Italian Government Scholarships (MAECI)

Who can apply

Foreign citizen selected under your country's allocation on the Study in Italy portal, or an Italian citizen legally resident abroad in one of 20 named IRE-eligible countries; each candidate may apply to only one country's selection
For Master's/AFAM courses: no older than 28 at the bando deadline; for PhD: no older than 30; for research projects: no older than 40 (age limits waived for renewals)
Not currently enrolled in, and not a graduate of, an Italian secondary school or an Italian public/private higher-education institution (university or AFAM), and not enrolled in a foreign university programme delivered on Italian territory
PhD applicants need an actual admission letter to a doctoral programme at the time of application; pre-admission letters are not accepted. Research-project applicants need a tutor's letter of invitation and a research proposal instead
Study must be full-time and in-person on Italian territory; this scholarship does not fund a 3-year Bachelor's degree, a single-cycle Master's, a 1st/2nd-level university master's, specialisation courses, single courses, or part-time/out-of-course enrollment

The installment structure is worth understanding before you count on the full amount

The installment structure here is worth understanding before you count on the full 10,800 euros. It isn’t paid as a flat monthly stipend: MAECI’s official call document splits it into three payments tied to milestones, 5,500 euros once you’ve arrived and enrolled, 2,300 euros a few months in once your enrollment is confirmed as ongoing, and the final 3,000 euros only after you’ve shown satisfactory academic progress (27 ECTS credits during the year for degree courses). Arrive after 15 November 2026 and the total gets cut down proportionally to your actual arrival date, so this isn’t a scholarship to coast into late.

Tuition is the other place this call is less generous than it first sounds

Tuition is the other place this call is less generous than it first sounds. MAECI itself doesn’t pay tuition fees; whether you owe any depends entirely on your chosen university’s own exemption policy for scholarship holders under Italian law, and MAECI’s call explicitly says it will not reimburse you if your university does charge. The regional tax and stamp duty (156 euros combined) are yours regardless, and Italian-language courses are excluded from any tuition exemption entirely.

A programme with a long, publicly documented track record

MAECI’s own archive of past calls for this programme goes back to at least the 2016-2017 academic year, with a published call, eligible-country list, and self-declaration affidavit for every intervening cycle. That decade-plus paper trail is worth knowing if you want to gauge how consistently the eligible-country list and award terms have (or haven’t) shifted from year to year before assuming next cycle will mirror this one exactly.

IRE applicants and dual citizens face a narrower, single-choice allocation

If you’re an Italian citizen living abroad rather than a foreign national, don’t assume you’re covered under the general country list: the IRE allocation applies only to citizens resident in one of 20 named countries, and if you hold dual citizenship you can only apply once, under whichever nationality you pick. Everyone else applies under their country’s own allocation, which is set fresh each year on the Study in Italy portal rather than fixed from year to year, so even if your country qualified last round, check the current list rather than assuming it carries over.