How to apply for admission to a doctoral programme

Access to a doctoral research programme is through a public competition.

Every year, the University of Milan publishes calls for applications that set out the requirements, deadlines, access and selection procedures for each doctoral programme.

Both the application for admission to the competition and the application for enrolment must be made online, without the need to hand in any paper documents.

Please read the instructions carefully in order to ensure that every stage in the application process is successfully completed. 

How to apply

The first thing to do when applying for a PhD programme is to read the call for application carefully.

The announcement contains:

  • access requirements
  • application procedures and deadlines 
  • information for disabled candidates and LD
  • selection criteria and procedures, and establishment of final rankings
  • enrolment procedures
  • scholarships availability.

To submit your application for admission to the public competition online by the deadlines indicated in the call for applications:

  1. Have the following at hand:
  • a valid identity document
  • the name of the university where you completed the degree requested in the call for applications
  • the date on which you completed the requested degree
  1. Access the admission service by using:
  • your credentials @studenti.unimi.it (if you graduated from or are currently enrolled at the University of Milan), or
  • your SPID identity, or
  • your external user credentials (if you do not have them, please register on the University portal)
  1. Complete the admission application online
  2. Check and confirm the data in your application: a copy will be sent to your university email address or the email address that you indicated during the registration process
  3. Save and store a copy of the admission application

Documents required during the online doctoral programme admission process

The online admission procedure requires you to upload the documents (both compulsory and/or optional) specified in the call for applications, which are normally:

  • Diploma Supplement or Bachelor's/Master's certificate/self-certification (or equivalent qualification obtained in Italy or abroad), with transcript of records. Upcoming graduates are required to submit a certificate/self-certification of enrolment in lieu of the diploma. Certificates are accepted in English, French, German or Spanish, as well as in Italian.
    This document is not required of graduates and final year students of the University of Milan as the University obtains it as a matter of course
  • curriculum vitae, with a description of any professional experience and other qualifications
  • research project (using Form 1 attached to the call for applications)
  • passport, page/s showing personal details (foreign candidates only)
  • any publications
  • Annex A (attached to the call for applications).

These documents will be accepted in the following formats: pdf .rtf .jpg.

Each file should be no larger than 10 MB: larger documents may be converted into black and white .pdf files with a lower resolution, or split into two or more files.

Letters of reference

If required by the Academic Board and indicated in the programme table attached to the call for applications, the candidate must send by email, as a pdf, one or more letters of reference using the template in Form 2 attached to the call for applications.

The letters of reference must be sent directly from the professors or experts who write them, to the email address of the course coordinator by the deadline of the call for applications.

Candidates can in any case ask for letters of reference to be sent to the course coordinator, even if this is not specifically required in the call for applications.  

The letters of reference are evaluated as part of the candidates’ CVs and are not scored.

For information, contact the Doctoral Programmes Office through the

Important

The online admission application cannot be modified or supplemented with further documentation once it has been confirmed.

Assessment of qualifications

The outcomes of qualification assessments and the dates for interview, when available, will be published in the Doctoral Programme information sheet under the section Enrolment.

The outcomes of qualification assessments are published in the Doctoral Programme information sheet and the grades of the interviews are notified by the Examination boards at the end of the interviews.

The final ranking list for the competition is published on the University website and serves as notice to the candidates who do not receive any written communication thereof.  

Applicants admitted to the programmes lose their entitlement if they fail to enrol by the enrolment deadline, and their place is then given to the next applicant in the ranking list. This also applies if an admitted applicant withdraws within three months of the beginning of the programme.

Takeover applicants will be contacted personally by email by the Doctoral Students Administration Office (Ufficio Segreteria Dottorati) with instructions and deadlines for enrolment.

  1. Access the PhD students enrolment service using the same credentials used for the admission application.
  2. Enter all the details required and upload the photocard and identity document  in one of the following formats: .jpg, .png, .bmp (maximum 2 MB).
  3. If the enrolment fee of €980 (including the accident insurance premium and stamp duty) is due, make payment using a credit card when you enrol online. Alternatively, you can pay using the MAV form issued at the end of the online enrolment procedure.

Payment of the fee (excluding €156 for regional tax and expenses reimbursement) is exempted for:  

  • PhD students who are beneficiaries of doctoral scholarships granted by the University of Milan
  • beneficiaries of scholarships from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • beneficiaries of scholarships from the regional education incentive programme (Diritto allo Studio)
  • PhD students without a scholarship

The sum of €156 is deducted directly by the University from the scholarship payable to the beneficiaries of the competition. All the others must make payment when they enrol online.

The payment of the fee for those students who benefit from scholarships made available by other universities or institutions (specified in the call for applications) is covered by the funding body.

 

Candidates with foreign qualifications

Candidates in possession of a qualification obtained abroad must upload during the enrolment online procedure the following documents:

  • original university degree (Master of Science or equivalent) and a translation of the degree into Italian, French, English, German or Spanish;
  • the “dichiarazione di valore in loco” (Statement of Validity), the diploma supplement or the CIMEA certificate or other certification of value issued by ENIC_NARIC centres;
  • Tax ID Code
  • Permit to stay (only for non-EU citizens)

In order to complete the enrolment it is also necessary to send the following documentation to the Enrolment documents integration service  within 2 November:

  • receipt of the Universitaly pre-application;
  • study Visa (only for non-EU citizens residing abroad).

Verification of the validity of any qualifications obtained abroad is only done when the official documents are  handed in. Until that point, the candidates are admitted onto the programme conditionally, and may be excluded from the programme if they do not meet the necessary requirements.

Candidates residing abroad

If you are resident abroad, you can request a Tax ID Code from the Italian Embassy or Consulate in your country, or from the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) in Italy. With an Italian Tax ID Code you can access the online enrolment services following the procedures and deadlines indicated.

If you do not manage to obtain the Tax ID Code in time, send an email to the InformaStudenti service, attaching the page of your passport containing your personal details, and stating the doctoral programme you have been admitted to. You will receive a temporary code which will allow you to enrol.

For the issues of visas, non-EU students residing abroad are required to submit a pre-enrolment application on Universitaly website 

Scholarships are awarded to doctoral students based on merit rankings.

In order to initiate the procedure for payment of the doctoral scholarship students must complete during the online enrolment procedure the questionnaire regarding the working position and indicate the IBAN code.

Beneficiaries of doctoral scholarships are required to register with INPS, self-employment section, as doctoral students.