First Cycle Degree/Bachelor in Economics, Politics and Social Sciences

Preparing the study plan

Information on how to prepare and present a study plan.

WHAT IS A STUDY PLAN?

The study plan is the list of all the exams you are required to take in order to graduate. Some exams are compulsory, while others are elective.

You can submit your Study Plan provided that you are duly enrolled and have paid your university tuition fees. International students must also hold a valid residence permit.

EPOS allows you to shape your study programme so that it matches your interests and ambitions. In the first and second year all your modules are set for you and mandatory. From the third year on, it is requested that you make some choices, and pick some electives. To do that, if you are a 3rd year student, you have to fill in your individual study plan on StudentiOnline. Your study plan needs to be filled and submitted within certain periods in the year, and anyway before sitting the exams that you will include in it. Students can choose to anticipate to the 2nd year some of the 3rd year elective activities (see the course structure diagram).

WHEN?

Students can complete the Study Plan and ammend it on Studenti On-Line ("Study Plan" button) in the following two periods: 

1st period:  from 1st October to 7th November 2026


2nd period: from 12th January to 19th February 2027

Once the deadlines have expired, the latest Study Plan submitted will be considered valid, and no further changes will be allowed. No exceptions to these deadlines will be possible.

PLEASE NOTE!

  • If you do not submit your Study Plan by the deadlines, you will have to wait until Study Plans open again in the following academic year. You will also need to renew your enrolment and pay the relevant tuition fees. As a result, the first graduation session you will be eligible to attend will be the July session.

  • Students enrolled in the third year for the 2025/26 academic year, as well as students enrolled as fuori corso (students who have exceeded the standard duration of their degree programme), may amend their Study Plan ONLY if they complete their enrolment for the 2026/27 academic year and pay the relevant tuition fees. If you choose this option, please note that you will NOT be eligible to graduate in the March 2027 graduation session (the final graduation session of the 2024/25 academic year). You will therefore only be able to graduate from July 2027, which is the first graduation session of the 2026/27 academic year.


HOW?

You can submit your Study Plan through the Studenti Online service by logging in with your university credentials if you are an enrolled student who needs to:

  • complete the Study Plan by selecting elective courses;

  • modify choices made in previous academic years.

You may also select educational activities offered by the University, subject to approval by the Coordinator of your degree programme (see the guidelines in the attachments). You cannot select educational activities belonging to degree programmes with restricted enrolment and you cannot select educational activities belonging to Master’s degree programmes or single-cycle degree programmes.

After making your selections, remember to click “Save” so that your Study Plan can be correctly submitted. The completed Study Plan will be available for viewing immediately after it has been submitted online.

We also recommend that you always print or save a copy of your completed Study Plan. This copy is the only means of verification in the event of any formal or substantive discrepancies that may arise after the Study Plan has been uploaded.

You may submit a paper-based Study Plan only if you are unable to complete the Study Plan online. In this case, you must use the form provided in the attachments.

The form must be completed in full and sent from your institutional email address to didatticascaravilli.studenti@unibo.it in PDF format. The email subject line must include your first name, surname, student ID number, and degree programme.

STUDY PLAN APPROVAL

If you select elective courses from those specified by your degree programme, no further assessment is required. The Study Plan will be automatically approved and added to the student’s academic record.

If you select an educational activity offered by the University, you will need to wait for approval from the Coordinator of your degree programme, who may approve or reject your request.

Only courses taught or training activities conducted in English are permitted.

2nd year students

You are not required to present a study plan for your second year, with two exceptions. The first exception is if you want to anticipate to the 2nd year some of the 3rd year elective classes.  In that case, you must keep all your mandatory second year classes and may add some free choices classes. The second exception is if you want to do an intership starting from the summer  by putting it in the study plan of the second semester of your second year.

3rd YEAR STUDENTS

Optionals - ONE OUT OF THE FOLLOWING ways: (MAX LIMIT 16 CFU)

Everyone must present a study plan for the third year, which includes the mandatory classes plus other classes. Everyone has to choose 8 cfu between French language and Spanish language. Moreover, you can choose the other classes in two  a study plan for your second yearalternative ways.

The first way is to select :

1a) 8 cfu from the ECONOMICS CLUSTER;

2a) plus 8 cfu from the ECON-POLSCI CLUSTER (this cluster includes the previous Economics cluster plus other classes);

3a) plus 16 cfu electives from a wider list.

The second way is to select :
1b) One of the following tracks (16 cfu)

DATA ANALYSIS,
GLOBAL POLITICAL ECONOMY,
PUBLIC ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT;

2b) plus 16 cfu of electives from a wider list.

Electives

In addition to mandatory and optional modules, in your third year you will spend 16 credits in electives (these are the credits that you can anticipate on your second year too): choose among (or combine) modules, language exams, transferable skills or an internship.

  1. A) Electives suggested by the programme: modules activated within EPOS.
  2. B) Some courses from degree programmes other than EPOS: a few non-EPOS modules taught in English are available for you to choose: you will find the list on your study plan online form form. NB: You cannot choose any course from other degree programmes but just those listed.
  3. C) Other EPOS courses not previously selected: In 3rdyear EPOS plan includes optional courses (namely "choose one/two modules in this list"). You may choose as electives EPOS optionals that you had not previously selected. To insert these courses, please click on the arrow next to Insegnamento a scelta su CORSO 5819 – ECONOMICS, POLITICS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES.
  4. D)Other elective courses of the University of Bologna:if you wish, you may ask to include, as electives, courses from other degree programmes, as long as they have some consistency with the general goals of EPOS. In such case, please click on the arrow next to Insegnamento a scelta su ATENEO 010 - UNIVERSITA' DI BOLOGNA, insert the chosen course(s) and wait for the Director's approval. Important:
  • only courses from open-access degree programmes (a numero aperto) can be selected.
  • you will need these non-EPOS choices to be approved before actually taking them. We recommend you insert sensible options, consistent with EPOS, from L taught in English. The request will be evaluated by the Programme Director and Board, then, if approved, added to your SOL records online.

Internship:

If you wish, you can include an internship in your study plan and gain credits from it that will be part of your 16 electives. 

              10 CFU = 250-hour intenship 

You can either select on your study plan (and carry out) your internship in your third year, or anticipate your internship in your 2nd year, at the end of classes, between june and september. It is essential that you have included your internship in your study plan before carrying it out. For more info and advice on internships, check the relevant pages of our website.

Very important!

For all students:

  • it is not possible to fill in the Study Plan outside the two above mentioned periods;
  • you need to include your chosen modules in your study plan before sitting the related exam and select an internship before carrying it out, not after.

For 3rd year and graduating students:

  • Within the 16 CFU elective box you will note that you are allowed to select more options than you need to. This is to give you more flexibility and grant you a wider choice, also in terms of what exams dates are available before your expected graduation session. You are not bound to take all the modules that you select, BUT, the optional/elective exams that you will actually take in the end, will have to be selected in your study plan. The same applies to internhips.
  • Another arrow-shaped button in available in the study plan "Insegnamento a scelta su ATENEO" - however, we ask you to stick with the choices indicate below and not click this one: modules chosen in here will need special approval.

 

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Outgoing Erasmus/Overseas (or other exchanges)

The Learning Agreement replaces the study plan in your period abroad and you can state your optional and elective choices on the L.A. For the optional and elective choices that you do not include in your L.A., you need to include them in the study plan within the set deadlines.

However, if you are leaving for an exchange period, it may be wise to fill in the study plan anyway as if you were in Bologna. Why? If, for example, you do not manage to sit abroad all the exams that you had planned in your L.A., having optionals / electives selected in your s.p. is a safer fall-back option if you what to take them in Bologna on your return. If they are not selected, you cannot take them when you come back.

Essentially, everything that is not a mandatory module needs to be duly selected, be it in the final version of the Learning Agreement or in the Study Plan, or both to be on the safe side.

Please note! For students participating in international mobility programmes: for any other activities for which the student plans to take the exam in Bologna, the Study Plan must be submitted online within the standard deadlines, regardless of whether the Learning Agreement has been completed.