Bocconi University or Università Bocconi (formally known in Italian as – 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.Milano per Me – Itinerari – Conoscere Milano – Ravizza 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).
Programs include:
Giurisprudenza Bachelor in Global Law (BGL) Master of Arts in Global Law for Organizations, Business Enterprises and Institutions (GLOBE)
Specialized master's include LLM in European Business and Social Law; LLM in Global Tax and Law Governance; and LLM in Law of Technology and Automated Systems.
The School of Law also offers a number of double degree programs and exchange programs with 290 partner institutions worldwide.
PhD School The Bocconi PhD School offers doctoral programs in:
Economics and Finance (4 years) Business Administration and Management (4 years) Statistics and Computer Science (4 years) Social and Political Science (4 years) Mathematics and Applications (4 years) Legal Studies (3 years)
SDA Bocconi
Founded in 1971, SDA Bocconi is the university's graduate business school, with locations also in Rome and Mumbai, and offers MBA, Executive MBA, specialized master's, and executive education. It holds triple accreditation (AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA) and publishes Economia & Management, an Italian management review. The school also offers specialized Master programs in areas such as corporate finance, real estate management, food and beverage, fashion, design, and sports management.
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).
International rankings InstituteSubject2025202420232022202120202019201820172016QS World University RankingsSocial Sciences and Management12th16th16th10th10th16th16th11th17th22ndSocial Policy and Administration46th38thArts and Humanities451st-500th401st-450thLaw and Legal Studies=71st=57thPolitics71st51st-100thMarketing7th7th8thHospitality and Leisure Management51st-100th51st-100thStatistics and Operational Research101st-150th51st-100thDevelopment Studies101st-150thComputer Science and Information Systems301st-350th351st-400th401st-450th351st-400thMathematics451-500th401st-450thFinance Masters11th10th10th10th11th8thManagement Masters13th11th9th11th11thAccounting & Finance19th17th17th16th17th18th29th33rd27thBusiness & Management Studies10th9th7th6th7th7th8th10th11th10thEconomics & Econometrics17th16th16th16th18th16th16th16th16th17thGlobal MBA20th22nd23rd10th22ndGlobal EMBA16th19thFinancial TimesGlobal MBA4th3rd6th13th12th31st29th22nd25thEuropean Business Schools6th5thExecutive Education (customized)3rd5th9th4th7th4th6thExecutive Education (open)12th9th14th23rd28th33rd39thMaster in Finance (pre-experience)19th18th13th8th7th9thMaster in Management13th11th8th10th6th10th11thBloombergEuropean B-Schools ranking1st3rd1st5th3rd5th5thARWUEconomics32nd32nd27th31st40thFinance47th51–7534th36th50thManagement29th25th30th34th41stTimes Higher EducationBusiness and Economics27thUS NewsBest Global Universities for Economics and Business24th27thForbesThe Best International MBAs: One-Year Programs4th5thThe EconomistMBA6th13th24th28th38th
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 .
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