If you are a non-EU citizen who is resident abroad, submit your request for recognition of your qualification to the embassy representing the country under whose university system the qualification was issued. Having verified the formal correctness of the request, the embassy will forward it to the University.

If the request for recognition of the foreign qualification is for enrolment in a course of study, recognition of the qualification is not required but it is necessary to verify whether the qualification is recognised as suitable for admission to the course you are interested in.

If you live in Italy and wish to request recognition of your foreign qualification for registration or work purposes only

Identify the study programme at the University of Trento that best fits your academic path: name of the study programme, type of exams, duration of the course and ECTS credits if you obtained the qualification in a European Union country.

The process of recognizing a university qualification obtained abroad is based on current legislation and on the autonomy of Italian universities, which establish the methods and conditions for the recognition of qualifications.

The request for recognition may lead to:

  • partial recognition of the qualification: in this case you do not obtain the equivalence of the qualification, but partial recognition of credits from your previous career; you can choose to pursue the qualification at the University of Trento by enrolling in a course of study – after checking the admission procedures and timeframes – with partial recognition of the exams;
  • full recognition of the qualification: in this case the equivalence of your foreign qualification with the qualification issued by the University of Trento is declared.
Documentation required

Based on your chosen course of study you must submit the following to Student Support:

  • the application for credit recognition (available in the attached documents)
    a copy of the certificate of the qualification and an official translation into Italian
  • the diploma supplement (if you were awarded the foreign qualification in a European Union country)
  • the original or certified copy of the certificate of the exams taken and an official translation into Italian
  • the syllabus of each exam taken (exam topic, bibliography, ...), on university headed paper or endorsed with a university stamp, in Italian or in English, German, Spanish or French
  • a copy of any additional qualifications and official translation into Italian
  • a copy of your identity card or passport.

Within 60 working days from the date of submission you will receive an email with the outcome of the request for recognition.

Partial recognition of the qualification

In the case of partial recognition of the qualification, you can decide to enroll in the study program at the University of Trento and complete the course in order to obtain the Italian qualification.

In this case you will have to verify:

procedures and timing for admission to the course
UniTrento fees
Full recognition of the qualification

If your qualification is fully recognisable, you will need to submit:

  • an application for recognition of the foreign qualification;
  • a certificate of achievement of the secondary school qualification valid for admission to the University of the country in which it was obtained, in original, or certified copy, and official translation into Italian;
  • the certificate of the qualification for which you are requesting recognition and official translation into Italian, in the original, or a certified copy;
  • the diploma supplement in the original (only if you obtained the qualification in a European Union country);
  • a certificate of the exams taken to obtain the foreign academic qualification, in the original, or a certified copy,
  • an official translation of the syllabus of each exam taken (i.e. topic and bibliography), on university headed paper or endorsed with the University stamp, in Italian or in English, German, Spanish or French;
  • your curriculum vitae in Europass format;
  • a bank transfer receipt of 200.00 euro (the student support office will inform you on how to proceed with the payment);
  • a copy of your identity card or passport.
Recognition of a PhD title

The purpose of the recognition process is to provide the applicant with a qualification equivalent to the one they have already earned, that is officially recognized in Italy (a process described in the past with the word "equipollenza", equivalence).

Before submitting any request, applicants must know the reason why they need the recognition of a foreign qualification, as there are different procedures involving different bodies.

Universities examine foreign qualifications for academic purposes (for the award of the equivalent Italian qualification), while other public offices do the same for non-academic and professional purposes (participation in public selections, pension rights, and others).

Further information on the recognition of foreign qualifications for non-academic purposes can be found on the CIMEA web page.

Recognition is granted only if the foreign degree is an official third-cycle doctoral degree from the relevant foreign system, awarded by an official institution of the foreign system, and only if it has the same elements in terms of duration, research nature, and methods of attainment as the corresponding Italian degree.

Assessment of the application at the University of Trento

At the University of Trento, applications are examined by the Doctoral Committee (Collegio dei docenti) of the Phd Programme (or the Executive Committee, if any, or a committee of members appointed by the Doctoral Committee).

Where there are no bilateral agreements in place between Italy and the country of the awarding institution, the application may:

  • be successful and lead to the award of an Italian Dottorato di Ricerca (PhD), or
  • be rejected, where there is a substantial difference between the qualification awarded in the foreign country and the Italian one, in consideration of the foreign institution that awarded it and the Italian legislation in the field of higher education.

How to submit the application

Applications can only be submitted through the online form Recognition of PhD degrees awarded abroad, and must include the following documents:

  • Identity document;
  • Foreign PhD qualification (diploma) awarded by an higher education foreign institution;
  • Sworn translation into Italian of the foreign qualification;
  • Diploma Supplement or Statement of comparability issued by the Italian ENIC-NARIC centre (CIMEA);
  • Legalisation of the diploma (or Apostille, for the countries that have signed the Hague Convention of 1961) issued by the competent authorities in the country of the awarding institution, or a certificate proving the authenticity of the degree (Statement of verification) issued by the Italian ENIC-NARIC centre (CIMEA);
  • Where available, a certificate of equivalence of qualification (Dichiarazione di Valore in loco), from the competent diplomatic or consular representation in the country of the awarding institution;
  • A statement or certificate of the awarding institution, with the elements and activities of the PhD course, containing: the title of the doctoral programme, the duration of the programme based on the university regulation (for the foreign qualification to be recognised, the duration of studies cannot be less than 3 years, as required by Italian legislation on doctoral programmes), the date of first enrolment and the qualification date. Where possible, also include the type of course (it is requested a course of an "academic research" type; "professional" type is not admitted to evaluation) and the legal name of the awarding institution, specifying that it is entitled to award qualifications as an accredited institution. This statement or certificate is not required if the applicant has already provided the Diploma Supplement with all the required information.
    Where this statement or certificate is in a language other than Italian or English, applicants will include an Italian or English translation under their own responsibility;
  • A copy of the doctoral thesis and/or information on where the official version is archived and can be consulted (university repository, library website, etc.). Where such thesis has been written in a language other than Italian or English, the applicant will include an Italian or English translation;
  • The Italian or foreign second cycle qualification that gave access to the doctoral course abroad;
  • The applicant's CV, in Italian or English, listing all the qualifications, publications, and teaching and research assignments;
  • Payment of the 300 € application fee ("Contribution for the foreign qualification recognition request”) to be made through PagoPA.  This payment does not guarantee that the application will be successful and will not be refunded.

The University of Trento reserves the right to ask applicants to provide additional documentation, if deemed necessary, in order to be considered for the recognition.

At the end of the process, if the application is granted, within 30 days of receiving the notice the applicant is required to:

  • submit all the original documents to the relevant PhD Office at UniTrento (Divisione Supporto Corsi di Dottorato e Alta Formazione);
  • pay a 200 € fee for the issuance of the Italian PhD ("Contribution for the award of the corresponding Italian degree") and a 16 € revenue stamp.