enrolled at the University, forming a significant proportion of Pisa's 90,000 inhabitants, are a particularly visible presence in the streets of the city-centre, with its numerous world famous monuments such as the Leaning Tower and Piazza dei Miracoli.

It is right here, in the heart of Pisa, that the structures of the University's 11 Faculties and 56 Departments are concentrated. There is little distance to cover; hence, the most common means of transport is without doubt the bicycle.

* Internationality of our Students: Our classes are composed of more than 90% of foreign students. Numebr of nationalities: 50

* Class Size:  Our Master accepts no more than 30 students, in order to assure the highest quality on teaching and personal development. We give attention to each single student because we want to improve their skills in interpersonal relations and interaction.

* Internationality of the MBA Faculty:  they come from different Institutions in Italy and from several foreign Universities/Business Schools (School of Management of Boston University; Victoria University in Melbourne, University of Essex, UK;  Regent's College, London, UK; Cass Business School, London, UK ; Aarhus University, Denmark; Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium; University of Sussex, UK; Business School – City University London, UK; Conseil de l’Europe, Strasbourg, France; University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, USA); University of Leon, Spain; DCU Business School, Dublin)

* Academic Tradition & Excellence:  The University of Pisa, established in 1343, is worldwide recognized for the excellent academic tradition and for the strong international vocation. Research is considered from the University of Pisa as its principal strategic activity and the obtained results gave and continue giving prestige to the University, both in national and in international field.

* Location:  The MBA is located in the heart of Pisa, in the center of this city with a strong student vocation. Besides its historical centre and its famous monument such as the Leaning Tower, Pisa has an excellent geographical position to reach the other cities in Tuscany, being situated an hour by train from Florence, half an hour from Lucca and Leghorn and few minutes from the coast. Furthermore, there is an International Airport 1 kilometer from city centre.

* Place:  The lessons are held at the Palazzo dei Congressi, just in front of the Economics Faculty. The building has several rooms for the students’ team works.

* Tuition Fee:  The University of Pisa is a Public Institution, with a non-profit policy. In order to ensure the possibility to participate to the programme to a wide range of students, the University requires a reasonable tuition fee.

The Interdepartmental Language Centre of the University organises group language courses for all levels, and provides study materials and advice for independent, individual learning. CLI organizes a test to check the level of the students at the beginning of the course in order to divide them into classes. After the test, students will be divided into classes and they will know the calendar.

The Italian courses are discounted for MBA students.

Student Services:
a) Student Accommodation
b) University Canteen
c) University Student Counselling Service
d) USID Service Unit for the Support and Integration of Disabled Students
e) Language Course

Leisure Activities:
- University Sport Center
- University Youth Orchestra
- The University of Pisa Choir
- Theatre, Music, Cinema

The next in-take starts on January 2015.
The selection process ends in November 2014. The two-step selection process usually lasts 4 weeks after all documents are received. The first step is a pre-selection on the basis of the documents sent. If the Prospective Student is considered suitable, a second step is carried out with an interview with the Admission Committee.

Applications are examined on a rolling basis. Due to the high number of applications, applications received earlier have a greater chance to be admitted.
Deadline to apply: 15 November 2014

In order to apply you need to send either via email or by post:
1. application form;
2. a university degree (BA equivalent, original/official or certified original transcript of grades from the college or University attended);
3. two reference letters (you can send me them by e-mail);
4. a detailed curriculum vitae;
5. proficiency in spoken and written English (TOEFL/IELTS is recommended). We may consider exemptions from these if the student has lived, studied or worked in an English speaking environment;

Our approach to the admission process follows some basic guidelines that we share here with you.

The ideal candidate of our MBA is a young graduate with at least 1/2 years of work experience.
We do not consider only your college performance and your professional skills, but also your vision and ambitions, your motivations and objectives.
The MBA is open to graduates of all disciplines. The perfect MBA class is based on diversity: we are looking for different educational and professional backgrounds, nationalities, culture and personal experiences and goals.
The MBA program is particularly suitable for people who want to enhance economic and managerial skills and aspire to improve their value in the job market or step up in their career path.
Our admission team usually organizes online interviews to understand your objectives and ambitions.

ALI (MBA 2010): "This program was a good plus to my career. The University of Pisa has a good reputation and besides, from the staff to the professors everybody is very helpful. Pisa is a small town but you will find the warm ambience of the town with the other international students in the class. There would be good memories to be remembered. There are lecturers from all over the world and even the program is an intensive one you do not understand how the time passes such quick"

TONI (MBA 2011): "The MBA program in Pisa really immerses you in a cross-cultural environment which is a valuable experience also on a professional level. Thanks to the MBA program I got a broad and useful education in subjects which are crucial to master if you want to advance in the private sector with a previous scientific degree. I appreciated very much the diversified teaching methods, which consisted of academic and professional lectures, team work exercises, case-studies and a lot of presentations that we had to prepare. Everybody is expected to actively bring his/her experience or knowledge to the table. Living in Italy is a good opportunity to learn about the Italian culture and language. The university provided a language class, which was an excellent thing, taken into account that most of the companies in Italy require at least basic skills in Italian. An MBA is an ignition to a continuos learning experience in identifying and understanding new opportunities in a changing world"

PHILIPP (MBA 2012): "The MBA in Pisa has been an excellent experience for me, since the programme is intense but very rewarding at the same time. The students feel very well taken care during every stage of the MBA due to group size and the full commitment of the staff including visiting lecturers. The lecturers are both italian and international, which makes up for a good mix and supplies the students with different points of view. The internationality of the students gives a cross-cultural training from the first minute and in case one is open and willing, a lot can be learnt besides the actual content of the MBA lectures.I did a lot of research on MBAs before I applied and now that i have completed the programme, I can tell that the price-performance ratio is unreached. Also, onother advantage which cannot be neglected is the fact that one is able to study where others are spending their holidays.
To put it in a nutshell. I'am happy that I opted for the MBA in Pisa and can only recommend it to other prospective applicants"
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