The Italian Government (MAECI) is offering grants for foreign citizens and Italian citizens living abroad to study, and pursue training or research programmes at public and recognized Italian higher education institutions for the academic year 2024-2025 in Italy.

The purpose of the grants is to foster international cooperation in cultural, scientific, and technological fields, promote the Italian language and culture, and support Italy’s economic system in the world.

In collaboration with the Aurora Foundation, MAECI grantees from the African continent, speakers of African languages, are offered the opportunity to take part in the WikiAfrica Higher Education Initiative. The programme encourages students to participate actively in order to provide specialized information about Africa online. The initiative is developed by the Moleskine Foundation in partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation and the Aurora Foundation.

More information on the grants can be found at: https://studyinitaly.esteri.it/ 

Degree Level

Master’s and PhD

Non-Degree Offers

  • Higher Education courses in Arts, Music, and Dance;
  • Research under academic supervision;
  • Italian culture and language courses.

Deadlines

Applications must be submitted by 14h00, Central European Time on 14 June 2024.

Who Can Apply?

  • Applicants not residing in Italy and Italian citizens living abroad;
  • Must hold an appropriate academic qualification required to enroll at an Italian University or Institute (more information on: https://studyinitaly.esteri.it/Static/ProcedureIscrizione);
  • Applicants for Master’s Degree course: must have a bachelor's degree for admission to the first year, and  second-year students must demonstrate satisfactory progress during their first-year exams in order to qualify;
  • Applicants for Master’s Degree, Higher Education courses in Arts, Music, and Dance, and Italian Language and Culture Courses should not be over 28 years old by 14 June 2024 (with the exception of renewals);
  • Applicants for PhD Programmes should not be over 30 years old by 14 June 2024 (with the exception of renewals);
    • Applicants are also required to provide the admission letter to the PhD from the relevant Italian University; 
  • Applicants for Research Projects under academic supervision should not be over 40 years old by 14 June 2024;
    • Grants can be awarded to research projects carried out at Italian Research Institutions;  
    • Applicants must submit a research project, with the name and contacts (e-mail address) of their supervisor, and provide the invitation/acceptance letter from the host University/Institute. 
  • For most university courses, pre-registration is required through the Universitaly portal 
  • Applicants for English and Italian taught courses must provide a certificate of Italian language proficiency. The minimum level required is B2 within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). For information please visit: Common European Framework of Reference | Europass. Proof of efficiency in Italian is not required for courses taught entirely in English. 
  • Applicants for  Italian language and culture advanced courses must provide a certificate of Italian language proficiency. The minimum level required is A2 within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). For information please visit: Common European Framework of Reference | Europass;
  • No proof of language proficiency is required for PhD programmes and Research under academic supervision.

What the Grants Offer

  • Grants are awarded for a period of study of nine months, except for Italian language and culture courses awarded for a period of three months;
  • Grantees may be exempted from the payment of enrollment and tuition fees depending on the policy of each university;
  • Grantees will be covered by a health and medical/accident insurance contracted by MAECI for the entire duration of the grant;
  • Grantees will receive a 9000 Euros monthly allowance on a quarterly basis, which will be paid in their Italian bank account;
  • Anything not stated above must be covered by the recipient him/herself, including international airfare;
  • Grants are awarded for a period of study from 01 November 2024 to 31 July 2025.

Application Process

Applicants must complete and submit the online application form through the Study in Italy portal.

Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.   

Contact

For inquiries, please contact the Italian Institute of Culture via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Documents and Links

Note

Please note that this opportunity is not offered by the Department of Higher Education and Training. Applicants are required to undertake their own research into programmes and institutions and are responsible for ensuring that the qualifications will be recognised in South Africa by contacting the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and the relevant professional bodies. If there are any discrepancies in the details provided, the information given by the sponsor supersedes the details provided above. No additional financial support will be provided by the Department of Higher Education and Training.