Requirements – Study In Italy

This page has been created to help you understand how to apply correctly to a university course in Italy and especially for the I/II level university master courses we co-organize with the Unviersity of Siena.

When applying for a university course, it is essential to submit documentation that can be properly evaluated. All the materials you provide should be official, valid, and clearly understandable.

For most university applications in Europe, you will be required to submit one or more of the documents described in the following sections. However, the requirements may vary depending on where you obtained your degree. The procedures are usually different for graduates from European Union countries compared to those who earned their qualifications outside the EU. Let’s take a closer look at how to manage these situations.

University degree

When it is necessary to provide your degree, consider that the University always means a degree certificate or, even better, a legalised translation of it. Remember, it’s always suggested to provide the higher qualification you own. If you own a Bachelor’s degree but also a Master’s degree (An Msc for example), better to show the MSc because, usually, the admissions are regulated by rankings often depending on your path of study/work.
As the legalized translation should not be enough to understand the level of your title, the next steps are almost always needed.

Diploma supplement

The diploma supplement is produced by higher education institutions. It is designed as an aid to support the recognition of academic qualifications and provides additional info about your diploma/degree. Usually, if you graduated from European Union, a diploma supplement can be enough to evaluate your qualification, but often it should be accompanied by the transcript of records.

Remember, since the diploma supplement was born with the 1999 Bologna process it is possible that it may not be producible for your degree if you graduated a long time ago. Read more about the diploma supplement on the EU website.

Dichiarazione di valore

If you want to study in Italy and you graduated abroad (especially outside the European Union), you could produce the dichiarazione di valore. This document can only be produced by the Italian Embassy or Consulate in the country where you obtained the degree. Unfortunately sometimes it can take several weeks. Below, some alternatives.

CIMEA

The Statement of Comparability and the Statement of Verification are accepted and preferred by many universities as an alternative to the Declaration of Value and/or the Diploma Supplement. They can be produced by CIMEA.
CIMEA is the official Italian centre within the NARIC – National Academic Recognition Information Centres – network of the European Union and the ENIC – European National Information Centres – network of the European Council and of UNESCO.

Take a look at the FAQ section below.

F.A.Q. about CIMEA

What does CIMEA do?

CIMEA supports academic mobility in all its forms and facilitates the understanding of the components of the Italian and foreign higher education and training systems and promotes the principles of the Lisbon Convention in the field of academic qualification recognition.

What’s the Statement of Comparability?

It is possible that the university organising the course may ask students – especially if they graduated outside the European Union – to produce a document called a Statement of Comparability. This is a certificate sometimes necessary to understand whether your degree is comparable to the one required for admission to the course. CIMEA issues it.

HOW TO get a Statement of Comparability by CIMEA?

Take a look at the tutorial we found on YouTube.

On March 18, 2024, CIMEA released a new website where it is easier to understand what you can do and what steps to follow. Find it here: https://cimea-diplome.it/