How Higher Education Works in Italy: Degrees, Universities and the Academic Year

Types of higher education institutions in Italy

Italian higher education runs across three parallel systems. Universities (università) award the standard academic degrees and cover most subjects, including state universities and a smaller group of private and online (telematiche) universities. AFAM institutions (Alta Formazione Artistica, Musicale e Coreutica) train students in fine arts, music, dance and design at academies and conservatories. ITS Academies deliver short, hands on higher technical diplomas linked to specific industries such as mechatronics, tourism or digital technology.

The Eurydice national description of Italy confirms this three part structure and notes that entry to any of them requires an upper secondary leaving certificate, either the Italian diploma di maturità or an equivalent qualification from another country.

Degree structure: laurea, laurea magistrale, dottorato

Italy follows the Bologna three cycle model. A bachelor's degree (laurea) takes 3 years and carries 180 credits. A master's degree (laurea magistrale) adds 2 more years and 120 credits, for 5 years total if you complete both. Some regulated professions skip the split and use a single cycle degree (laurea a ciclo unico) lasting 5 years for law and pharmacy, or 6 years for medicine and surgery.

After a master's degree, students apply for a dottorato di ricerca, Italy's doctorate, which usually runs 3 to 4 years and centers on original research.

Credits and how they compare across Europe

Italian universities measure workload in CFU (crediti formativi universitari). One CFU represents 25 hours of study, and a full academic year of full time study equals 60 CFU. This lines up directly with the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), so credits earned in Italy transfer to other Bologna Process countries and back.

The academic year and calendar

Italian universities split the year into two semesters. The first semester usually starts in late September or October and runs through January, with an exam session in January and February. The second semester runs from February or March through May or June, followed by a summer exam session. Exact dates differ by university and faculty, so check your chosen university's academic calendar before booking travel or housing.

Open access and numero chiuso

Most Italian degree programs use open access: any applicant with a valid upper secondary diploma enrolls, subject to language requirements. A smaller group of high demand courses use numero chiuso, a fixed number of places filled through a national or university entrance test. Medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and architecture use a national test coordinated by the Ministry of University and Research, while individual universities set their own local entrance tests for programs such as engineering, psychology or design.

Language of instruction

The default teaching language across Italian universities is Italian, and a certified language level, usually B2, is required for admission to Italian taught programs. English taught bachelor's and master's programs have grown across business, engineering and science faculties, concentrated in Milan, Turin, Bologna, Rome and Trento. Check each program page for its confirmed teaching language before you apply, since teaching language sometimes changes between admission cycles.

How Italy fits within European higher education

Italy joined the Bologna Process in 1999 and aligned its degree cycles with the rest of the European Higher Education Area early on. Because of this, a laurea and a laurea magistrale carry the same structure and recognition value as a bachelor's and master's degree from Germany, Spain, France or Poland. This makes it straightforward to combine a degree in Italy with study abroad exchanges, joint degrees or further study elsewhere in Europe.

Grades and how your degree is scored

Italian exams use a 30 point scale, with 18 as the minimum pass mark and 30 e lode (30 with honors) as the top result. Every exam mark counts toward your final weighted average, which the university converts into a base score out of 110 for your final degree. A perfect result carries the words 110 e lode, the Italian equivalent of graduating with the highest distinction.

Quality assurance and accreditation

ANVUR (Agenzia Nazionale di Valutazione del Sistema Universitario e della Ricerca), the national agency for university and research evaluation, accredits degree programs and monitors teaching quality across Italian universities. Checking that a program holds current ANVUR accreditation is a reasonable first filter before you compare institutions in detail.

Funding a doctorate

Most PhD positions in Italy come with a funded place rather than tuition fees, awarded through a competitive entrance exam run by each university's doctoral school. Funded positions include a monthly living stipend for the duration of the program, though the exact amount and number of places differ by university, field and funding cycle, so check each doctoral school's own call for details.

Finding a program

Universitaly , the Ministry of University and Research's official portal, lists 283 institutions and around 9,000 degree courses, making it a single reference point for comparing programs before you apply.