Recognition of foreign academic qualifications and exams
Qualifications obtained abroad are not automatically valid in Italy, but are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Each university decides whether to recognise exams taken in foreign universities or foreign qualifications, for the purposes of admission, furthering studies and achieving Italian qualifications.
The recognition of foreign academic qualifications for other purposes, such as participation in public competitions or access to regulated professions, shall be obtained from other public administrations.
Guidelines on the recognition of foreign degrees and transfer of credits earned abroad are available in Appendix 2 (amended by resolution of the Academic Senate dated 12 December 2023) of the Student Regulations. Please read them carefully before applying.
For more information on the recognition procedure, please visit the website of Cimea, the national information centre for the recognition of qualifications obtained abroad.
Recognition of PhD diplomas
02-04-2024
The competent authority for the recognition of research doctorates obtained abroad, for participation in competitions for researcher in universities or public research institutions in Italy for which the PhD is required, is the Ministry of the University and of Research.
More details below in the Special Cases section.
If you want to enrol with the University of Milan, you need not submit a special application for recognition: your university degree will be assessed during the admission procedure. The recognition of any exams taken abroad may be requested during the enrolment procedure.
If you wish to have your university degree assessed to obtain the same Italian qualification, you have to submit an Application for recognition, together with the documents listed below from 2 April to 30 June of each year.
For Medicine and Surgery applications are open from 1 June to 31 July.
Non-European citizens residing abroad have to access the Universitaly portal in order to fill in the relative "pre-enrolment application" online. The subsequent pre-enrolment phases must be completed at the relevant Diplomatic-consular missions for the purpose of obtaining the study visa.
The documentation required for the recognition of foreign qualifications of first and second cycle is as follows:
- high school diploma;
- legalized University degree, translated officially in Italian and with related Statement of Comparability issued by the Italian ENIC-NARIC centre (CIMEA) or other ENIC-NARIC centres, or Statement of validity (Dichiarazione di Valore in loco) issued by the Italian Embassy in the country where the qualification was obtained. For the 55 Countries that are signatories to the Lisbon Convention, the Statement of Correspondence processed through the ARDI platform, together with the Statement of Verification issued by CIMEA, replaces the CIMEA Statement of Comparability (for recognition of a Master's Degree, attach also the first cycle Degree);
- official certificate issued by the foreign University, including list of successfully passed exams, with grades, university credits/hours and date, translated and legalized (for recognition of a Master's Degree, attach also the transcript related to the first cycle Degree);
- detailed program of the courses passed on University's letterhead, with official translation (not necessary for Medicine and Surgery, Dental Medicine and Law);
- receipt of the validation fee to be paid via the online service Payment services selecting Contributions for office services > Contributo riconoscimento titolo estero;
- valid identity document;
- Italian fiscal code;
- residence permit (ONLY for non-EU citizens).
High school diploma, transcript and programmes are accepted also in English, French, Spanish or German (unless otherwise indicated for the specific course).
In case a foreign qualification is obtained after studies mainly carried out in Italy, the recognition, even partial, of this qualification is subject to the accreditation procedure of the institution operating in Italy, as established by Decree n. 214 of April 26 2004, “Regulation containing criteria and procedures for foreign higher education institutions operating in Italy for the purpose of recognising their qualifications (implementation of Article 4 of Law No. 148 of 11 July 2002)”, in implementation of Article VI.5 of the Lisbon Convention.
The documentation required for the recognition of foreign doctoral degrees is as follows:
- second-cycle degree (EQF level 7) that granted the applicant admission to the foreign PhD programme, with an official translation into Italian and with related Statement of Comparability issued by the Italian ENIC-NARIC centre (CIMEA) or other ENIC-NARIC centres, or Statement of validity (Dichiarazione di Valore in loco) issued by the Italian Embassy in the country where the qualification was obtained. For the 55 Countries that are signatories to the Lisbon Convention, the Statement of Correspondence processed through the ARDI platform, together with the Statement of Verification issued by CIMEA, replaces the CIMEA Statement of Comparability;
- doctoral degree (third-cycle degree, EQF level 8), with an official translation into Italian and with related Statement of Comparability issued by the Italian ENIC-NARIC centre (CIMEA) or other ENIC-NARIC centres, or Statement of validity (Dichiarazione di Valore in loco) issued by the Italian Embassy in the country where the qualification was obtained. For the 55 Countries that are signatories to the Lisbon Convention, the Statement of Correspondence processed through the ARDI platform, together with the Statement of Verification issued by CIMEA, replaces the CIMEA Statement of Comparability;
- certification issued by the competent institution of the foreign higher education attesting to the elements and activities of the doctorate carried out in order to obtain the final qualification, in addition to the number of years of course, translated and legalized;
- a copy of the doctoral thesis and/or an indication of the web address of the repository of the University or library where the approved thesis is kept and available for consultation, or an indication of the references of the competent office where access may be requested for the verification of correspondence;
- receipt of the validation fee to be paid via the online service Payment services selecting Contributions for office services > Contributo riconoscimento titolo estero;
- valid identity document;
- Italian fiscal code;
- residence permit (ONLY for non-EU citizens).
If you have obtained a PhD abroad and intends to participate in a competition for a position as researcher at our University, at another public University or at a public Italian research institution for which a doctoral degree is required, you will have to apply for recognition by sending the application form (in Italian) to [email protected].
The recognition of the PhD degree, once completed, can be used for any competition for the position of researcher.
Winners of researcher competitions can attach the selection documents to the form in order to speed up the evaluation of the MUR.
The recognition of degrees in Medicine and Surgery, Dental Medicine, Veterinary Medicine is subject to an ad hoc test. As they are nationally planned programmes, enrolment is also subject to the availability of places for the last year of the course.
Test results
The test for the validation of the degree in Medicine and Surgery obtained abroad will take place on Wednesday 13th September 2023 at 08:30 in room 201 of the Educational Sector of Via Festa del Perdono 3 - Milan.no.
Recognition of health professions degrees is subject to admission. To register for the admission test, see the procedures and deadlines in the call for applications. Qualifications obtained more than 3 or 5 years ago cannot be recognized (for more information see the Study Programme).
Under no circumstances careers with exams passed 10 years ago or more will be recognised.
Only exams substained within 8 year before the application for recognition can be evaluated.
The recognition of bachelor degrees in Economics & Management, Medical Biotechnology and master degree in International Relations is subject to admission. To register for the admission test, see the procedures and deadlines in the call for applications.
Admission to years subsequent to the first into a programme with limited access is conditional upon the availability of places in the programme.
If there are bilateral agreements for the mutual recognition of academic qualifications (eg Italy/Austria), the equivalence of qualifications is automatically recognized upon completing administrative checks of documents submitted.
Failing bilateral or specific agreements, the competent academic authority will assess the exams taken abroad and, if there are no substantial differences, may approve, within 90 days from the date of receipt of the application:
- the total recognition of the qualification (also known as “equipollence”), following which the equivalent Italian qualification will be issued. It will only be granted where the foreign educational pathway is entirely congruent with the one needed to earn the equivalent Italian degree.
- the partial recognition of the qualification, resulting in the possibility of enrolling in a given year of the corresponding Italian programme (shorter programme). In this case, you can enrol in the chosen programme according to the deadlines and requirements for the current academic year, take pending exams and obtain your degree.
The procedure for evaluating an application for recognition of a PhD qualification may end with direct recognition or conditional recognition of the qualification.
Direct recognition is provided only in cases where the PhD programme carried out abroad corresponds exactly to that required to obtain the equivalent Italian title.
In both cases, the assessment will also take into account the obsolescence of the acquired skills.
Students who enrol at the University of Milan and are already in possession of a foreign degree or have attended a foreign university and want to obtain recognition of the exams taken, may apply for the evaluation of the previous university career, only within 3 months after the date of enrolment.
A student who does not declare within the above-mentioned terms that he/she wants the recognition of the exams of the previous career may no longer apply for it later.
The application for recognition must be sent through Informastudenti, category International, attaching:
- Request form
- certificate issued by the foreign University attesting the list of exams taken in the degree course (with relative marks, credits/hours and date), officially translated and legalized;
- detailed educational programs of the exams taken, on headed paper and with a stamp of the University of origin, with translation.
In the event that admission to a foreign university has occurred after a schooling of less than 12 years, the exams taken during the years necessary to reach the minimum admission requirement to Italian universities cannot be considered.
The previous foreign career for which recognition is requested must have been attended at a university or other institution of university level that officially belongs to the educational system of reference.