Being USI Università della Svizzera italiana the only University of Italian language and culture in the Swiss Academia, since 2006 it is particularly committed in the organization of free of charge optional Italian language courses, both intensive and semestral. The programme at all CEFR levels is designed for enrolled USI students and USI professionals who want to develop and improve their practical Italian skills. As class size is an important factor in language learning it is on the other hand not possible to admit family members, friends or students studying in other higher Institutions.
The Common European Framework divides learners into three broad divisions as follows:
| Basic level | Independent Speaker | Proficient Speaker |
| A1 Beginner | B1 Intermediate | C1 Advanced |
| A2 Elementary | B2 Upper Intermediate | C2 Proficiency |
COURSES REGISTRATION
You can register for a course only if your language skills match the level of the concerning course. To understand at what level you are please use the Self-assessment Grid of the European Language Portfolio. and the Placement test. An entrance test is nonetheless organized the first day at all levels except absolute beginner courses. The prerequisites for each course are listed in the description of the courses, select the orange title to see them.
Register only if seriously interested. Online enrollment is, in general, possible up to two weeks before the starting date of the course but keep in mind that a course may be full at an earlier time; we therefore advise to register as soon as possible. On the other hand, levels will only be activated if a minimum number of enrollments is reached.
To register, please select your Faculty.
USI LANGUAGE-LEARNING TANDEM PROGRAMME
The free of charge USI language-learning tandem programme is open to USI students and USI professionals interested in practising a foreign language with a native speaker. When learning in tandem, two speakers of different native languages work together to learn the language of their partner in a mutual exchange.
How to register? Access the eTandem platform (see orange title below) with your edu-ID credentials. Once you have registered, you will see all the USI available announcements. Choose the profile that corresponds to your language-learning goals and contact the person via email. If the published tandem partnerships don’t match your own requirements, you publish your own announcement by using the online form.
HOUSING
We cannot guarantee housing, and it’s your own responsibility to find a room. We advise to start searching for a house several months before arriving.