From arrival to enrolment

Residence Permit (only for non-EU students)

No later than 8 working days after arriving in Italy, non-EU students must apply for a residence permit for study reasons at the local Police Headquarters (questura). The application can also be submitted at the Post Office, by filling out the corresponding application forms. Several agencies and qualified charitable institutions may also provide assistance with regard to the submission of these forms.

Upon application, the student shall be identified and asked to pay a fee for the residence permit issuing procedure, which amounts to approximately 80 EUR.

The student shall be informed on places available on the relevant course as well as other deadlines to be met for checks and assessments to be carried out in person at the Police Headquarters. After submitting the application, the student will be given a receipt which is deemed valid until the official residence permit is issued. This permit shall be proof of the student's regular permanence in Italy.

For further info on this subject, please see: Study in Italy

Assessment of documents at the Incoming Students Office

After arrival in Italy and after completion of the residence procedure, the student must book an appointment with the Incoming Students Office and hand in the documents to be assessed prior to admission. The Office shall check whether the documents comply with the regulations currently in force. The student must submit the following documents to the Office staff:

  • Original documents required for enrolment in bachelor's or master's degree courses: the same ones uploaded onto the Apply website, plus the approriate legalisations and legalised translations;
  • Only for non-EU students: a valid residence permit or application receipt;
  • Valid proof of identity (passport or ID card).

Upon submission of these documents, the student shall be registered and informed on what to do next.

Important: students handing in incomplete documentation shall be provisionally accepted (as long as both the admission test and the Italian language test have been passed), meaning that the student is given the chance to complete/integrate the missing documentation no later than 31st January each year.

If the candidate fails to complete/integrate the documentation by 31st January, he/she shall no longer be considered a student enrolled at the University of Ferrara and shall have to return to his/her country.

Limited access courses and admission tests

First of all, the student should check the details of the degree course he/she would like to enrol in and more specifically:

The limited access degree courses listed in the university academic offer require candidates to pass an admission test before enrolment. The admission test for medical courses shall be regulated according to the Universitaly website. The application process for the test is carried out online directly by the student and is not subject to the pre-registration procedures performed at the Diplomatic Authority.

Admission tests for the limited access degree courses are compulsory also for students who apply for the recognition of their previous academic curriculum (academic recognition of foreign qualifications). After taking the test, the University of Ferrara shall publish the results, also specifying the international students' eligibility according to the limited quota permitted.

Application for vacant places (only for non-EU students)

Students who have not obtained a place within the limited quota allowed for non-EU students need to consider courses that are still available for international students. Accordingly, only one application may be submitted for:

  • admission to another degree course at the University of Ferrara after checking availability with the Incoming Students Office (provided that the Certificate of Equivalence of Qualification states the qualification meets the access requirements of such degree course);
  • admission to the same degree course offered at another university (provided that the qualification meets the access requirements of such degree course and that the student has already passed the relevant admission test for that course). In this case, the application must be submitted both to the Rector of the University of Ferrara and to the Rector of the university the student wishes to enrol in.   

Admissions for vacant places must be applied for by filling in the appropriate application form at the Incoming Students Office, also known as "domanda di riassegnazione".