Italy

• Public university fees are income-based (ISEE), so the bill can be €0 to a few hundred euros for lower-income families
• As an EU citizen you skip the visa and the Universitaly pre-enrolment queue entirely
• IB Diploma holders are often exempt from the Dichiarazione di Valore and from translation (San Raffaele says so outright), though the Diploma itself must be apostilled
• Strong English-taught clusters: Bocconi and Luiss for economics, the two Politecnici for engineering and design
• Living costs outside Milan (Bologna, Padova, Torino, Trento) are low compared with Denmark

• Getting the income-based fee as a foreign family means obtaining an ISEE parificato through an Italian CAF office, with your family's income documents legalised and translated — start this months early
• If you do not file an ISEE you are automatically put in the top bracket and pay the maximum
• Each university runs its own calendar and its own portal; there is no Parcoursup or UCAS to keep you organised
• Italy reformed Italian-taught Medicine in 2025 with an open 'semestre filtro'; English-taught Medicine still uses IMAT, but this area is unstable — re-check for 2027 entry
• Most bachelor's degrees are still taught in Italian; check language of instruction programme by programme, not university by university

Accepted

Yes

Minimum

Full IB Diploma. No national minimum points figure is confirmed here; individual universities and programmes set their own bar.

Score conversion

A national IB-to-Italian conversion is not confirmed here. Where a degree has limited places, applicants are ranked by their entrance-test score (TOLC or IMAT), not by IB points.

• San Raffaele's guidance for foreign qualifications: 'The Declaration of Value or the Statement of Comparability are NOT required if the qualification obtained is an IB Diploma. The IB Diploma must be Apostilled in all cases' — in Switzerland, where the IB issues it. It also says the DP Course Results certificate is not enough on its own. Other universities set their own document rules.
• A CIMEA Statement of Comparability is the modern substitute for the Dichiarazione di Valore for other qualifications; several universities waive it for IB holders who authorise the IB to send results directly via MyIB.
• Universitaly states that evaluating foreign qualifications is the exclusive responsibility of each institution, and that credential-evaluation documents are not a compulsory national requirement.
• Subject prerequisites are handled by the entrance test rather than by HL/SL rules — a TOLC-I assumes school-level maths and physics, a TOLC-E assumes maths and logic.

1. Pick the exact degree programme, not just the university — language of instruction, entrance test and deadline are all set at programme level.

2. Check whether the programme needs a TOLC (engineering: TOLC-I; economics: TOLC-E; English-taught versions exist) or a university-specific test, and book a sitting early, because you can only take the same TOLC once a calendar month.

3. Apply on the university's own portal in its admission round, using predicted IB grades where the round closes before July.

4. Authorise the IB to release your final results to the university through MyIB, or send a copy of the Diploma. Many universities waive the Dichiarazione di Valore for IB holders, but some (San Raffaele, for one) still want the Diploma apostilled in Switzerland — check your university's list.

5. If you want the income-based fee, apply for an ISEE parificato through an affiliated Italian CAF office, with your family's income and property documents (from wherever they are earned or held) legalised and translated into Italian.

6. Enrol and pay the first instalment, then confirm your ISEE in time for the second instalment (typically due in spring).

7. Register your residence with the local comune once you have been in Italy more than three months.

Three different worlds. Open-access degrees admit everyone who passes a non-selective placement test. Numero programmato degrees (national or local) rank applicants by entrance-test score. Private universities such as Bocconi and Luiss run their own selective rounds on school record, test and sometimes interview.

• 2 September to 29 September 2026, 15:00 Italian time
  2027/28 entry

  Bocconi — Early Session for 2027/28 entry: applications

  Hard deadline

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  Published on Bocconi's 2027-28 admissions page as "2 - 29 September 2026 (3:00pm Italian time)", with results in mid November 2026. The time given is the closing time. Bocconi runs only two sessions for 2027-28, Early and Winter — the page states "There are two selection sessions available for the admission to the 2027-28 AY: Early and Winter", so unlike earlier years there is no spring round to fall back on.

  Source

• 24 September 2026
  2027/28 entry

  Bocconi — Early Session for 2027/28 entry: last date to sit the Bocconi online test

  Hard deadline

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  Bocconi's 2027-28 admissions page publishes the Early Session test cut-off as "until 24 September 2026" and warns that "the web testing platform will be closed a few days before each application deadline". You must already hold a score — Bocconi online test, SAT, LSAT or ACT — before you can apply, so this falls five days before the application deadline it feeds.

  Source

• 25 November 2026 to 26 January 2027, 15:00 Italian time
  2027/28 entry

  Bocconi — Winter Session for 2027/28 entry: applications

  Hard deadline

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  Published as "25 November 2026 - 26 January 2027 (3:00pm Italian time)", with results in mid March 2027. The time given is the closing time. This is the last Bocconi round for 2027-28 entry: there is no spring session.

  Source

• 21 January 2027
  2027/28 entry

  Bocconi — Winter Session for 2027/28 entry: last date to sit the Bocconi online test

  Hard deadline

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  Published as the Winter Session final test date, "21 January 2027", five days before that session's application deadline.

  Source

• 26 January 2027, 15:00 Rome time

  Bocconi Winter Session closes — Bocconi's last round for 2027

  Applies to: EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

  Hard deadline Via n Italian university

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  The example of how early the selective universities close. Bocconi has no spring round for 2027-28 entry. You need a test score first: the last Bocconi online test date for this session is 21 January 2027.

• 6 July 2027

  IB results released

  Applies to: EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

  Via n Italian university

  Details

  Selective rounds decide on predicted grades well before this; open-access degrees may still be taking applications.

• 31 October 2027
  2027/28 entry

  Visa application for 2027/28, which pre-enrolment on Universitaly must precede (not for EU/EEA or Swiss citizens)

  Details

  Set in the MUR/MAECI circular "Procedure per l'ingresso, il soggiorno, l'immatricolazione degli studenti internazionali", which is explicitly valid for two years: "VALIDE PER GLI ANNI ACCADEMICI 2026-2027 e 2027-2028". Its wording is "Per l'anno accademico 2027/2028 [...] il termine ultimo per la presentazione delle domande di visto è fissato al 31 ottobre 2027"; the 2026/27 equivalent in the same paragraph is "entro e non oltre il 30 novembre 2026". Note what the date actually is: it is the last day to lodge the visa application at the consulate, and the Universitaly pre-enrolment has to be submitted and validated by the university before that — the circular adds that institutions may set their own earlier dates, "Tali date potranno essere anche antecedenti a quella del 30 novembre 2026 e del 31 ottobre 2027". The visa procedure does not apply to EU/EEA or Swiss citizens: the circular lists among those the visa procedures do not apply to "i cittadini appartenenti ai Paesi dell'Unione Europea, nonché a quelli provenienti da Norvegia, Islanda, Lichtenstein e alla Confederazione Elvetica, alla Repubblica di San Marino e alla Santa Sede".

  Source

• Set by each institution

  Each university's own application round

  Applies to: EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

  Via n Italian university

  Details

  No national portal and no national date for an EU applicant. Each university, and often each programme, publishes its own round on its own site. Selective private universities close months before IB exams; open-access degrees often take applications into the summer.

• Set by each institution

  Sit the TOLC entrance test, if your degree uses one

  Applies to: EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

  Your own plan Via n Italian university

  Details

  Not published by anyone — a date worth setting yourself.

  Offered monthly from February to November, one sitting of each type per month, €35. The university's own notice says which sittings count. Sit it early so there is time to retake.

• No central deadline
  2027 entry

  University-by-university application windows

  Details

  There is no national deadline for EU students, and the MUR circular says so directly: "I termini previsti per le procedure relative alle preiscrizioni ai corsi di studio, ad eccezione di quelli a numero programmato, sono definiti da ogni singola Istituzione della formazione superiore e pubblicati nei rispettivi siti". The selective private and technical universities close much earlier than an IB student expects — Bocconi's first round for 2027/28 closes on 29 September 2026 and has its own entries here. Open-access degrees often accept applications into September of the entry year. Politecnico di Milano had not published its 2027/28 bando for Laurea programmes on 23 September 2026; its most recent call is for 2026/27. Check each university's own admissions page.

  Source

• Not yet announced for this intake
  2027 entry — the 2027 decree does not exist yet

  IMAT — entrance test for English-taught Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine

  Details

  The date is set by a ministerial decree published each year, which also fixes the seat numbers and the registration window — Padova states the rule as "The number of places available, the date of the admission test, the content and the procedures for selection are set forth annually by Ministerial Decree". The shape of the rule, from the most recent decree: for 2026/27 entry the decree was D.M. n. 1005 of 6 August 2026, and Bologna's official notice board records that "the International Medical Admission Test (IMAT) will take place on 29 September 2026", citing the MUR notice of 3 July 2026. So the decree lands in early August and the test follows about seven weeks later, at the end of September — after IB results, unlike almost everything else on this page. The 2027 decree had not been issued on 23 September 2026, so no 2027 date exists yet. The 2026 registration window on Universitaly, reported elsewhere as 26 August to 9 September 2026, is not on any official source this page links to, so treat it as unconfirmed.

  Source

• Set by each institution
  2027 entry

  TOLC entrance tests

  Details

  CISIA publishes the frequency rule as "Puoi sostenere un TOLC dello stesso tipo ogni mese. Fatto il TOLC, dal giorno dopo puoi prenotarne un altro per il mese successivo", and the season as "Puoi fare il TOLC da febbraio a novembre, entro le scadenze indicate nel bando o avviso di ammissione del corso di laurea che ti interessa" — so the sittings run February to November and each university's own bando sets the last one that counts for its round. There is no single TOLC date to put in a calendar; book early rather than after IB results.

  Source

English-taught bachelors

A meaningful but still minority offer, concentrated in economics and management, engineering, design, international relations and English-taught Medicine. No official national count is given here.

Proving your English

Universities typically accept IB English A or English B at an agreed grade in place of IELTS/TOEFL, but the accepted grade varies by university, so check each university's page.

Local language needed?

Not for English-taught programmes

• Italian is not required for an English-taught degree, but it is required for ordinary life, part-time work and most internships.
• The Italian-language proficiency test (TEST@CASA) referred to in Universitaly circulars applies to visa applicants entering Italian-taught programmes, not to EU students on English-taught degrees.

Tuition, EU/EEA

Public universities: income-based. Politecnico di Milano 2026/27 charges a first instalment of €880.04 plus a second instalment of €0–€3,003, giving a maximum all-inclusive contribution of about €3,943 a year; students with an ISEE up to €22,000 pay about €157 for the second instalment, and an ISEE below €27,740 reduces the first instalment too. Private universities are flat-rate: Bocconi is €17,000 a year for 2026-27; its 2027-28 amount had not been set on 24 September 2026. Bocconi also cuts that fee by 100%, 80%, 60%, 40% or 20% on need, through one "Bocconi4Access to Education" application. (2026/27)

Tuition, non-EU

The same income-based scale applies at public universities if an ISEE parificato is filed; without one you are placed in the top bracket and pay the maximum (about €3,943 a year at Politecnico di Milano for 2026/27). Bocconi's fees page gives one figure, €17,000, with no EU/non-EU split. (2026/27)

Application fee

Varies by university. A TOLC sitting costs €35. Check each university's own fee.

• How ISEE works for a foreign family: ISEE is an Italian means-test combining household income (from two years before), savings and property, divided by a scale based on household size. If your family's income and property are outside Italy, you cannot get an ordinary ISEE. Instead you request an ISEE parificato (also written ISEEU parificato) from an affiliated Italian tax-assistance centre, a CAF. You supply household composition, each member's income for the second preceding year, certificates for any property owned on 31 December, and any securities or shareholdings. Foreign documents must be legalised by an Italian diplomatic or consular representation and accompanied by a certified Italian translation. The CAF sends the result straight to the university. If you skip this step, the university assumes you are wealthy and bills the top bracket.
• The national 'no tax area' threshold quoted for 2025/26 was an ISEE of €23,000 for full exemption with a taper up to €30,000, but individual universities set their own, often more generous, thresholds (Unimore: full exemption to €27,000, reductions to €45,000; Politecnico di Milano: reduction below €27,740). Always read the university's own regolamento tasse.
• Politecnico di Milano warns that an ISEEU parificato does not by itself qualify a student for the statutory partial or total exemptions under Law 232/2016 — a detail worth asking each university about directly.
• No official living-cost figure is quoted here.

Funding you could actually get

• Danish SU can follow you here if you can claim it (Danish citizens, or EU/EEA citizens with equal status under EU rules) and meet the ties-to-Denmark requirement. The programme must be SU-approved, and outside the Nordics SU is capped at four years (48 klip). If you cannot claim SU, look first at your own country's student finance: several EU/EEA systems fund a full degree in another country.
• Regional right-to-study grants (borsa di studio DSU, run by bodies such as DSU Toscana, ER.GO in Emilia-Romagna, EDISU in Piemonte) are means-tested on ISEE and can cover fees, a cash grant and subsidised housing; EU students are eligible on the same terms as Italians.
• Bocconi and Luiss both run substantial need-based and merit scholarships assessed on the same income documentation as ISEE.
• Erasmus+ funding for an exchange year within the degree.

Residency

As an EU/EEA citizen you enter on your passport or national ID card. If you stay longer than three months you register as an EU resident (iscrizione anagrafica) at the comune where you live, showing enrolment, health cover and evidence of sufficient means. You will also want a codice fiscale (tax code) almost immediately — banks, phone contracts, rental agreements and the university all ask for it.

Working

EU/EEA citizens have full labour-market access in Italy with no permit and no hour limit. Non-EU students on a study visa are limited to part-time work (commonly cited as 20 hours a week / 1,040 hours a year); check the current limit on the permit.

Housing

University-owned student housing exists but is limited and usually allocated through the regional right-to-study body on the same means test as the grant. Most students rent a room in a shared flat found through Facebook groups, university noticeboards or agencies. Milan is genuinely expensive and competitive; Bologna, Padova, Torino and Trento are easier. Start looking in June or July for a September start.

Healthcare

Bring your European Health Insurance Card for the first months. Students staying long-term usually register voluntarily with the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale for an annual fee, which gives you a family doctor and full access; check the current annual amount with the local health authority.

Your IB is still a foreign qualification here, so the IB entry rules still apply to you.