The academic year in Italy is made up of two semesters. The first semester starts in September/October and ends in January/February. The second semester starts in February and ends in July. The actual start and finish dates will vary slightly for each academic year but each semester lasts around 20 weeks and is made up of a teaching period around 14 weeks and an exam period around 6 weeks.

Exams are held after the teaching period and maybe written and/or oral exams. Each exam will have a number of dates offered during the exam period and students can choose which date they wish to take the exam. They are also entitled to turn down a mark and take the exam again if they are not satisfied with the result. Rules apply as to how often a student can take an exam within an examination period.