Ordinary Students

Ordinary Students are those who, in aspiring to the academic titles of a Degree in Religious Sciences (Baccalaureate) and a Higher Degree in Religious Sciences (License), attend all of the courses and complete the exercises specified by the Institute:

a) to be admitted as an ordinary student into the study cycle which leads to a Degree in Religious Sciences, it is necessary to have obtained the academic degree required for admission into the University of one's home nation (or the nation where they have completed their studies); at the Director's discretion, students may be asked to first  attend supplementary courses and pass their related exams. 

b) to be admitted as an ordinary student into the study cycle which leads to a Higher Degree in Religious Sciences, it is necessary to possess a Degree in Religious Sciences.
 

a) Enrollment

To enroll in the first year of Advanced Religious Studies, an application must be submitted using the appropriate form available from the Registrar or on the Institute's website. The following documents must also be included:

• An original high school diploma (for five year programs) or degree. An authorized photocopy or official substitute may also be used.
• A passport picture, signed on the back.
• A receipt verifying payment of academic fees
• Proof of good moral conduct provided by a priest, or for religious and candidates for Holy Orders, the written authorization of their legitimate Superior or Ordinary.

Anyone who intends to apply for validation of previous studies must follow the procedures specified for students coming from other Institutes.

b) Obstacles to Registration

Three Year Program:

• Anyone who has neither finished their 1° semester, 1° year exams by the January 2 session, nor finished attending 2° semester, 1° year courses, can not register for the first semester of the second year.
• Anyone who has neither finished their 2° semester, 1° year exams nor finished attending their 2° year courses, can not register for the 3° year.

Two Year Program:
To be able to register as an extraordinary student in the 2-year specialization, it is necessary to have passed all of the examinations for the first two years of the 3-year program, along with at least 5 exams of the third year (students using the old system cannot have postponed more than three exams, and must have already received approval for their thesis topic).

Foreign Languages:
To be admitted into the Degree in Religious Sciences, it is necessary to prove knowledge of a second foreign language at the end of the third year. One of the following certificates may be presented as verification:

• certificate for a language exam taken at a university;
• certificate issued by an officially recognized language school verifying that the student's knowledge of the language at least reaches the "intermediate" level;
• certificate verifying attendance in a foreign language class during the five years spent in High School.

c) Repeating Students

Repeating students are those who register for the second time in a given year of the program. They are required to attend meetings and either some, or all of the subjects. They are also offered reduced tuition.

d) Students Fuori Corso

Students fuori corso are those registered without the requirement to attend classes, in order that they may fulfill the duties of other courses (written exercises, exams, discussion of the thesis).
Such students are obliged to renew their registration every year by forwarding the appropriate application to the Registrar and attaching the receipt verifying payment of tuition, which is offered at a reduced rate.

e) Students from outside institutions

Students applying from within programs in another university may request validation of the exams they have already passed.
To this end, the student must submit, before October 31, an application to the Director along with the following documents:

• An original high school diploma (for five year programs) or degree. An authorized photocopy or officially substituted certificate may also be used.
• A certificate showing the grades received on examinations taken before the transfer.
• A complete curriculum history showing the courses and hours of attendance in every subject.
• The receipt verifying payment of pre-registration fees.

Extraordinary Students

Students who attend all (or a good amount) of their classes and take their exams, but do not have the degree of study necessary for registration as ordinary students, are called "extraordinary." They are not able to receive an academic degree.

a) in order to be registered as an extraordinary student, the student must demonstrate his ability to attend the courses for which he is applying.

b) The curriculum of such students may be evaluated to allow them to become ordinary students only if, during the course of time, they have gained the conditions necessary this status.

c) Registration procedures are the same as those indicated for ordinary students.

Unregistered and Guest Students

Unregistered students are those who, not aiming to earn an academic title from the ISSRA, still wish to attend select courses. They are eligible to receive an Attendance Certificate.

Guest students are those who, not wishing to earn an academic title from the ISSRA, still attend certain courses and take their related exams, in order that the courses may be recognized by another Institute.
The registration process is the same as that indicated for ordinary students.

Interruption of Studies

Students that have interrupted their studies for one year or more, lose their status as students. Should they intend to resume studies, they must submit the academic supplements indicated to them by the Managing Committee. They must also pay a fee for each year of interruption corresponding to 50% of the sum required for the registration of ordinary students.

Academic Review

Students who have not taken all of their exams within six years of their enrollment in the 3-year program are subject to an Academic Review.

Students who have not taken all of their exams within four years of their enrollment in the 2-year program, are subject to an Academic Review.
If such students intend to continue their studies, the Institute may ask them to repeat certain exams or provide supplementary work.

Students who only have to discuss their thesis must do so within three years of the last exam they take; once that period has passed, the Institute reserves the right to perform both an academic and administrative review. Thesis topics must undergo academic verification once three years have passed since their approval.