Regional scholarship application: complete guide
What are regional university scholarships in Italy
Regional university scholarships are economic grants made available by Italy’s 20 regions to guarantee everyone the right to study, regardless of what the starting economic conditions of each student are. They are aimed at both Italian, European, and non-European students.
Regional scholarships can be provided in the form of actual money or as services and facilities. They usually cover part or all of the expenses associated with attending college, such as:
- tuition fees
- the books
- the teaching materials
- transportation costs
- accommodation
- the university cafeteria
Unlike other scholarships provided by the Italian government or by private entities, regional scholarships are administered by university right-to-study agencies (such as ADISU, ERSU, ARDSU, etc.) and follow annual announcements. Individual regions determine:
- economic requirements;
- merit requirements;
- The amount and mode of disbursement of the scholarship.
Get the full list of regional scholarships agencies
How to apply for a regional university scholarship: documents and procedures
Requirements
Normally, both financial and merit requirements must be met to apply for regional scholarships.
Merit scholarship requirements
Merit requirements are related to the minimum number of university credits earned and the grade point average. For first-year students, the high school graduation grade is referred to (some announcements require a high school graduation grade of not less than 70/100 for admission).
Economic requirements scholarships
Income requirements are economic conditions imposed on the basis of theISEE (Indicator of Equivalent Economic Situation) andISPE (Indicator of Equivalent Financial Situation) of the student’s family. One can apply for the grant only if these two values fall within the thresholds stipulated in the notice of competition.
The university ISEE normally must be between 24,000 and 28,000 euros annually, but can vary by a few thousand euros depending on the region.
The ISPE ceiling is around 50,000-60,000 euros.
In addition, although the specific requirements change according to the individual region’s regulations, usually scholarship applicants do not have to:
- Already hold a degree at the same level or higher than the course of study for which they are applying for the scholarship;
- Already be the holder of other incompatible grants.
Regional scholarship application procedure
The first step in applying for a regional scholarship is to go to the website of the specific regional body (you can find a downloadable PDF in the article with a list of the study rights bodies in each Italian region and their official websites).
You can also access it from the website of the university to which you want to apply: in fact, the university often links to the regional announcement.
The next steps are:
- Read the notice carefully;
- Register in the institution’s portal;
- Complete the online application, filling in all required fields (biographical, economic and academic data);
- Upload the required documents in digital format;
- submit the application by the deadline and save the receipt (usually calls are published in June/July with a July/September deadline).
Obtaining and maintaining the scholarship
After the closing of the call for applications, a provisional ranking is published where any reasons for exclusion from the scholarship are reported and you have the opportunity to report errors or shortcomings. After about a month, the final ranking list with the list of scholarship winners comes out.
It is important to remember that the scholarships are awarded partly on merit, and that their retention is therefore tied to the achievement of the minimum number of credits for each semester of study. For example, failure to complete 20 CFUs by the end of the first semester of college will result in the revocation of the scholarship and various related services.
University scholarships by region
As anticipated, each Italian region has its own body that deals with the right to study, not only university, but at all levels. Always this body normally manages university scholarships. Some Italian regions, however, have delegated this task to individual universities: they are the ones who publish the announcement and manage the scholarship with regional/national funds.
Here are some of the reference websites for applying for regional scholarships:
- Scholarship Lazio regiondisc
- Scholarship ARDSU Tuscany
- Scholarship ER.GO Emilia-Romagna
- Scholarship ADISU Campania
- Scholarship ERSU Palermo, Catania, Messina, Enna (Sicily Region)
In the Lombardy and Veneto regions, the various scholarships are managed by the universities, so the various websites should be consulted.
Lombardy Scholarships:
- University of Pavia
- University of Bergamo
- Catholic University of the Sacred Heart Milan
- San Raffaele University Milan
- IULM Milan
- Polytechnic University of Milan
- LIUC University
Veneto Scholarships:
For a complete list of all regional bodies and individual universities download the PDF.
Looking for more information about applying to university in Italy? Contact Welcome Association Italy for support.
