DSU scholarship is another regional need-based fully funded scholarship in Italy.
It is a little different than Edisu, LAzioDisco, ERGO, Aliseo, and ERSU.
The rules are the same but the method of document submission, universities, deadlines & regions are different.
So any international student who got admission to any public university in Tuscany region can apply for it.
“Diritto allo studio universitario” (DSU) is a fully funded Italian regional scholarship that can grant a sum of up to 6806 euros, (If the hostel & two-time meal is given, then the grant will be deducted accordingly.) Depending upon your income status & ISEE.
It is awarded strictly on two bases.
1. Income of the applicant
2. Merit of the applicant (in 2nd year only)
If you are interested to study in Italy for free, this detailed guide will explain the whole DSU Scholarship application process step-by-step.
1. What are the benefits of DSU scholarship?
2. Who can apply for the DSU scholarship?
3. Who Cant apply for DSU Scholarship?
4. Which documents are required for the DSU scholarship?
5. How to apply for a DSU scholarship?
6. What are the deadlines for the DSU scholarship?
7. Which universities in Italy come under DSU?
8. FAQS about DSU
9. Summary of the Blog
DSU mainly provides 4 benefits to its scholarship holders.
1. 2 free Meals per day for a whole year.
2. The tuition Fee is fully covered.
3. Hostel accommodation or coverage of living (renting) expenses, if you are living outside the DSU residence.
4. A total sum of 6806 euros, will be given (If the hostel & two-time meal is given, then the grant will be deducted accordingly.)
Note: The DSU grant strictly depends on the student’s income status (ISEE) & merit.
In the first year, it’s mostly “Income Need base”, but in 2nd year it also gets merit base.
1. National & International students of bachelor’s, Masters & Ph.D. students from all areas, disciplines & nationalities can apply for DSU.
2. There are no age restrictions for the DSU scholarship. Anyone who got admission to an Italian university can apply for DSU, in that specific region.
3. Students should be enrolled or at least finish the Pre-enrollment process before applying for the DSU scholarship.
3. There are NO IELTS, “Experience letter” or any kind of “Entry test” required for DSU.
These documents could be required for the specific universities & disciplines, but not for the DSU application.
4. The income of the applicant must be less than 25,000 euros per annum to be eligible.
The applicant can get all the privileges of a hostel & canteen etc if the income is less than 12,000 euro per annum.
The less the income is, the more benefits they will get.
The merit may change every year. It depends upon how many students applied per year.
5. Ph.D. students are only eligible if they aren’t beneficiaries or taking other research funds.
Remember one can be eligible for DSU scholarship but still fail to get the scholarship, because of not fulfilling the income or merit criteria.
1. Family income certificate
2. Bank certificate
3. Property certificate
4. FRC (Family registration certificate)
5. Codice fiscale
6. ISEE Parificato
7. Passport/ID
8. Italian Translation of the documents
9. University admission/Pre-Enrollment letter ( Additional document)
10. DOV (Declaration of value)/CIMEA/Self-declaration (Additional document)
11. Academic transcripts ( Additional document)
12. CV ( Additional document)
13. Course description ( Additional document)
14. IELTS/ English Proficiency ( Additional documents )
Note: The additional documents are not required for the DSU scholarship (per se).
It’s good to have these documents because it’s essential for the university Enrollment process, and could be asked later in additional documents.
The essential documents are explained below.
This certificate must have your family members’ full names,
occupations, Age & their income individually.
If you are from Pakistan then the income certificate must be made & verified by the FBR (Federal Board of Revenue) office.
If you are from India you have to verify it from the Revenue officer.
Applicants from other countries must verify their income certificate from their respective local authorities & then from the Italian embassy.
Remember the income certificate must be from the last calendar year, which means (From Jan-dec year 2022).
The income certificate must be translated into the Italian language.
Bank certificate of each family member. but If they are unemployed or students or retired, then you should provide evidence to those documents. ie Retirement letter, etc.
Applicants don’t need to legalize the bank statement. The document should be made for the year 2022.
This certificate contains all the property details of your family. if you are living in a rented home, then you should mention that.
if you are from Pakistan this document should be legalized & made by Tehsildar or in DC (deputy commissioner) office. The document should be made for the year 2022
It is only required in the case of Pakistani applicants.
The NADRA office in Pakistan issues it, (you can even apply for it online)
other countries like India need a family composition certificate.
International students should look into their respective specific authorities.
Note: All the above documents should be Apostile, translate & Legalize. (Except bank certificate)
Apostle means international attestation that is acceptable in 92 countries. The Ministry of external affairs does that for every country.
If your country isn’t under the Hague Convention, then do it from MOFA, (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), ie in the case of Pakistan.
Translate these documents & then Legalize them from Italian consulates.
All the income/assets and their values must be expressed in Euros, (by calculating the exchange rate of foreign currencies).
It’s a tax code. The Italian Fiscal code known as “Codice Fiscale” is an alphanumeric code made up of 16 characters.
If you haven’t created your Codice fiscale yet, click here. & create it in two minutes.
In easy language, ISEE Parificato is a certificate that summarizes the income and property information from abroad.
This document will evaluate whether you are eligible for a scholarship or not.
Who will issue ISEE Parificato?
The applicant will get this certificate in Italy from The CAF office ( Authorized Center for Fiscal Assistance).
In case of a DSU scholarship Students need to send these documents to the addresses mentioned in step 5 in the blog.
The passport must be valid for at least one year.
The following documents must be stamped, verified & translated by the Italian embassy.
Income certificate,
property certificate,
Family details certificate (FRC)
It’s proof that you are already pre-enrolled as an international student in the university.
Remember Pre-Enrolment is before Enrollment.
DSU is independent & has a separate deadline from university enrollment.
So those Students can still apply for the DSU scholarship, who are not yet fully registered or got the admission.
DOV is a descriptive document detailing the qualification awarded to a given person by any institution other than the Italian education system.
In other words
It is a measure of assessing the given qualification by the competent University for the prospect of admission to a degree program or recognition of the foreign qualification.
If DOV & CIMEA isn’t available at the moment you can upload it in the form of a self-declaration that you are eligible for this course.
It is usually issued by the Italian Embassy in the country where the qualification was awarded.
this document will be given at the time
The Regional Authentication Centre or Department of Education of the country must authenticate the highest degree by which the degree has been obtained.
All These documents must be from last year & legalized by their respective authorities. (according to your country)
These documents should also be translated.
Remember in most cases FRC & Family income certificate is enough.
In the family income certificate, the property is mentioned too.
If You have any questions related to the DSU scholarship or any other scholarship, you can also contact us for a live one-on-one session.
It’s 6 Step process.
1. Check Regional scholarship
2. Prepare the set of documents
3. Fill out & submit the application
4. Print & verification
5. Send it to the registered addresses
6. ISEE parificato & final ranking
First Check out which regional scholarship your university is offering.
whether your university is offering “DSU” or other Italian regional scholarships, like EDISU, LAZIODISU, ERSU, ERGO, ALISEO ETC.
To check this go to your university’s official website, in the top menu, there would be a “scholarship option for international students”.
For example in the case of “UNIPI” (university of PISA)
Go to the “UNIPI OFFICIAL WEBSITE” > Study > Fees and grants > DSU scholarship
You can see the DSU Scholarship is mentioned on UNIPI website.
See the screenshot ↓.
The applicant can do the same method for every university to find out which regional scholarships is applicable in their Italian host university.
Gather all the documents discussed in this blog, above.
Carefully read the criteria of documents.
Applicants only need the essential documents.
Which is
Income certificate,
property certificate,
Bank statement,
Family details certificate (FRC)
Passport copy
Additional documents may be needed if the DSU asked for them.
Go to the “DSU Toscana website” > “Borse e contributi” > “Borsa di studio” > “Sportello studente”> “Registrazione”
If you translate the website into English then
“DSU Toscana website” > “Grant and grants ” > “Scholarships” > “Student desk” > “Register create new user”
See the screenshot↓.
After filling out the application, the applicant should print out the receipt, (which is at the end of the application).
Attach the required documents in original form & send them to the their country consulates in Italy, for Italian language translation & verification.
They will paste a “Revenue stamp” (Marca da bollo) on the document.
Pakistani applicants should send it to the Pakistani embassy in MILAN for verification.
(Other applicants should send it to their respective embassies in Italy, but the whole process is just the same)
(Applicants can request other students to do this for them)
After verification, applicants need to send these documents to one of these addresses, according to their universities.
FLORENCE:
ARDSU Toscana – Servizio Interventi Monetari
Viale Gramsci, 36 – 50132 FIRENZE
PISA:
ARDSU Toscana – Servizio Interventi Monetari
Piazza Cavalieri, 6 – 56126 PISA
SIENA:
ARDSU Toscana – Servizio Interventi Monetari
Via Paolo Mascagni, 53 – 53100 SIENA
The offices mentioned above will make ISEE Parificato according to the applicant’s income & documentation provided.
The applicants should now wait for the final ranking.
Unlike EDISU, applicants don’t need to send to look for the CAF offices on the website.
they should just send it to the above-mentioned addresses.
The deadline for submitting the DSU scholarship (Tuscany) for 2023-2024 is 1.00 pm on 6 September 2023 (Italian time) for students enrolled or intending to enroll in the three-year, master’s, and single-cycle degree courses;
Starting from 25 September and until 13.00 on 15 November 2023 for students enrolled in doctoral and specialization courses.
The final ranking will be published on 30 November 2023, for bachelor’s, Masters & PHD programs.
15th January 2024 for those enrolled in PhD & specialization courses.
Generally speaking, This scholarship opens every year in May-June, & the deadline is mostly in August or September.
3. University of FLORENCE (UNIFI)
4. Polytechnic University of Milan (POLIMI)
5. University of MILAN (UNIMI)
In December. The final ranking list of scholarship holders is mostly published every year at the end of December.
These all are Italian regional scholarships in their specific regions with little differences in grants & application procedures, but as a whole, they are all need-based Italian scholarships.
LAzioDisco is in the Lazio region, DSU is in the Tuscana region, EDISU is in the Piemonte (Piedmont) Region, ERGO is in the Emilia Romagna region, ERSU is in the Sicily region, Aliseo is in the Liguria region of Italy.
NO. DSU scholarship is specifically designed for the Tuscany region of Italy. Other regions in Italy have their own specific scholarships like LAzioDisco (in the Lazio region), EDISU in the Piemonte (Piedmont) Region, ERGO in the Emilia Romagna region, Aliseo in the Liguria region, while ERSU in the Sicily region of Italy.
YES. The process sounds complicated because of the various income documents involved, which we explained completely in the blog above, but as a whole, it’s a need-based scholarship, so it’s not that difficult to get for applicants belonging to developing countries.
ISEE is basically a document, issued by the CAF office ( Authorized Center for Fiscal Assistance) in Italy which evaluates the economic condition of the applicant.
we already explained it here in detail.
ISEE tables for the DSU scholarship amount in Italy 2023-2024 is given below.
| ISEE | On-site students | Commuting students | Off-site students |
| from € 0
to € 12.500,00 |
€ 2236
1 free meal a day |
€ 3624
1 free meal a day |
€ 3056
2 free meals a day and free place in accommodation |
| from € 12.500,01
to € 16.666,66 |
€ 1833
1 free meal a day |
€ 3040
1 free meal a day |
€ 2057
2 free meals a day and free place in accommodation |
| from €
16.666,67 to € 25.000,00 |
€ 1650
1 free meal a day |
€ 2280
1 free meal a day |
€ 1234
2 free meals a day and free place in accommodation |
ISEE Breakdown for Autonomous Students:
| ISEE | On-site and
Commuting Autonomous students |
Off-site
Autonomous students |
| from € 0
to € 12.500,00 |
€ 6806
1 free meal a day |
€ 3056
2 free meals a day and free place in accommodation |
| from €
12.500,01 to € 16.666,66 |
€ 5807
1 free meal a day |
€ 2057
2 free meals a day and free place in accommodation |
| from €
16.666,67 to € 25.000,00 |
€ 4984
1 free meal a day |
€ 1234
2 free meals a day and a free place in accommodation |
NO. Students can only get benefit from one scholarship at a time.
The DSU beneficiaries will be considered incompatible if the student tries to get funds from other scholarships.
For more details, please visit the following official sites of DSU
We cover everything in detail, but if you still have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask us in the comments.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS RELATED TO DSU SCHOLARSHIP OR ANY OTHER SCHOLARSHIP, YOU CAN ALSO CONTACT US FOR A LIVE ONE-ON-ONE SESSION.
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