Academic Requirements

The formal requirement for admission to the USI Master in International Tourism is the completion of a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Business Administration, Management, Communication Sciences, Marketing, International Relations, Political Science, Public Administration, Transportation Science, Geography, Environmental Science, History, Law, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Languages and Literature, Tourism, and other related fields, granted by a recognised university.

To guarantee the optimal ratio between learners and the USI Master in International Tourism faculty, the places offered are limited. Therefore, selection can be effected on the basis of academic results. Admissions will be treated on a case by case basis.

Specifically, admission to USI master's programmes requires a Bachelor's degree from a university or another Swiss academic institution, or a foreign Bachelor's degree from an equivalent institution that is recognized or accredited in the country of origin.

The following requirements particularly apply:

• The certificate must be issued by a recognized higher education institution in the country where the candidate completed their studies.
• The university degree must confirm at least three years of study (at least 180 ECTS credits).
• 80% of the credits must have been obtained at a recognized higher education institution.
• At least 50% of the credits must have been earned at the university that issued the degree.

The Bachelor's degree must be completed prior to starting the Master's programme. The term may be postponed in case some assessments are recorded, or the Bachelor thesis is defended later on, on a case-to-case basis.

For Bachelor degrees obtained in Switzerland, USI accepts Bachelor degrees from recognised Swiss Higher Education Institutions (Universities, and Universities of Applied Sciences) listed by Swissuniversities. The full, up-to-date list is available here: Swissuniversities.

USI Master in International Tourism candidates usually receive the outcome of their application within 10 working days from the day they submitted their application.

A one-to-one interview may be part of the application process.

Candidates with a Bachelor's degree from a University of Applied sciences may be admitted with an additional requirement of 30-60 ECTS to be earned:

• By attending in person, during the Master’s studies, a selection of our Bachelor’s courses (in Italian) and taking the exams during the regular sessions. The credits have to be earned before the end of the third semester. The courses are to be defined by the Master’s academic director.
• By self-studying a selection of our Bachelor’s courses. In this case, the instructors of the assigned courses provide specific readings. Exams are organized when the student is ready. The courses are defined by the Master’s academic director. The reading and evaluation are in English. This option is very flexible: it allows for optimal programming of the workload during the studies and it also allows the process to be started before the beginning of the Master’s programme. The credits have to be earned before the end of the third semester.
• By attending Bachelor's courses at another recognised University prior to starting the Master’s studies. The university and the list of courses to attend have to be agreed with the Director of the Master’s.

By Regulations the additional ECTS must be obtained by the end of the Master's and before the thesis defence.