Italy

Read more about The organisation of the academic year

The organisation of the academic year 2025/2026 in Italy is as follows:

Beginning of the academic year	Institutional autonomy, October
Period(s) when there are teaching activities	Institutional autonomy, usually during the semesters
Period(s) of examination	Institutional autonomy, at the end of the semesters
End of the academic year	Institutional autonomy, September
Breaks between the teaching activities excluding

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Academic year
Type of support

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Minimum, maximum, and most common annual fee amounts (in EUR)

Cycle
Type of Students
Status of Students

FEES

Fee regulations are set by the universities, as long as they comply with national law. Within each university regulation, the fee amounts are defined according to the economic status of each student and according to the type of course.
Students with extended length of study may be required to pay higher fees compared to home full-time students in the respective cycle. However the amount is regulated by each university independently within its own fee regulation.
Students following programmes in a foreign language may also incur higher fees.
International students are not subject to the same fee policies applied to home students.
Fees for first and second cycles: bachelor's and master's programmes are included, equivalent levels are excluded.
Minimum fee per year: defined for each academic year by law. Maximum per year: substituted with 90th percentile; calculated with actual data for all registered students (home and international); the value refers to all students enrolled, without distinction between students with regular or insufficient credits/extended length of studies. Most common per year: substituted with "average amount"; calculated with actual data for all registered students.
The annual average tuition fees and the percentiles are calculated on the basis of the actual tuition fee paid by each student (net amount). Students totally exempted from fees are not included in the calculation of the average and of the percentiles, while students partially exempted are considered on the basis of their actual payment.
Mandatory regional tax and Mandatory Central Government tax (respectively about 140 euros and 16 euro) are included.
The percentage of students who pay above 100 euros excludes students who are only required to pay the mandatory regional and central government taxes (around 160 euros in total).

Annual grant amounts (in EUR)

Cycle
Type of Students
Status of Students
Type of Grants

DIRECT FINANCIAL SUPPORT - GRANTS

Need-based and merit-based grants are available for all students in first and second cycles.
Grants are available to full-time and part-time home and international students and are usually paid in three instalments. Grants are assigned to international students with same conditions and amounts apply for home students.
Data on shares of grant holders for 2023/2024 academic year is an estimation. Data refers to all students (first and second cycle, full-time and part-time, home and international).
There is no age limit for students to be grant beneficiaries.
Scholarships are awarded on the basis of calls issued by the regional bodies for the right to education (accessible on site: https://www.universitaly.it/). The calls also assign a subsidized meal and accommodation at a controlled price compared to the market.
European and national mobility programmes are available (for example the so-called “Italian Erasmus”) and every regional bodies for the right to education provides specific initiatives consistent with social and economic characteristics of territories.

Annual loan amounts (in EUR)

DIRECT FINANCIAL SUPPORT - LOANS

Publicly subsidised loans are available for home and international students.
Data on share of loan borrowers is an estimation. The percentage 0,03% refers to all students (first and second cycle, full-time and part-time, home and international).
There is no age limit to taking out a loan.

Key features of the education system

Governance

The education system is organised according to the principles of subsidiarity and of autonomy of institutions.

Read more about Organisational variations and alternative structures in ECEC

As for the offer for children aged less than 3 years, beside public nurseries directly run by municipalities, there are several accredited private nursery and merely private institutes offering this type of service. Recently, due the lack of available places in public nurseries, ECEC services in company for employees are getting more and more common.

Read more about Home-based provision

Central regulations (Law 107/2015 and D.Lgs 65/2017) acknowledge home-based education only for children aged between 0 and 3 years.

Read more about Educational guidelines

Steering documents

The educational frame for the ECEC system is made up of the following documents:

Read more about Organisation of centre-based ECEC

Admission requirements and choice of ECEC setting

ECEC for children under the age of 3

Admission requirements are established at local level. Local authorities make priority lists to regulate admissions in case places available are less than the requests.

Read more about Access

Place guarantee to ECEC

ECEC is organised in two separate levels according to the age of children:

Educational services for children aged less than three years,
Preprimary schools for children aged three years and over.

Neither of the two ECEC levels is compulsory and there is not a legal guarantee to a place in any of them.

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Italy

National Information

National Information

National Information

Minimum, maximum, and most common annual fee amounts (in EUR)

FEES

Annual grant amounts (in EUR)

DIRECT FINANCIAL SUPPORT - GRANTS

Annual loan amounts (in EUR)

DIRECT FINANCIAL SUPPORT - LOANS

Further readings

Key features of the education system

Governance

Steering documents

Admission requirements and choice of ECEC setting

Place guarantee to ECEC

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