University of Naples Federico II

University of Naples Federico II is the oldest sinology and orientalism school on the European continent and the foremost university in Italy specializing in the study of non-European languages and cultures in addition to cooperating with universities worldwide. It’s one of the most prestigious universities in the world when it comes to Asian cultures and languages.

The university was founded by missionary Matteo Ripa from the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples of the Kingdom of Naples who worked as an artist and copper engraver on Emperor Kangxi's court from 1711 to 1723.  He brought back to Naples four young Chinese Christians to teach the Chinese language. They laid the foundation of what would come to be called the Chinese Institute of Naples. Pope Clement XII in 1732 supported the founding of the institute with the goal of involve Chinese missionaries in education and thus promote the spread of Christianity in China.

After the unification of Italy in 1861, the institute was transformed into the Royal Asian College as other languages, such as Russian, Hindustani, and Persian, were added to is education program. Then, the institution became a secular school for studying Eastern languages as a whole, soon to be followed by African languages and later all modern European languages as well. Today, over 50 languages are taught at the university.

The university consists of three main departments:

• The Asia, Africa, and Mediterranean Department;
• The Humanitarian and Social Sciences Department;
• The Literary, Linguistic, and Comparative Research Department.

The following educational courses are provided within the framework of each department:

Bachelor's Degree: 3 years of study

• Antique civilizations and archeology: the Orient and the Occident;
• African and Eastern languages and cultures;
• Political science and international relations;
• Comparative research on languages and cultures;
• Languages, literature, and cultures of Europe and America;
• Interlanguage and intercultural communication.

Master's Degree: 2 years of study

• Archeology: the Orient and the Occident.
• Languages and cultures of Asia and Africa.
• Eastern languages and cultures.
• The science of language, history, and culture of Mediterranean and Islamic countries.
• Languages and intercultural communication in the Euro-Mediterranean space.
• Relations and societies of Asia and Africa.
• International relations.
• Italian language and culture for foreigners.
• Comparative research on culture and literature.
• European and American languages and literature.
• Special texts translation.

Not only do students come to University of Naples Federico II from all over Italy but a great number of students come and study from abroad as well. Furthermore, the university features an Italian language center where an Italian language knowledge certificate can be obtained from level A1 to С1.2.

The university cooperates with universities all over the world. For instance, students studying Russian can undergo instruction in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Tomsk, Ufa, Kazan, and Irkutsk. Students come to this university on exchange programs from all over the world to study.

It's important to note that testing is required to enter any of the University of Naples Federico II's colleges. Foreign students are also required to undergo testing for their proficiency in Italian and exhibit a minimum level of B1/B2 depending on the course of study selected. A Dichiarazione di valore in loco (Declaration of a foreign education document’s matching up to Italian standards) will need to be processed for foreign education documents, which just so happens to be what our company is specialized in.