Study in Italy
Your route.
Your next step.
Build your Italian application around a specific programme, applicant category and intake. Separate admission, qualification assessment, scholarship applications and the study-visa process.
Reviewed 2026-09-21 · Guidance, not an admission decisionWhich route are you exploring?
Choose the closest starting point. Check the exceptions before acting.
01Degree applicant who needs a study visaA prospective degree student living outside Italy who needs permission to enter for study.
- Choose a programme and read its current international call and teaching-language evidence.
- Ask the institution to assess your foreign qualification and identify the documents it requires.
- Follow its instructions for Universitaly pre-enrolment, then the competent consulate’s visa process.
- Track the programme’s deadlines separately from the national visa outer limit; complete arrival and enrolment steps.
- University validation does not guarantee a visa or a consular appointment.
- A non-EU citizen’s lawful residence status can change the applicable admission route.
02EU or qualifying resident applicantEU applicants and applicants whose existing Italian residence status puts them in the institution’s equivalent admission group.
- Read the call’s citizenship/residence definitions and confirm the correct group.
- Check degree-entry qualifications, programme language and any required test.
- Apply within the deadline for your group; follow qualification and enrolment checks.
- Do not assume every Italian residence permit has the same admission treatment.
- A foreign school or degree qualification can still require academic assessment.
03Looking for an English-taught courseApplicants who need an entire degree or a clearly identified pathway delivered in English.
- Confirm whether English covers the full programme, only one pathway or selected modules.
- Open the current language-proof policy and accepted certificates or exemptions.
- Check whether required placements, clinical training or other components have additional language needs.
- An English title or website is not proof of teaching language.
- Padua’s September 2026 exemptions are narrower than an unrestricted medium-of-instruction letter; check the listed qualifications and locations.
04Programme with an admission testAn applicant whose chosen course call requires a test or selection examination.
- Identify the exact test and permitted format in the course call.
- Check the test operator’s valid period, registration window and scoring rules.
- Submit the result through the university’s process before its deadline.
- CEnT-S is not a universal test for all Italian degrees.
- Do not infer current English-medicine admission rules from an Italian-language medicine reform or a previous-year IMAT guide.
05Seeking funding and accommodation supportA student comparing university awards, MAECI scholarships and the relevant regional aid agency.
- Find the correct regional agency and separately check national or university awards.
- Check nationality, course, financial and academic conditions in each current call.
- Prepare the requested family-income and asset documentation; distinguish scholarship, housing and enrolment deadlines.
- A low-income household does not automatically guarantee a scholarship or a room.
- Tuscany’s ordinary 2026/27 application deadline has passed; its rules are not national DSU rules.
Documents, funding and medicine: the detailed answers
Medicine in English in Italy: your IMAT application route
IMAT 2026 has taken place. Find the official paper and answer key, follow the correct ranking route, and prepare for 2027 without confusing university applications with test registration.
Read the answer →DoV, CIMEA or ARDI: which document do you actually need?
Choose the document route your receiving university accepts before paying for verification.
Read the answer →CIMEA DiploMe: fees, processing time and how to apply
Compare the €300 and qualification-specific €150 CIMEA routes, understand the 60-working-day clock, and apply through the qualification holder’s own DiploMe account.
Read the answer →Italy scholarships: regional support, merit awards and government programmes
Compare routes without mixing their eligibility rules, application calendars or benefits.
Read the answer →Plan the details with confidence.
Your first weeks in Italy: enrolment, permit and everyday paperwork
Put your arrival tasks in order, with the ordinary non-EU study-permit route and a concrete Bologna example for enrolment, tax code, healthcare and housing evidence.
Read the guideMoney & scholarshipsRegional scholarships in Italy: prepare the evidence and bridge the payment gap
Build a household-document file and an arrival budget using scoped 2026/27 examples from EDISU Piemonte, DSU Toscana and ER.GO.
Read the guideQuestions worth asking
Is there one deadline for studying in Italy?
No. Course admission, pre-enrolment, visa, scholarship and enrolment dates differ. The published 2026/27 national degree-visa outer limit is 30 November 2026, but universities can require an earlier date. Always use your course and applicant group.
Are any 2027/28 applications already announced?
Yes. Padua’s admissions page states that the first call for most 2027/28 programmes runs from 15 September to 15 November 2026. This does not mean every Padua programme or every Italian university follows that window.
Does an English-taught degree mean I do not need an English certificate?
No. Teaching language and proof of proficiency are separate. The current Padua policy has recognised certificates and specific exemptions; other universities have their own rules.
Must everyone buy a CIMEA statement?
No universal requirement is established here. Ask the receiving university which evidence it accepts before purchasing a statement. Academic assessment belongs to the receiving institution.
Is CEnT-S the new test for every course?
No. Use the programme’s call to identify the required test, accepted format and valid score period. The current CEnT rules cover a defined 2025–2026 period and must be replaced when the operator publishes the next rules.
Will a regional scholarship pay all my costs?
Only the applicable award call can establish eligibility and benefits. Housing availability, award conditions and payment timing matter. Budget for costs before payments arrive; do not treat an application as an award.
Keep the official source close.
Admission-route orientation with official sources; not a complete programme, deadline or fee catalogue. How review dates work.
International student entry, residence and enrolment procedures
Admission, pre-enrolment and visa procedure
Scope: Published procedure explicitly covers academic years 2026/27 and 2027/28.
Checked 2026-09-21 · monthly review · Next review 2026-10-21
Open MUR / Universitaly ↗First steps in Italy
Finding courses, qualification assessment, pre-enrolment and arrival
Scope: General orientation, subordinate to current procedures and institution calls.
Checked 2026-09-21 · yearly review · Next review 2027-09-21
Open MUR / Universitaly ↗Padua international admissions: how to apply
A concrete current international admission call
Scope: Page describes a first 2027/28 call for most programmes, 15 September–15 November 2026.
Checked 2026-09-21 · weekly review · Next review 2026-09-28 · Review due: confirm with the authority
Open University of Padua ↗Padua language requirements for degree programmes
English proof and accepted certificates for the current selection
Scope: Current page refers to the selection opening 15 September 2026 and enrolment deadline 31 July 2027.
Checked 2026-09-21 · monthly review · Next review 2026-10-21
Open University of Padua ↗Padua: exemptions from English language certification
Exact permitted language-proof exemptions
Scope: September 2026 attachment linked by the current Padua language page.
Checked 2026-09-21 · yearly review · Next review 2027-09-21
Open University of Padua ↗CEnT rules
CEnT-S rules, periods, formats and score use
Scope: Current rules describe the period 1 November 2025–31 October 2026.
Checked 2026-09-21 · weekly review · Next review 2026-09-28 · Review due: confirm with the authority
Open CISIA ↗DSU Toscana scholarship call
Regional scholarship and accommodation application
Scope: 2026/27 call; the ordinary application deadline displayed was 7 September 2026 at 13:00.
Checked 2026-09-21 · weekly review · Next review 2026-09-28 · Review due: confirm with the authority
Open DSU Toscana ↗DSU Toscana: foreign students
Income and asset evidence from abroad
Scope: Guidance read alongside the 2026/27 Tuscany call.
Checked 2026-09-21 · monthly review · Next review 2026-10-21
Open DSU Toscana ↗Italian government scholarships for foreign students and Italians abroad
MAECI scholarship calls and eligible countries
Scope: The current source links the 2026/27 call and eligible-country list.
Checked 2026-09-21 · weekly review · Next review 2026-09-28 · Review due: confirm with the authority
Open Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation ↗Student procedures and services — Embassy of Italy, New Delhi
Local study visa and declaration-of-value contact and submission route
Scope: New Delhi jurisdiction; applicants elsewhere must use their competent mission.
Checked 2026-09-21 · monthly review · Next review 2026-10-21
Open Embassy of Italy, New Delhi ↗Official calls, later amendments and individual assessment take precedence. Historical exam-year documents are labelled by their year; a recent review date does not make them next year’s rules.