Italy scholarships for international students come from three sources: the Italian government (the MAECI Study in Italy grants and Invest Your Talent in Italy), the regional right-to-study (DSU) grants, and the universities themselves. The government grants pay up to €10,800 for nine months of master’s, PhD or arts study. DSU grants are based on family income and can cover fees, a yearly stipend, meals and housing for bachelor’s and master’s students. University awards, such as Padua’s €8,000 excellence scholarship, are mostly merit-based.
The 2026/27 government calls closed in March and May 2026, and most regional DSU calls closed in September 2026. The government deadlines are 26 March 2027 (MAECI) and 11 May 2027 (Invest Your Talent). What is still ahead on 24 October 2026 is the 2027/28 cycle. Several university merit awards for 2027/28 are tied to early admission windows that open this autumn, which makes them the first deadlines you can still meet.
Italy scholarships at a glance: which one fits your level
| Scholarship | Levels | Value | Based on | 2026/27 deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italian Government (MAECI) grants | Master’s, PhD, AFAM arts, research, Italian language courses | Up to €10,800 for 9 months (€3,600 for language courses), fee exemption, health insurance | Merit, age limits, country list | 26 March 2026, 14:00 Italian time (closed); deadline 26 March 2027 (based on this year’s date; confirm on the official page when the call opens) |
| Invest Your Talent in Italy | English-taught master’s and postgraduate courses | €10,800, fee exemption, compulsory company internship | Merit, 23 eligible countries, born 2000 or later | 11 May 2026, 18:00 Italian time (closed); deadline 11 May 2027 |
| Regional DSU grants | Bachelor’s, master’s, PhD at public universities | Fee exemption, yearly stipend, meals, sometimes housing | Family income (ISEE or ISEE parificato) and credits | Mostly July to September 2026 (closed) |
| Padua International Excellence | English-taught bachelor’s and master’s | €8,000 a year plus fee waiver | Merit, automatic with admission | Tied to first-call admission; 2027/28 calls expected November 2026 |
| Politecnico di Milano merit awards | English-taught MSc | Fee waiver; Platinum and Gold add up to €10,000 a year | Merit, separate form | Early Bird window for 2027/28 opens autumn 2026 |
Italian Government scholarships (MAECI, Study in Italy)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) funds these grants for foreign citizens and Italians living abroad. You apply only through the Study in Italy portal, studyinitaly.esteri.it. The list of eligible countries is published with each call.
| Course type | Age limit at the deadline | Grant | Language proof |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master’s (Laurea Magistrale) | 28 | Up to €10,800 for 9 months, renewable | B2 in the teaching language |
| AFAM (art, music, dance) | 28 | Up to €10,800 for 9 months, renewable | B2 in the teaching language |
| PhD | 30 | Up to €10,800 for 9 months, renewable | Not required |
| Research under academic supervision | 40 | Up to €10,800 | Not required |
| Intensive Italian language and culture course | 28 | €3,600 for 3 months | Italian A2 |
For 2026/27 the grant works out at €1,200 a month from 1 November 2026 to 31 July 2027, paid in instalments into an Italian bank account. Holders are exempt from university enrolment fees and contributions but still pay the regional right-to-study tax and a €16 stamp duty. MAECI arranges basic health and accident insurance. If there are many applicants, a commission at the Italian embassy shortlists and interviews them.
Embassy announcements of the 2026/27 call list master’s, AFAM, PhD, research and language courses only. One unofficial summary also lists bachelor’s study with an age limit of 23. The sources conflict, so read section 2 of the next call before you plan a bachelor’s application around it.
For eligibility by level, the language rules, documents and the 26 March 2027 deadline, see our full guide to the Italian Government Scholarship.
Invest Your Talent in Italy
This MAECI programme, run with the Italian Trade Agency and Uni-Italia, funds English-taught master’s courses in fields such as engineering, architecture, design, and economics and management. The 11th edition (2026/27) was open to permanent residents of Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Mongolia, Paraguay, Peru, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay and Vietnam.
- €10,800 for nine months from 1 October, paid in three instalments (€4,800, €3,000, €3,000).
- Exemption from enrolment fees and university contributions. Travel, housing and health insurance are your cost.
- Applicants had to be born on or after 1 January 2000 and hold English at B2 or above.
- A compulsory internship with an Italian company is part of the programme.
- Documents: transcript with average grade, English certificate, a video of 59 seconds or less, a one-page CV and your passport.
You cannot hold this together with another Italian government or public scholarship, including Erasmus+.
Regional DSU scholarships in Italy for international students
Every Italian region runs a right-to-study agency, such as DiSCo in Lazio, ER.GO in Emilia-Romagna, EDISU Piemonte and DSU Toscana, or the university handles it directly, as at the University of Milan. International students qualify on the same income and merit rules as Italians. The ministry sets a national ceiling and minimum amounts; for 2026/27 the national ISEE ceiling is €28,339.88 and the minimum for a student living away from home is €7,171.11 a year. Regions can set lower limits.
- First-year students qualify on income alone. From the second year you must also earn a set number of credits by a cut-off date.
- If your family’s income is abroad, you submit home-country income, asset and household documents, translated into Italian and legalised, and the agency calculates an ISEE parificato.
- Calls usually open in July and close between early and late September, depending on the region.
Legalising foreign documents can take months, and an application with missing documents is excluded from the ranking. For a worked example with real bands, documents and dates, read our guide to the University of Milan regional scholarship. Sapienza in Rome handles its regional grants through DiSCo, covered in our Sapienza University scholarships post.
University scholarships in Italy
| University | Award | What you get | How to apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Padua | Padua International Excellence Scholarship (up to 76 awards) | €8,000 gross a year in two instalments, plus tuition exemption (regional tax and stamp still due). Up to 3 years for bachelor’s, 2 for master’s. | Automatic when you apply to an English-taught degree in the first admission call. Non-residents of Italy with foreign qualifications only. |
| Politecnico di Milano | International merit scholarships (Platinum, Gold and others) | Tuition waiver; Platinum and Gold add up to €10,000 gross a year | Separate scholarship form after applying to an English-taught MSc in the Early Bird round |
| University of Bologna | International study grants (Unibo Action 2 / International Talents @Unibo) | Tuition waiver and a yearly grant; amounts and rules have changed between calls | Separate call on bandi.unibo.it, usually closing in late May |
| Sapienza University of Rome | Several merit, need and mobility awards | See our Sapienza guide | Per award |
Treat the Bologna row with care. The university has reworked these grants several times, and I could not confirm the 2027/28 figures from an official page. Read the current call on bandi.unibo.it before relying on any amount.
We cover two of these awards in depth: the Padua International Excellence Scholarship, whose first window for 2027/28 closes on 15 November 2026, and the Bocconi Graduate Merit Award, a full MSc tuition waiver in Milan.
How to plan your Italy scholarship applications for 2027/28
- October to December 2026: Apply to English-taught programmes in early admission rounds, which is where Padua and Politecnico di Milano attach their merit awards.
- January to February 2027: Get a B2 English (or Italian) certificate and check your age against the MAECI limits.
- From February 2027: Watch studyinitaly.esteri.it for the MAECI call; the deadline is 26 March 2027.
- April to May 2027: If your country is on the list, apply for Invest Your Talent in Italy.
- From spring 2027: Start collecting and legalising family income documents for the DSU call that opens in July.
- July to September 2027: Submit the DSU application to your region or university.
Italy scholarships FAQs
Are there fully funded scholarships in Italy for international students?
The closest are the MAECI grants and regional DSU grants, which combine a fee waiver with living money; DSU can add housing and meals. None of them pays for flights, and most leave you some costs.
Can I get an Italian government scholarship for a bachelor’s degree?
Embassy notices for the 2026/27 MAECI call list only postgraduate, arts and language courses, so do not count on it. For a bachelor’s, DSU grants and university awards such as Padua’s are the safer route.
Do I need IELTS for Italy scholarships?
Most need B2 English proof for English-taught courses, and IELTS is one accepted option. Invest Your Talent also accepts a university letter confirming English as your medium of instruction.
When does the 2027/28 Italian government scholarship open?
The 2026/27 call closed on 26 March 2026, so the deadline is 26 March 2027, with the call published early in 2027 on studyinitaly.esteri.it.
Sources and updates
The MAECI deadline and portal come from announcements by Italian embassies (Berlin, Beirut, Abuja and Beijing) on esteri.it. The €10,800 grant, €1,200 monthly rate, dates, age limits, language levels and fee rules come from the Beirut embassy notice and Studenti.it’s summary of the 2026/27 call, with age limits matching Scholars4Dev’s summary. Invest Your Talent figures come from the official 2026 call PDF on investyourtalent.esteri.it. National DSU minimums come from the 2026/27 ministerial figures quoted in the University of Milan call. Padua figures come from the university’s Padua Excellence page. Politecnico di Milano and Bologna details come from third-party guides that cite the universities’ calls and should be checked on the official pages. Checked on 24 October 2026. I will update this page as the 2027/28 calls appear.
I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.
