Recognition in Italy of foreign academic qualifications and shortened study programmesForeign academic qualifications will not be automatically valid in Italy. They must be recognized in accordance with the applicable Italian laws. The recognition of foreign academic qualifications is regulated by art. 48 (recognition of foreign academic qualifications) of Italian Presidential Decree no. 394 of 31 August 1999 and Italian Law no. 148 of 11 July 2002 (ratification and implementation of the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications Concerning Higher Education in the European Region held in Lisbon on 11 April 1997 and provisions to adapt the Italian regulations).
Universities are authorized to recognize study programmes and periods of education in other countries and foreign academic qualifications that might be used for the purposes of accessing higher education, continuing with university studies and receiving qualifications from Italian universities. To this end, the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano has issued “regulations on the recognition of foreign academic qualifications”.
A summary of the procedure that must be followed is given below.

The procedure in brief
Anyone with a foreign university qualification that corresponds to a qualification offered by the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano can ask for it to be recognized. The University can only recognize equivalent qualifications to those that it offers and awards (see the “Further information” section to the right on this page).

1. Applicants must ask about the possibilities of recognition at the Student Secretariat.
2. A recognition application (available to the right on this page) must be handed in at the Student Secretariat together with the documents required.
3. The Student Secretariat will conduct a formal check of the documents and forward them to the appropriate faculty.
4. The Faculty or Course Council will assess the examinations taken abroad and decide whether to recognize the entire foreign qualification or only some of the examinations. In the latter case, the applicants must enrol at the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano and take the examinations required to complete the qualification.
5. Once the Faculty has made its decision, the Student Secretariat will issue a recognition decree from the Rector and inform the applicants of the outcome of the recognition process within 90 days of the application.
6. Upon receipt of this notification, the applicants can collect the recognition decree and the original documents provided from the Student Secretariat.

For qualifications that are fully recognized, the recognition decree confirms the equivalence of the foreign qualification with the Italian one issued by the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano.

For credits that are partially recognized, applicants can enrol at the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano if they satisfy the admission requirements for their chosen course and pass the selection procedure. This means that applicants must provide certification that they possess the language skills required. Applicants can enrol at the university, take the additional examinations required and at the end of the study programme they will be given the same qualification as the other students.

7. The applicants must pre-enrol for the course.
8. They must then pass the admission procedure (language examinations / entrance examinations).
9. If they are awarded a place on the course, they can enrol at the Student Secretariat and pay the tuition fees for the academic year in question.
10. The Student Secretariat will enter details of the examinations that have been recognized and the correct year of enrolment in the database.
11. The applicants must take the necessary examinations.
12. Once they have completed their studies, applicants will be given a final certificate and the qualification (as well as a diploma supplement).

The procedure in detail