Many students from all over the world choose to come to Europe to receive a high-quality education, discover new cultures, and enjoy incredible art and history. According to the QS ranking, European countries have some of the best universities worldwide.
Italy is an amazing destination for studying in Europe at a low cost: Italian public universities are some of the oldest and most prestigious in the world, the education level is very high, and tuition fees are affordable.
Let’s explore some cheap universities in Italy for international students.
Before listing Italy’s best and cheapest universities, we want to clarify how the tuition fee payment system works.
In Italy, university fees are generally based on family income. To determine the tuition amount, students must submit the ISEE, a document that assesses their family's financial situation.
EU students, who do not have their income declared in Italy, follow the same process and can present a ISEE parificato.
Presenting the ISEE or ISEE parificato is not mandatory; if you choose not to submit it, you will automatically pay the highest tuition fee.
Students coming from non-EU countries pay a flat tax. Flat tax rates are not the same for every country. They vary based on specific citizenships. For example, students from economically challenged countries generally pay a very low flat tax.
University tuition fees in Italy are normally divided into three instalments paid throughout the year. This rule applies to both bachelor’s and master’s degree courses.
The exact dates differ by university, but in most cases are:
Generally speaking, universities in Italy offer full or partial tuition fee exemptions for students who meet specific requirements established by law or university regulations.
If your family’s ISEE is below a certain level, you will receive a full reduction on your tuition fees and will be able to study for free or at very low costs.
Outstanding academic results can also allow you to study for free in Italy, as almost every university offers partial or full scholarships for students with high grades.
Other reasons that might fully exempt you from paying university tuition include having a disability certification, having a parent receiving a disability pension, or having a low income and becoming a parent during the academic year. For more details about these exceptions, we recommend consulting the specific university’s website.
Italian public universities do not typically charge an application fee.
However, some university courses -such as medicine, veterinary science, psychology, and architecture- require an admission test, which has an associated fee. The test price is usually between 25 and 100 euros.
If you are a student from one of the Countries classified as having low human development, you can study at a reduced cost in Italy.
The Italian Ministry of Education and Research (MIUR) has compiled an official list of particularly poor countries for the 2024/2025 academic year (Decree No. 440/2024). In any case, be sure to check each university’s official list to confirm eligibility.
Here are some Italian universities and the corresponding annual flat tax they offer to international students from least developed countries. The prices below are for the academic year 2024/25:
If you are looking for more information about enrolling in an Italian university, you can consult our free guide to studying in Italy.
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