Bocconi University

Bocconi University was established in 1902 as Italy's first university to offer a degree in economics.

Its founder, Ferdinando Bocconi, created the university in memory of his son Luigi, who died in the 1896 Battle of Adwa during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. The university was initially conceived to complement the Polytechnic University of Milan's engineering school with the aim of integrating technical expertise and economic knowledge, thereby training professionals equipped to meet emerging industrial and commercial needs, and adopted a teaching model based on methods used at the École Supérieure of Antwerp.

The university's first building opened in Largo Notari (today Via Statuto). In 1941, Bocconi moved to its current main campus in Via Sarfatti 25. Over the decades, the campus has expanded with new facilities, including student residences, research centers, and the business school SDA Bocconi School of Management (established in 1971).

Key milestones include the introduction of new degree programs in law, political science, data science and artificial intelligence, the launch of Italy's first MBA (1974), the creation of the CEMS alliance (1988), and the completion of the new urban campus designed by SANAA in 2019.

In 2006, Bocconi's research funding came primarily from the university itself (€1.5 million), the European Union (€1.4 million), the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (€300,000), and external sources (€11 million). In 2011, the European Research Council awarded €5 million to five social sciences and humanities projects led by Bocconi professors. Bocconi has been a major recipient of European Research Council (ERC) funding since the program's inception, securing 71 grants across all ERC schemes, particularly in the social sciences and quantitative disciplines, with approximately 35 grants active in 2025.

Departments

Bocconi has departments in Accounting, Economics, Finance, Management and Technology, Marketing, Decision Sciences, Legal Studies, Social and Political Sciences, and Computing Sciences.

Permanent research centers include the Paolo Baffi Centre (economics, finance and regulation), BIDSA (data science and analytics), CERGAS (health and social care management), Dondena Centre (social dynamics and public policy), GREEN (energy and environment), ICRIOS (innovation and strategy), IGIER (economic research, jointly with NBER and CEPR).