Last updated on 11 september 2026
On this page, you will find information on how to obtain recognition in Italy for your research activities carried out in your home country or in another country during doctoral studies, and where to find useful information for conducting research in Italy.
To be recognised in Italy, the research period carried out in your home country or in another EU Member State must form part of a study programme equivalent to a similar programme within the Italian higher education system (doctoral programme) which involves an agreement between an Italian university and an institution, university or body accredited or recognised in your home country.
The research period must comply with the agreed minimum and maximum duration and must be carried out exclusively in person.
Scholarship recipients are entitled to a 50% increase in their scholarship for each duly certified day spent abroad. This additional funding cannot be claimed for stays in the doctoral candidate’s country of birth, citizenship, residence or domicile.
Who to contact
You must contact an Italian university that offers a doctoral programme in your field of interest.
For an Italian university to authorise research activities to be carried out in another EU Member State, the following are required:
- Research project: a research project assigned to the doctoral student by the Doctoral Programme’s Academic Board and the relevant university or department following the relevant selection procedure;
- Supervisor’s responsibilities: the supervisor/tutor is responsible for overseeing the academic and organisational aspects of the research activities and must meet the requirements laid down by the regulations of the country where the research takes place;
- Final evaluation: the supervisor/tutor must evaluate the final outcome of the research activities, which may then be approved by the Doctoral Programme’s Academic Board.
You may be interested in news about:
a) International doctorate
With the university’s authorisation, a doctoral student may undertake periods of research at accredited or recognised universities in other countries to supplement the work carried out in Italy (including under international agreements), or to prepare a thesis under a joint supervision arrangement involving two or more countries. This may lead to a double or multiple degree valid in the countries of the partner universities, ensuring the qualification is also subsequently recognised in Italy.
b)European Doctorate
The European Doctorate is not an autonomous supranational academic qualification, but a certification awarded under the responsibility of individual university institutions. It was established by the Confederation of European Union Rectors’ Conferences in 1992 and is awarded provided that the following four conditions are met:
- the thesis receives a favourable evaluation from at least two highly qualified academic staff members from two universities in EU Member States other than the country where the doctoral student is enrolled and other than the country where the doctoral student completed their placement;
- at least one member of the examination board must belong to an institution in an EU Member State other than that of the country in which the doctoral student is enrolled;
- part of the defence of the thesis must be conducted in an official language of the European Union other than that of the country in which the doctoral student is enrolled.
- the doctoral thesis must be the result of periods of work and research, which need not be consecutive, lasting a total of at least three months in an EU Member State other than the one in which the doctoral student is enrolled.
If you obtain a European Doctorate in your home country or in the country where you studied – provided that one of the participating universities is Italian – you may use the certification in Italy without any further formalities. In fact, the European certification awarded by one of the participating universities is also recognised in the other participating countries.
Useful links
For information on doctoral programmes: https://cercauniversita.cineca.it/php5/dottorati/cerca.php
For information on researcher mobility: https://www.euraxess.it/
For calls for applications relating to research recruitment in Italy: https://bandi.mur.gov.it/
For information about the European University Association: https://www.eua.eu/
Relevant legislation
Act No. 210 of 3 July 1998
Rules for the recruitment of permanent researchers and university professors
https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:1998-07-03;210
Section 19 of Act No. 240 of 30 December 2010
Rules on the organisation of universities, academic staff and recruitment
https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:2010-12-30;240~art19
Ministerial Decree No. 45 of 8 February 2013
Regulation laying down the procedures for the accreditation of doctoral venues and programmes and the criteria for the establishment of doctoral programmes by accredited bodies
Ministerial Decree No. 301 of 22 March 2022
New guidelines for the accreditation of doctoral programmes
Ministerial Decree No. 470 of 21 February 2024
Decree defining the procedures for the accreditation of research doctoral programmes at AFAM institutions
https://www.mur.gov.it/it/atti-e-normativa/decreto-ministeriale-n-470-del-21-02-2024
