Italy offers many scholarships, grants, and bursaries to both local and international students who attend their medical schools. Italy is widely known for its high standards of education and year after year universities and regional organisations make an active effort on a large scale to make higher education accessible to everyone.
Apart from medical tuition fees that are already very affordable (€156 Euro – €3000Euro annually) there’s a wide variety of services that are offered to students that go beyond just a reduction in fees, and can include housing, grants, access to canteens and even the possibility of having international study stays reimbursed.
What are the types of scholarships offered in Italy?
There are two distinct bodies with different options and requirements for consideration. Every University will have it’s own set of grants, bursaries, and student aid depending on a variety of factors and requirements.
Let’s take La Sapienza as an example:
- They have an excellence course, where if you are accepted you complete more academic and clinical responsibilities, get extra credits, have more opportunities, and get financial compensation as well as having all of your fees waived.
- It has a part-time job programme based on working in the Erasmus office, the libraries, or welcome desk etc. that will require you to work a certain number of hours, and will pay you a lump-sum of money at the end of the semester.
- If you place in the top 5 of your class you get a reduction on your fees. If you come from a lower income family, you get a reduction from your fees regardless or grades.
So as you can see there are many different types of grants and scholarships you can apply to and avail from, as well as fee reductions without having to apply to anything.
ADDITIONALLY every region that a university is located in will then have it’s own set of scholarships and grants. For example if you are a student in Tor Vergata or in La Sapienza you can apply to LazioDisco which has it’s own set of opportunities that can range from monthly payments, to paid accommodation, to subsidised food, to free transportation, and even discounts towards electronics.
The application to regional benefits are separate compared to when applying to the university, even though there is co-operation between the two bodies.
So, as an international student, how do I get a scholarship in Italy?
First of all a crucial thing to understand is that the tuition fee you pay is based on your income, which is also what makes you eligible for housing options, canteen access and yearly grants. Alongside scholarships that are specific for international students it’s important to note that there are no distinctions between Italian and non-Italian students for when it comes to need based services handed by regional institutions, you’re just gonna need a little bit more of documentation.
The economic condition of international students is defined through the indicator of the equivalent economic situation abroad (so-called ISEE). The ISEE is a document that proves you and your families financial situation. You can find more information about different documents students might need in Italy.
The ISEE is calculated as:
- The sum of the income received by each member of the family unit
- Plus a percentage of the assets held at the end of a year, comparing the value obtained to the parameter of the equivalence scale
- Applied to the family unit in relation to the number of components.
What documentation do I need then?
The documentation you gather must certify:
- The composition of the family of origin, containing name, surname and date of birth of each, as well as the possible absence of one or both parents, in order to identify the correct parameter of the equivalence scale
- Gross annual income received in the year prior to appliance by each member of the family unit
- Any property owned by each of them with the indication of the surface area, as well as the movable assets available to the same date
- Any rent collected or paid for the residence of the family unit.
- For international students from non-EU countries it is mandatory to attach a copy of the “permesso di soggiorno”, if it has not yet been issued or it has expired, it is accepted temporarily a copy of the passport or the expired permit alongside a copy of the documentation certifying the request / renewal of the residency permit.
- The declaration of value (DoV IS ALSO NECESSARY FOR PRE-ENROLLMENT, AND TO ENROL IN THE UNIVERSITY) of the highest level degree obtained outside of Italy.
The documentation must be legalised by the respective Italian diplomatic authorities for the territory and compulsorily translated into Italian.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to do everything by yourself, this process is facilitated and directed by the local CAF (Financial Assistance Center) that you’re gonna have to contact to make sure everything is in check.
You can check out this article to understand the documents in Italy.
How many students can benefit from this every year?
Based on the different parameters the system creates a ranking and the higher up you are the higher the possibility of getting a benefit such as housing for example. Housing is much more limited in numbers and therefore is granted to the students that need it the most.
However the great thing is that there’s no cut off! If you satisfy the prerequisites you are gonna get a reduction on your tuition fees corresponding to the income bracket you belong to. Additionally if you are eligible for the grants, but you don’t appear as a winner in the first few rankings there are always additional funds allocated to make sure that everyone gets a cut.
In most regions this also means having between one or two free meals a day at the respective regional canteens where one meal includes pasta, some meat, a side dish, bread and sometimes you might even get cake!
Here is an example of what to expect from the canteen meal called a MENSA. This can be free or up to €2.00 Euro for students.
This is just 2 of 10 different accommodation buildings used by the Lazio region for students who are granted housing help.
What are the specific amounts for the scholarships?
So the numbers may vary slightly from region to region but generally grants for international students amount to 5000 euros paid to them per year, if you also get housing you’re going to need to detract around 200 euros per month from the total.
When it comes to canteens (MENSA) if you end up not being eligible for the free meals you will still end up with a huge discount paying only €0.50 – €2 Euro for a full meal depending on your income bracket.
For the international mobility reimbursement on the other hand you’re gonna look to receive around 500 euros per month for the entire time of your studies abroad.
What regions offer Scholarships for International Students?
Lazio: La Sapienza & Tor Vergata
Campania: Napoli Federico II & Luigi Vanvitelli
Emilia-Romagna: Parma & Bologna
For other scholarships, visit your university web site.
Let us know who we’re missing, or how to improve this list by leaving a comment on this article!
13 thoughts on “Scholarships in Italy for International Medical Students”
If I clear imat test then they give me fully funded scholarship including tution fees, meal,hostel etc…..
Iam from Pakistan, my intermediate percentage is 87% out of 100%.
Depending on income and documents, you can get tuition, housing and meals covered usually yes 🙂
I APPRECIATE GOVERNMENT OF ITALY AND UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT BOTH GIVING SUCH FACILITIES TO POOR COUNTRIES STUDENTS WHO WANTS STRUGGLE AND DO SOME FOR THEIR FAMILY AND THEM FUTURE CARRIER.
Hi, when can i do the isee? Should I do it before going to Italy or I have to be there to do so? Thx
I believe there is a possibility to do it before you arrive, but the process would probably be easier once you arrive. You just need to go to a CAF and they’ll give you a list of documents. Otherwise you can ask your local Italian embassy if you can do it in advance.
I want to study in Italy
Am interested in medicine
Can I get fully funded scholorship
If you satisfy the conditions then yes you can definitely study medicine in Italy with a scholarship!
What is the process of applying to merit based scholarship in Italy as non-EU, for example university of biccoca or sienna, should I apply through the university first, then do the IMAT exam?
For scholarships that are more than a “fee reduction” you need to apply for the regional body. For example for Rome it’s “Lazio Dsco” for milan it’s edi-su if I remember correctly etc.
What should be the maximum family income can be for the scholarship?
This changes from region to region, it’s best to get in contact with the regional scholarhip body that your first choice university is associated to.
Thank you for this very informative and concise text, I loved it. But as someone aged 26, who already studied college. I wonder if these programs have limitations based on age or previous education.
Having a previous degree means you are not eligible to apply for scholarships from what I remember.