8 Scholarships in Italy for International Students (2026 Guide)

Most "scholarships in Italy" articles list twenty programmes and leave you no closer to knowing which one to actually apply for. This guide does the opposite: it covers exactly 8 scholarships — the ones that are open right now, funded reliably every year, and realistic for a student applying from outside Italy.

Two of these are national programmes open to any field and any Italian university: the government-funded MAECI scholarship and the need-based DSU regional grant. The other six are awarded directly by specific universities — Bologna, Bocconi, Padua, Politecnico di Milano, the Invest Your Talent programme, and Scuola Normale Superiore for PhD applicants.

Read the comparison table if you just want the numbers, or work through each section for eligibility details, deadlines, and the exact page to start your application on.

Why Italy Is Worth Adding to Your Shortlist

Italian public university tuition already sits well below the UK, the Netherlands, or Germany's private-sector options — typically €900 to €3,500 a year before any scholarship is applied. Layer a scholarship on top of that and a degree in Italy can end up cheaper than staying in your home country.

The other advantage is volume of English-taught options. Italian public universities now run hundreds of English-taught Master's programmes, so a lack of Italian isn't a barrier to most of the awards below. Add in a genuinely need-based national grant system (DSU) that most other European countries don't offer at all, and Italy becomes one of the more forgiving places to fund a degree abroad.

The 8 Scholarships Covered in This Guide

Here's the short version before the full breakdown. Each card links straight to the full step-by-step guide.

1. MAECI Government Scholarship — The National Award

The MAECI scholarship is run by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is the closest thing Italy has to a flagship national award. It's open to essentially any nationality, any eligible field, and any recognised Italian institution — public or private.

It pays a monthly allowance of €900, waives enrolment and tuition fees entirely, and includes health insurance for the length of the award. It does not include accommodation directly, though recipients can apply separately to their region's DSU authority for subsidised housing once enrolled.

Applications don't go through the university — they go through your Italian Embassy, via the studyinitaly.esteri.it portal. That single detail trips up a lot of applicants who only look at university websites and miss the embassy step entirely.

Read the full MAECI application guide →

2. DSU Regional Grants — The One Most Students Skip

The Diritto allo Studio Universitario (DSU) system is Italy's biggest scholarship opportunity and the one fewest applicants know about, mainly because it isn't competitive in the usual sense. It runs on income, assessed through a document called the ISEE Parificato. If your family's income falls under your region's threshold, you qualify — your GPA doesn't come into it.

A full DSU award covers tuition, provides a cash stipend of roughly €2,500 to €7,900 a year depending on the region, and typically includes subsidised or free student housing and canteen meals. Each Italian region runs its own agency — ER.GO for Bologna, DSU Toscana for Pisa and Florence, EDISU Piemonte for Turin, and so on — so the exact numbers shift depending on where you enrol.

DSU is the only award on this list that doesn't compare your application against anyone else's — it compares your income against a number.

The catch is timing: you can only apply once you've enrolled and physically arrived in Italy, and the ISEE Parificato paperwork needs certified, translated income documents from home that can take a month or more to prepare. Start that document trail before you leave, not after.

Read the full DSU application guide →

3. University of Bologna Alma Mater Study Grants

Founded in 1088, Bologna is the oldest operating university in the world, and its Alma Mater Study Grants are among the highest-value university awards in Italy. Master's applicants can be considered for a full tuition waiver, or for a cash grant on top of it — €11,059 gross a year at the base tier, rising to €29,028 for the strongest candidates.

There's no separate scholarship form to fill out beyond your regular admissions application — the university evaluates your academic record automatically. Deadlines usually cluster in January–February.

4. Bocconi University Scholarships

Bocconi in Milan is Italy's top-ranked business school, and its financial aid programme blends merit and need in a way most Italian universities don't. Bachelor's scholarships can cover up to €12,000 a year in tuition, Master's up to €13,000, with the strongest combined applications approaching free tuition plus a living-cost contribution.

Consideration is partly automatic once you submit the financial aid section alongside your admissions application, and partly competitive. The financial aid deadline for 2026/2027 entry typically falls in early February.

5. University of Padua Excellence Scholarship

Padua, founded in 1222, runs one of the more student-friendly scholarship systems in Italy because it removes the extra-application step entirely — every eligible non-Italian applicant to an English-taught Bachelor's or Master's is automatically considered. The award pays €8,000 a year gross plus a full tuition waiver, with roughly 99 scholarships given out annually.

The one rule that matters: apply in the first round (typically before early February or early March, depending on the programme). Most of the award pool is reserved for first-round applicants, so a late application meaningfully lowers your odds.

6. Politecnico di Milano International Merit Award

Politecnico di Milano is Italy's leading technical university, ranked in the global top tier for Engineering. Its Merit Award gives international Master's applicants between €4,000 and €8,000 a year, with full tuition coverage reserved for standout candidates.

Because PoliMi draws applicants from well over a hundred countries, the award committee weighs your GPA equivalent, the standing of your previous institution, and your overall academic portfolio quite heavily. There's no separate application — the scholarship decision comes out of the same submission you make for the degree programme itself.

7. Invest Your Talent in Italy — Study Plus a Guaranteed Internship

Invest Your Talent in Italy (IYT) is the one programme on this list built around employability rather than tuition alone. It pairs a funded Master's degree with a mandatory three-month internship at companies such as Ferrari, Pirelli, Enel, and Prada, and is jointly run by MAECI, the Italian Trade Agency, and Uni-Italia.

It pays €1,000 a month for nine months plus a full tuition waiver, across 250+ English-taught Master's courses in Engineering, Architecture, and Economics. The restriction to know before applying: IYT is only open to citizens of 23 specific countries, including India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Egypt, and Vietnam among others. Deadlines typically land in May.

8. Scuola Normale Superiore PhD Scholarships

For PhD applicants, Scuola Normale Superiore (SNS) in Pisa is arguably the most prestigious research institution in Italy — its list of alumni includes multiple Nobel laureates, and it keeps reserved international spots across every doctoral programme it runs.

The award covers a monthly stipend for all four years, a full tuition and enrolment waiver, subsidised or free accommodation in SNS's own residential colleges, meals, and additional funding for research abroad. There's no application fee. Fields span Humanities, Sciences, and Political and Social Sciences, with deadlines usually in February.

All 8 Scholarships, Side by Side

Picking the Right Two or Three to Apply For

Documents That Overlap Across All 8

Most of the paperwork is identical across every scholarship on this list, which means preparing it once saves you from repeating the work eight times:

• Valid passport (certified colour scan)
• Certified academic transcripts and degree certificates, with sworn translations if not already in English, Italian, French, or Spanish
• English proficiency certificate — IELTS, TOEFL, or an accepted equivalent for the programme
• CV in Europass or standard European format
• Motivation letter, tailored to the specific programme and university

DSU is the outlier — it additionally needs the ISEE Parificato income assessment, prepared through a CAF office in Italy after you arrive. SNS PhD applicants should also prepare a research proposal and two to three academic references ahead of time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which One Should You Actually Apply For?

Don't treat this as a single decision. Apply to two or three in parallel — a broad national award, one university-specific merit scholarship, and DSU once you're enrolled — rather than betting everything on one outcome. Between them, most students applying to Italy end up with at least one award that meaningfully reduces the cost of the degree.