How to get the DSU scholarship in Italy?

The scholarship covers laurea, laurea magistrale and doctoral programmes but not master courses; by one account the regional scholarship is about 5,000 euro a year, and university fees with a low ISEE are a token 200-300 euro a year. There is no truly free study: the regional tax and the enrolment stamp are always paid.

You apply under your region's and university's bando, every year anew, with a deadline (end of August in one region). One student had her scholarship withdrawn because the documents were uploaded after the 10 February deadline. Family income and property papers are legalised at the consulate in advance: the next slot there may be a month away.

For a foreigner the income is assessed through an ISEE parificato built from home-country certificates; property is valued by floor area (in 2026 a member checked the 500 euro per square metre rule), and the bank statement is requested as of 31 December. Some Rome universities stopped accepting the ISEE parificato in 2025 - then the standard fee for your country of citizenship applies.

The scholarship comes with obligations: a minimum of CFU credits per year, otherwise the money is reclaimed. Payments go to an Italian IBAN that the university helps open; in Liguria a member was allowed to give an online bank's IBAN. In the south, chat rumour has it, even winners see delayed payments.