courses and PhD programs in the fields of engineering, architecture and design. The university offers 32 first level (Bachelor) degree programs. The academic year is divided into two terms, or semesters, the first from mid-September to late January and the second from March to late June. There are 3 exam sessions: those at the end of each semester (in February and July) and one more in September. Students need to achieve 60 "university credits" (CFU or Crediti Formativi Universitari) per year during their Bachelor's and master's degrees. Therefore, the 3-years Bachelor requires 180 credits while the 2-years Master 120. The university, like most universities in Italy, is organized to comply with the framework of the Bologna Process. The university maintains several relations with foreign universities and offers a wide range of international projects for student exchange, The university encourages the enrollment of foreign students by providing several courses in English, German and Spanish. It participates in the ENTREE network for student exchange among Electrical Engineering colleges in Europe and it is a member of Top Industrial Managers for Europe (TIME) network. The Alta Scuola Politecnica is a joint institution of the Polytechnic University of Milan and Polytechnic University of Turin addressed to young talents who want to develop their interdisciplinary capabilities for leading and promoting innovation, and runs in parallel to the two-year programs of laurea magistrale (graduate courses). International opportunities PoliMi offers several opportunities for students that want to integrate their studies with an experience outside Italy. Some of them are: ATHENS Programme ERASMUS Programme Erasmus Mundus Programme Master of European Design Partnership of a European Group of Aeronautics and Space Universities UNITECH International Double degree with Tongji University, Shanghai, China Global Engineering Education Exchange PhD students may also take advantage of "Progetto Rocca MIT-PoliMi Program", an international program that allows them to spend a visit period working at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Rankings According to the QS World University Rankings the university is ranked as 137th overall in the world, the first Italian university in this ranking. By field of study, it is ranked 5th for Design, 11th for Architecture, and 16th for Engineering and Technology. More specifically, it was also ranked as the 7th best university in the world regarding civil and structural engineering topics. As for Italian national rankings, the university was ranked the best university for Engineering and among the top big universities in Italy