Recognition of foreign degrees

Introduction

The concept of recognition of a degree title awarded abroad according to the purpose was introduced in Italy after the ratification of the Lisbon Convention, as determined by Law n. 148 of 11 July, 2002. Thanks to this procedure, students can request that their study title (Bachelors’ Degree level or Masters’ Degree level) awarded by a non-Italian University is evaluated to assess if it can be recognized in the Italian education system. According to the abovementioned law, the institution responsible for this process changes according to the purpose of the recognition. For detailed information on this procedure and the instution that are involved in the process, please visit this page.

The University is the institution responsible for the academic recognition of study titles (Art. 2, Law 148/2002). In this page, you can find information about the procedure for evaluation and recognition of a study title awarded by a non-Italian University aimed at obtaining the corresponding Italian study title awarded by the University of Pavia (nostrification or “ex-equipollenza”). Students who possess a Bachelors’ or Masters’ Degree awarded by a non-Italian University can ask that their study title is evaluated to assess whether it is equivalent to a study program offered by the University of Pavia.

ATTENTION: the application for ex-equipollenza is not related to evaluation academic study title awarded abroad for admission to a course/furthering of study or shortening of course/recognition of period of study/recognition of credits.

Evaluation and recognition of a study title awarded by a non-Italian University (nostrification)

Applying for “ex-equipollenza” of a study title obtained outside Italy does not mean to simply obtain a document certifying that this title corresponds to an Italian title, the aim of this procedure obtain the Italian study title corresponding to the title awarded in the non-Italian University.

The procedure comprises the following steps:

1. Students must choose the Bachelors’ Degree Program or Masters’ Degree Program offered by the University of Pavia that will be compared to their study title, the discipline must be the same or close to that of the title owned by the candidate
2. The evaluation and comparison will be carried out by the Teaching Board of the Department offering the study program. The comparison will take into account several characteristics of the two titles: level (Bachelors’ Degree or Masters’ Degree), duration of the program and of each subject, working load of each subject (credits or duration in hours).
3. The evaluation ends with a deliberation by the Teaching Board, the result can be:

• Full recognition (“Riconoscimento totale”), there is full correspondence between the foreign title owned by the student and the chosen title offered by the University of Pavia. The student can ask the title (Laurea or Laurea Magistrale corresponding to Bachelors’ Degree and Masters’ Degree, respectively) and diploma to be awarded. In order to complete the procedure and ask for the awarding, students will be required to pay a 400 € fee (including the 16 € stamp, the regional fee and fee for the Diploma). The full recognition is commonly known as “ex-equipollenza”.
• Partial recognition (“Riconoscimento parziale”), only a few exams from the foreign title can be recognized and the number of credits is lower than that required to obtain the Laurea (Bachelors’ Degree, 180 credits) or Laurea Magistrale (Masters’ Degree, 120 credits). In order to obtain the Laurea or Laurea Magistrale, students with partial recognition must take the missing subjects and pass the related exams. Students will be required to enrol in the desired course within the intakes defined in the teaching calendar related to the next academic year. The enrollment in Courses with a limited number of seats (numerus clausus) will depend on the availability of seats, candidates will be required to register and take the competition for seats in the Course of interest.

NOTE: this procedure is not the same one that allows to evaluate an academic career

ATTENTION: this University does not carry our full recognition (ex-equipollenza) of single cycle degree courses in Medicina e Chirurgia (in italian and in English), Odontoiatria e Protesi dentaria, Professioni sanitarie, Farmacia, Chimica e Tecnologia Farmaceutica, Psicologia, Psychology, neuroscience and human sciences, Scienze e Tecniche Psicologiche, Giurisprudenza, Scienze Motorie, Scienze e Tecniche delle Attività Motorie Preventive e Adattate, Scienze e Tecniche dello Sport, Tecnologie digitali per le costruzioni, l'ambiente e il territorio.

The cost of the application for evaluation and recognition (“equipollenza”) is 60 € (44 € for the application + 16 € stamp).

In case of full recognition of the title, students will have the possibility to be awarded with the corresponding Italian title and the parchment. The awarding procedure requires the payment of a 400 € fee.

Application for recognition of first level study titles (Bachelors' Degree)

If you reached this step it means that you are going to apply for the academic recognition of your study title. To apply, you must:

1. Register on this website.
2. From the menu in the upper right corner, select “Admissions > Evaluation test”.
3. Select “Richiesta di riconoscimento totale (ex equipollenza) Corsi di laurea di primo livello” from the list on page “Admission tests list”.
4. Select the course offered by the University of Pavia to which you want to compare your title from the list on page “Administrative category”.
5. Upload the documents required for equipollenza in page “Qualifications”.

This table shows the detailed list of documents required to apply and the type of attachment to be selected during the upload.

*Document legalization is not required for Belgium, Denmark, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, France, Ireland (Brussels European Convention 1987) and Germany (Italian-German Convention 1969); it is also not required for documents with an electronic/digital verification (as QR code).

1. Continue until page “Exam registration summary”, click button “Payments” to pay for the application fee (60 €).

The committee will receive the application and will evaluate the academic titles. Students will receive the result of the evaluation and further instructions by email.

Note: if possible, it is suggested to group documents to be uploaded based on the type of attachment. For example you can group the “high school diploma”, the “declaration of value of the high school diploma” and the “translation of the high school diploma” in a single file. You can also group the “Bachelors’ Degree” and the “translation of the Bachelors’ Degree” in a single file.

Application for recognition of second level study titles (Masters' Degree)

If you reached this step it means that you are going to apply for the academic recognition of your study title. To apply, you must:

1. Register on this website;
2. From the menu in the upper right corner, select “Admissions > Evaluation test”;
3. Seletc “Richiesta di riconoscimento totale (ex equipollenza) Corsi di laurea di secondo livello” from the list on page “Admission tests list”;
4. Select the course offered by the University of Pavia to which you want to compare your title from the list on page “Administrative category”;
5. Upload documents required for equipollenza in page “Qualifications”;

This table shows the detailed list of documents required to apply and the type of attachment to be selected during the upload.

*Document legalization is not required for Belgium, Denmark, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, France, Ireland (Brussels European Convention 1987) and Germany (Italian-German Convention 1969); it is also not required for documents with an electronic/digital verification (as QR code).

1. Continue until page “Exam registration summary”, click button “Payments” to pay for the application fee (60 €).

The committee will receive the application and will evaluate the academic titles. Students will receive the result of the evaluation and further instructions by email.

Note: if possible, it is suggested to group documents to be uploaded based on the type of attachment. For example you can group the “Bachelors’ Degree”, the “declaration of value of the Bachelors’ Degree” and the “translation of the Bachelors’ Degree” in a single file. You can also group the “Masters’ Degree” and the “translation of the Masters’ Degree” in a single file.

In case of partial recognition, the candidate will have to enroll in the chosen course in order to sit the missing exams defined by the Commission and required to obtain the degree. For enrollment, it is necessary to refer to the intakes for enrollment (for open access courses) and competitions for the access to courses with limited seats.

The candidates who submit their application for recognition by March 1st will be enrolled in the current academic year. The candidates who submit their application for recognition after March 2nd will be enrolled in the following academic year.