DSU scholarship to study in Italy

Scholarship requirements

The DSU scholarship is awarded based on financial merit. To participate in the competition, you must confirm that your family income is less than 25,990 USD per year. This allows for reduced tuition fees and eligibility for certain benefits, such as free student housing and meals. If the income is below 13,560 USD per year, the student will receive full coverage of tuition fees, all benefits, and an allowance of up to 7,910 USD per year^[2].

There are no age restrictions for participation in the competition. Applicants of bachelor's, master's, and PhD programs at Italian universities can apply.

The duration of the scholarship depends on the level of education:

• 7 semesters for bachelor's programs
• 5 semesters for master's programs
• 3 years for PhD programs^[3]

However, the scholarship is not automatically renewed. At the end of each academic year, recipients are re-evaluated based on the number of exams passed and credits earned^[4].

Required documents

• Passport copy
• Family income certificate
• Bank certificate for each family member
• Property certificate
• University acceptance or pre-admission letter — not always required

The documents should contain information for a specific year, often for the previous year and the first half of the current year. Each region in Italy has its own requirements, so it is essential to verify the information at the university or on the regional DSU website. For example, DSU Toscana.

Next, the document package needs to be submitted to a special authority responsible for assessing the welfare of the population. As a result, the candidate receives the ISEE Parificato certificate, which indicates the annual income of their family. This certificate is crucial as it determines eligibility for the scholarship and determines its amount.

Additional documents required for university admission should also be prepared in advance:

• DDV / CIMEA — Italian certificate of recognition of foreign diplomas^[2]
• CV

The documents need to be translated into English or Italian, notarized, and apostilled for all income certificates and bank statements.

What to do if family income exceeds the scholarship requirements

If your family's income exceeds the ISEE limits and scholarship requirements, you can try to participate in the competition as an independent student.

In this case, there are two main conditions:

• Live separately from your parents for the last two years — the housing should not belong to parents
• Have an individual income of at least 10,170 USD per year^[1]

Stages of the scholarship application

1. University document submission

   • Only enrolled university students or those with a pre-enrollment letter can apply.
   • Study the DSU scholarship information on the official website beforehand and contact the commission if needed to clarify the required documents and application procedure.
   • Document submission at Italian universities usually takes place from April 15th to July.
   • Include the acceptance letter or pre-enrollment letter in the DSU scholarship application package. The DSU commission may request this document directly from the university.

2. Gathering scholarship documents

   • Collect all necessary documents and certificates first.
   • Next, apostille and translate the documents, in that order.
   • For education-related documents, additional recognition by the consulate may be required.

3. Application submission

   • Applications open in July. Check the official website of the regional DSU, such as DSU Tuscany, for the current application deadline.
   • Typically, the deadline for submitting online applications is early September, and for PhD students, it's mid-November.
   • Before this time, register on the regional DSU website and complete the online application.
   • Attach all required documents to the application. The deadline is mid-November for all education levels.

4. Sending documents to authorized bodies in Italy

   • The full list of required documents and the submission method depends on the guidelines of the selected university.
   • Sometimes, ISEE equalized documents are required, and other times, translated and apostilled family income documents are sufficient.
   • The package of documents will be checked, and an ISEE equalized will be formed, determining the applicant's ranking and scholarship amount.

5. Final decision

   • Preliminary results are announced until September 30th, and for PhD students, until December 15th.
   • The final list of scholarship recipients is published by November 30th, and for PhD studies, by January 16th.

Exact dates may be subject to change. For accurate information, refer to the official scholarship website.