1. Plenty of top universities with an impressive international environment
Italy is a mainstream global examination area because of its high multicultural mood, yet the nation additionally has a few top public and private colleges.
The University of Bologna is a lofty foundation that denotes the inception of the current Western advanced education framework as the most established college in Europe. Likewise, Bologna is on the rundown of top European urban communities that invite the biggest number of Erasmus understudies.
There are numerous other quality state-funded colleges accessible in Italy, for example,
- Politecnico Di Milano
- European School of Economics
- Sapienza University of Rome
- University of Macerata
- Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
2. Italy is an affordable destination for international students
Italy is perhaps the most reasonable nation in Europe where you can concentrate abroad and that goes for educational expenses and living expenses also.
- Average tuition for all degree types: 850 to 1,000 EUR/year
- Average living expenses: 700 to 1,000 EUR/month for housing, food, transportation, and fun
- Most expensive cities: Rome, Milan, and Bologna
- Cheaper cities: Pisa, Padua, or Turin
3. Simple approaches to venture to every part of the country
Italy permits you to ‘hop’ a transport or train for only a couple Euros to escape from the cold and hazy Milano, or from the tumultuous Bologna, to probably the most delightful sea horses on the planet.
Pretty much every huge city is additionally completely associated with European and non-European nations with 87 air terminals. You can without much of a stretch travel via train, every one of the greater Italian urban communities is interconnected with 77 (principle ) rail route stations. That makes life simpler for some understudies that don’t care about going via vehicle or via plane.
4. No pineapple on your pizza!
Italians are celebrated for their pizza; sure, you can eat pizza any place in this world yet you can just track down “the genuine pizza” in Italy. I don’t know anybody found the mysterious fixing but rather truly you’ll need to taste it to persuade yourself that it is one of a kind. Pizza in Italy is additionally more refined so don’t anticipate seeing huge loads of fixings over it and don’t think you’ll discover pineapple on it, all things considered!
With respect to pasta, you can appreciate them on the whole sizes and structures, cavatelli, ravioli, orecchiette, tagliatelle, and most eateries will serve custom-made pasta.
Italians invest wholeheartedly in their espresso and concerning lager, leave it to the transporters. Begin appreciating great Italian wines all things being equal. A decent jug can begin for just three Eu
5. Late nights are a given in Italy
Contrasted with different nations in the southern piece of Europe, life in Italy starts and closures late in the evening. At 8 p.m. the roads are brimming with life, and in some cases, this is when life simply starts. In numerous other European urban communities, at 6 p.m., the city appears as though it turned off out of nowhere. There are no individuals around any longer and the surrounding was truly driving us to sadness. This is certainly not going to occur in Italy!
In an Italian university city, taking a stroll at 9 or 10 p.m., particularly in spring-summer-fall, causes you to feel ‘following in some admirable people’s footsteps’, consistently encompassed by individuals. In the southern part, most shops have the end time at 8:30 p.m. furthermore, that makes life simpler for understudies who consistently neglect to get food prior to shutting time
6. So numerous English-instructed degrees you will not realize what to pick
In Italy, you can track down an appropriate report program in any field you can envision, from Arts to Computer Science, a considerable lot of which are English-educated. See which are the most well-known examination programs educated in English. Here are a couple of choices you can consider, contingent upon your picked university:
- International Relations in Italy
- MBAs in Italy
- Electrical Engineering in Italy
- Computer Science in Italy
- Architecture in Italy
- Fashion Design in Italy
You would have to pass around 20 exams to successfully complete a degree (around eight exams in each academic year) and most of them are oral exams. In some specialized fields, such as medicine or engineering, you will be required to pass 40 or 50 exams.
Oral examinations make life easier for a lot of students, but if you’re shy you might feel a bit uncomfortable with this kind of examination. But adjusting to this type of exam is a good exercise for developing your communication abilities
7. The crazy graduation custom
In Italy, graduate understudies need to go through an absurdly interesting custom. After the authority function, understudies spruce up in silly outfits (typically a monster diaper, a hula skirt, or a clever cap), sit on a seat, and trust that their companions and family will mess them with one or the other ketchup, eggs or other food substances. Understudies additionally stay nearby banners addressing cartoons with a humiliating tale of their associates.
8. Surrounded by arts, architecture, and fashion
Especially understudies who picked Italy to examine a degree in fields like craftsmanship, engineering or design won’t ever lament their choice. Regardless of whether you came to Italy to consider whatever else, you will definitely value these significant highlights of the Italian culture.
Italy is the origination of Renaissance workmanship, wherever you go in Italy, you’ll see only design ponders that stood the trial of time, and with respect to mold, what else is there to say? Italians are rich and sharp dressers and they owe it to a few renowned design brands and houses.
Education System in Italy
Italian universities are among the oldest universities in the world. Unlike in North America or Northern Europe where discussion-based teaching is highly emphasized, the structure of the higher education system in Italy is more formal, and most teaching in Italy takes place in large lecture halls. Students are also expected to complete a considerable amount of self-study hours outside the classroom in order to prepare for examinations.
Higher education examinations are held after the teaching period and are mainly oral exams, meaning you’ll be tested through a one-on-one conversation with your professor. Furthermore, examinations take place over a significantly longer period of 4 to 6 weeks, and students can choose when to schedule their exams within the period. Each examination is offered on several dates, and students can choose when to take their exams. Students are also entitled to turn down a mark and re-take the examination if they are not satisfied with their initial result, which is graded on a 30-point scale.
The academic year is made up of two semesters. The first semester starts in September/October and ends in January/February. The second semester starts in February and ends in July. The actual start and finish dates of semesters, degree programs, and examination periods in Italy vary in every university, but each academic semester lasts for roughly 20 weeks, made up of a 14-week teaching period and a 6-week examination period.
Degree and Institution Types
In light of the Bologna Process, the schooling framework in Italy was changed in 1999 to make a durable arrangement of instruction all through Europe. From that point forward, Italy has carried
- First Cycle: Bachelor’s degrees (3 years) and single-cycle degrees
- Second Cycle: Master’s degrees(2 years) and 1st level vocational masters
- Third Cycle: Doctorate(5-6 years) specialization school and 2nd Level vocational masters.
Regarding sorts of foundations, there are two wide institutional classes that make up the advanced education area in Italy: the college organizations and non-college establishments which remember Higher Education for the Arts and Music (Alta formazione Artistica e Musicale or AFAM).
UNIVERSITIES
The university sector is made up of 89 university institutions (as well as polytechnic institutions) classified within the following categories:
- 58 state universities – public entities endowed with scientific, teaching, managerial, financial, and book-keeping autonomy
- 17 non-state universities – legally recognized by the state
- 2 universities for foreigners – specialized in teaching/ research for the development of Italian language, literature, culture
- 6 higher education schools – specialized in postgraduate university studies
- 6 distance-learning universities
- 4 polytechnical schools (Politecnico)
You can use this interactive map to locate universities in different cities throughout Italy.
Tuition Fees for International Students in Italy
Tuition Fees in Italy
Educational expenses in Italy are fundamentally lower than in different nations in Europe. Advanced education foundations in Italy build up their own educational expenses, however, on account of college instruction, there is a lawful least expense for enlistment and the greatest expense for understudy commitments, which can’t surpass 20% of state subsidizing.
Admission to “master university” and other particular degree courses in Italy may have a lot higher educational expenses, particularly at private foundations. Doctoral understudies who get college awards don’t pay educational expenses, yet non-award holders are needed to pay the material educational expenses for their college.
EU understudies might be dependent upon an alternate expense structure than non-EU understudies, so contact your Italian organization to affirm what educational expenses you’ll be liable for paying. Educational expenses in Italy can change broadly, contingent upon where you’re from, your degree of study, the area you’re concentrating in, and the kind of foundation – public or private. Investigate the wide scope of projects in Italy to track down the ideal counterpart for you!
Public Universities
Average tuition fees for public higher education in Italy can range anywhere between 900 to 4,000 € per year, depending on if you’re from the EU or not, the specific institution, as well as your program and level of study.
Private Universities
Private universities in Italy are significantly more expensive than their public counterparts, with fees ranging anywhere from 6,000 to 20,000 € annually. Most private universities charge similar tuition fees for EU and non-EU students alike.
Funding and Scholarships
Tuition fees are an unavoidable reality of studying abroad, but you’re drowning in numbers don’t forget about external funding that can help your study abroad dreams come true! There are many funding and scholarship opportunities that students undertaking education in Italy can apply for, no matter their country of origin. Some scholarships cover tuition fees as well as living costs. Scholarships and funding are often limited and are given to the students based on merit, after an assessment of their grades from previous studies.
- Italian government Scholarships for foreign and IRE students: These are offered to foreign citizens studying in Italy, as well as Italian citizens studying abroad, and are available for students entering a variety of programs, including:
- Master’s degrees,
- AFAM courses,
- Ph.D. programs,
- Research endeavors.
Check the website regularly for updated information and deadlines!
- EDISU Piemonte Scholarships: These are available to students including non-EU international students, specifically enrolled in a full-time program at the University of Piedmont.
- Bologna University Study Grants for International Students: The University of Bologna awards 48 study grants to international students attending the University of Bologna.
- Bocconi Scholarships in Italy for International Students: This scholarship takes students’ economic situations and academic performance into account when deciding on recipients. It includes a full tuition waiver, worth up to €12,700 per year.
- Politecnico di Torino International Scholarships: This scholarship is offered to international students attending Engineering or Architecture programs at the Polytechnic of Turin.
Language in Italy
Due to its solid history of local nationalism, while Italian is the authority language in Italy there stays a solid presence of territorial vernaculars sprinkled all through the country, particularly in the Southern pieces of the country. Besides, minority dialects like German, French, Slovene, and Ladino are likewise spoken in Italy’s northern boundary locales.
A piece of your investigation abroad involvement with Italy could be to contemplate the Italian language, which is an incredible method to comprehend the nearby traditions, meet new individuals and investigate the way of life in Italy in the most legitimate and vivid manner conceivable. There are critical and significant advantages to learning another dialect, and as per a few examinations, it can even decrease your odds of building up Alzheimer’s sickness!
Contacts at your college’s International Office and numerous more youthful understudies in Italy are conversant in English however know that English isn’t really generally spoken in Italy, particularly among more seasoned individuals. Learning the neighborhood language is the most ideal approach to acquire new experiences into the Italian language direct, and Italians will value you putting forth the attempt to get even a few nuts and bolts of their language. In case you’re concentrating in or venturing out to parts of Italy outside of the fundamental metropolitan habitats in Italy, be set up to utilize your semantic Italian muscles!
Culture in Italy
As a rule, Italian culture is as brilliantly enhanced as the country’s widely acclaimed cooking. Given Italy’s rich and complex history, Italian culture is comprised of a huge and different exhibit of workmanship, engineering, religion, style, family, and obviously, food!
From Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Galileo, Thomas Aquinas, and a lot more Italians have assumed a focal part in the different floods of reasoning, expressive arts, and writing exuding from Central and Southern Europe. A portion of Italy’s most celebrated tourist spots like the Colosseum, the inclining pinnacle of Pisa, and the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City address Italy’s entwined history with the Catholic Church. Additionally, a few groups follow the show’s underlying foundations to Italy, and popular dramas like Aida and La Traviata are as yet performed today all throughout the planet!
The family has generally been at the focal point of the Italian social design, and more distant family get-togethers are a typical event in urban communities and rustic territories the same. Repetitive social occasions to eat, make up for a lost time, and invest energy with family implies that Italian families will in general be extremely affectionate well after youngsters have left the home. Italians’ food-fixation doesn’t hold for each Italian, yet the reports are valid and living it Italy will mean acquiring an entirely different comprehension of what real Italian food truly implies.
Student Accommodation & Cost of Living in Italy
Student housing in Italy is often managed by the international office at your university. These accommodation offices provide information on renting apartments, which are generally cheaper than the cost of finding housing on the private market in Italy. Contact your institution to confirm any housing guarantees they offer for international students, as they may be more accessible than tackling the private rental market. Typically, housing guarantees are only for students coming from outside the EU.
On the private market, it’s common that students rent a room rather than a whole apartment and share it with other students. Student housing in Italy is more expensive in bigger cities and can range anywhere from €300-600 a month, depending on the size and location in relation to the city center and how far you are from campus.
For a fee, accommodation information can also be found with real estate agencies. For students who want to make their own accommodation arrangements without the help of a real estate agent, they can use online portals. The minimum rental period for most accommodation in Italy is one year, but student accommodation in furnished rooms is usually available for shorter periods.
Living Costs in Italy
Like in most European countries, the cost of living in Italy is dependent on where you’re studying. Urban centers like Rome, Milan, and Florence tend to mean higher costs, while smaller university towns like Trento may be friendlier for your piggy bank.
If you’re struggling to discern the living costs in different cities in Italy, use this handy comparison calculator!
We’ve averaged out some of the most common costs students incur in their day-to-day, to help you plan out the all-important student budget. Planning is key, and by having a well-planned budget you’ll feel less overwhelmed when it comes to keeping track of money matters.
Meal = 15 €
Coffee =1.35 €
Beer = 5 €
Cinema Ticket = 8 €
Monthly rent = 455 € – 600 €
Monthly Transport = 35 €
Student Visas for Studying Abroad in Italy
Student visas in Italy are issued by Italian Embassies or Consulate-General offices in your country of origin.
Students from European Union (EU) or EFTA countries can enter Italy with a valid passport or EU ID card and can remain in Italy without a visa for the duration of their studies. Upon arrival, however, EU students must register at their local Questura station (police station) if their study program is longer than 3 months, in order to obtain a residence permit.
If you’re a non-EU student, you are required to obtain a student visa prior to entering Italy. Use the information below to start the process of obtaining your Italian student visa!
Visas for Non-EU Students
There are two types of student visas in Italy, depending on the duration of the study program:
- Visa type C: Short-stay visa or travel visa valid for one or more entries and for a period not exceeding 90 days
- Visa type D: Long-stay visa valid for more than 90 days
No matter the type of visa you require, start the process well in advance of your intended date of entry to Italy, as the processing time can be lengthy. You should contact your closest Italian embassy or consulate to make a visa appointment as soon as you receive a letter of admission from your Italian institution, as appointments tend to be hard to come by. The procedures for applying for Italian student visas are subject to change, so it’s always worthwhile to contact the Italian Embassy for information to confirm current visa requirements.
If you’re entering Italy through the type D visa, you’ll also have to report your arrival to the Questura station within 8 days of your arrival in Italy. You’ll have a residence permit card sent to you to prove your legal residency status within the country.
Required Documents
Students may need to present any or all the following documents as part of their application for a student visa to study in Italy:
- A valid passport, with at least two blank visa pages and valid for at least three months after the expected end date of your study program;
- A letter of acceptance from your institution in Italy;
- A completed visa application form;
- A copy of your itinerary to and from Italy,
- Proof of no criminal record;
- Proof of language proficiency in Italian or English (depending on the language of your study program);
- Proof of adequate financial means to support yourself (between €450 and €515 monthly);
- Proof of adequate accommodation in Italy;
- Proof of adequate medical insurance; and
- Proof you’ve paid the associated application fee.
Working during your studies
International students who are EU nationals have the right to work in Italy alongside their studies but should not exceed 20 hours a week of work during regular study periods. However, you may take on more hours during vacation periods.
Non-EU students may work during their studies if they obtain a work permit, which requires a job offer from an Italian-based employer – a slightly complicated process! Processing times vary between regions, but average around two months. International students coming from outside the EU shouldn’t rely on getting a job immediately upon arrival to Italy, focus on getting used to your new life in Italy!
Best Universities in Italy according to International Rankings
| Universities | Times Higher Education Ranking (2021) | Shanghai Jiao Tong University Ranking (2020) | TopUniversities Ranking (2021) | U.S. News & World Report Ranking (2021) |
| University of Bologna | 167 | 201 | 160 | 112 |
| Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies Pisa | 170 | – | – | 714 |
| Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa | 181 | 401 | – | 221 |
| Sapienza University of Rome | 201 | 151 | 171 | 114 |
| University of Padua | 251 | 201 | 216 | 114 |
| Vita-Salute San Raffaele University | 251 | 401 | 392 | 352 |
| University of Trento | 301 | 401 | 403 | 224 |
| The University of Milan | 351 | 151 | 301 | 164 |
| University of Milano – Bicocca | 351 | 301 | 521 | 281 |
| Free University of Bozen-Bolzano | 401 | – | 601 | – |
