Bachelor Degree in Italy

Last checked: September 5, 2026

A bachelor degree in Italy is usually a three-year first-cycle qualification called a Laurea. It requires 180 ECTS/CFU, and international students can find English-taught options in fields such as economics, business, engineering, politics, psychology and social sciences.

What makes admission confusing is that Italy does not have one bachelor's admission system. Your entrance test, English requirement, documents, deadline and tuition calculation depend on the university and programme you choose.

Is a bachelor's degree in Italy three years?

Usually, yes.

The standard Italian bachelor's qualification is the Laurea, which belongs to the first cycle of higher education. It normally takes three years and requires 180 CFU/ECTS. A comparable foreign secondary-school qualification can give access to this level of study.

That makes the standard pathway:

Secondary school → 3-year Laurea → optional 2-year Laurea Magistrale

Some subjects use different degree structures, so always check the official page for the course you are considering.

Which bachelor's degrees can you study in English?

Italy has English-taught bachelor's programmes, but availability depends heavily on the subject and university.

Here are some current 2026/27 examples:

The University of Bologna's Economics and Finance programme, for example, is a three-year, 180-ECTS bachelor's taught entirely in English with restricted admission. Its Economics, Politics and Social Sciences programme follows the same three-year, English-taught structure.

Padua's Information Engineering programme is also a three-year, 180-ECTS English bachelor's and requires CEnT-S for 2026/27.

Choose the programme before choosing the university. A university may be attractive overall but still not offer your preferred bachelor's in English.

How much does a bachelor's degree in Italy cost?

There is no single tuition fee for bachelor's degrees in Italy.

Public universities can calculate tuition according to factors such as the programme and the student's or family's financial position, while some international students are charged specific flat fees.

For 2026/27, the University of Bologna states that students can receive lower fees based on financial circumstances. International students with family income and assets abroad use the university's required foreign financial documentation rather than simply assuming the maximum fee.

At the University of Padua, for example, the 2026/27 fixed tuition for many non-EU students whose household is outside Italy is €2,750 or €2,950, depending on the programme group, with reduced amounts for students from specified lower-income countries.

So don't budget using an internet-wide “Italy tuition fee.”

Check:

• your exact programme;
• whether the university uses income-based tuition;
• rules for students with income outside Italy;
• mandatory regional or enrolment charges;
• scholarship and fee-waiver deadlines.

Can scholarships reduce the cost?

Yes. Bachelor's students may have access to regional right-to-study scholarships, university scholarships and tuition reductions.

For example, Bologna points students to Emilia-Romagna regional support that can include scholarships, university accommodation and catering benefits, alongside university fee exemptions.

One common mistake is assuming every Italian government scholarship applies to bachelor's students.

For 2026/27, the standard MAECI scholarship call specifically excludes ordinary first-cycle Laurea triennale programmes, except the situations explicitly covered in the call such as eligible AFAM programmes and certain renewals.

For most bachelor applicants, start by checking:

regional funding + university scholarships + tuition reductions

rather than assuming MAECI will fund an ordinary bachelor's degree.

What do you need to qualify for a bachelor's in Italy?

The basic academic requirement is a secondary-school qualification considered suitable for entry into first-cycle university education.

After that, requirements become programme-specific.

This is why generic Italy application checklists can cause students to prepare documents they do not actually need.

For example, Padua's Information Engineering programme requires a secondary-school qualification and B2-level English, uses CEnT-S and states that legalised documents are not required at the initial application stage.

Use the official admission call for your chosen programme as the final document checklist.

Do you need TOLC, CEnT-S or another entrance test?

It depends on the course.

There is no single entrance exam for every bachelor degree in Italy.

For example, the University of Milan changed admission for its International Politics, Law and Economics bachelor's from English TOLC-E to CEnT-S for 2026/27. The programme uses the Mathematics and Reasoning on Texts and Data sections of the test for admission.

At Bologna, some bachelor's programmes use TOLC-E, while others simply describe their admission as restricted access with the details set in the programme's admission call.

Politecnico di Torino uses its own TIL admission tests for relevant bachelor's programmes, with programme-specific procedures and dates.

So the right order is:

Choose the course → open its admission call → identify the required test → prepare for that test.

Do not choose an entrance exam first and then look for courses that accept it.

How do you apply for a bachelor's degree in Italy?

Think of the process as programme admission first and international enrolment formalities second.

1. Shortlist the right programmes

Compare courses based on:

• subject;
• teaching language;
• admission test;
• eligibility;
• tuition;
• non-EU places where applicable;
• application deadline.

A shortlist of three to five realistic programmes is more useful than a list of 30 famous Italian universities.

2. Read the official admission call

This is where you find the requirements that actually matter.

Check whether the programme is:

• open admission;
• limited or restricted admission;
• subject to CEnT-S, TOLC, TIL or another test;
• asking for B2 English or another language standard;
• operating separate EU and non-EU application rounds.

The University of Padua explicitly warns that its bachelor's programmes have different deadlines and entry requirements, and applicants with foreign qualifications need to follow the admission call relevant to their category.

3. Complete the required entrance test

Register only for the test specified by your programme.

Do this early because test availability and programme deadlines do not necessarily fall at the same time.

4. Apply to the university

Submit the university application and required academic documents by the programme's deadline.

Do not assume all universities use the same application portal or timeline.

5. Complete Universitaly pre-enrolment where required

For international students who need the Italian pre-enrolment procedure, Universitaly is the official portal used within the process for international entry, enrolment and qualification recognition.

The official 2026/27–2027/28 procedures also make clear that university validation or pre-enrolment does not automatically guarantee a study visa; the final visa decision remains with the relevant Italian diplomatic-consular authority.

University admission and Universitaly pre-enrolment should therefore not be treated as the same step.

When should you apply?

There is no single bachelor's application deadline for Italy.

Deadlines vary by programme, university and applicant category.

For example, for 2026/27:

• Milan's IPLE admission applications ran from 12 March to 6 July 2026.
• Padua's Information Engineering application period for non-EU students abroad ran from 7 January to 7 March 2026.
• Padua's Psychological Science programme used the same January–March non-EU window.

This is why searching “Italy bachelor deadline” can give you the wrong answer.

The deadline that matters is the one published in your programme's official admission call.

What should you do before applying?

Start with the course, not the country-level paperwork.

Shortlist three to five bachelor's programmes that match your subject, academic background, language and budget. For each one, record:

programme → admission test → English requirement → deadline → tuition → funding options

Once those five points are clear, you know exactly what you need to prepare and can avoid spending time or money on documents and tests your chosen university never asked for.