Italian Universities

Basically, I am really confused about how they work...
I randomly came across PhD programmes at the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa where it said that there is no tuition fee, accommodation + meals are free and they give you an annual stipend of 10.000 euros ( :eek:

)
They also said that students applying should have one of a list of languages (English, Italian, French etc) which means that Italian is not compulsory ( :eek:

x2)

Then I was checking the University of Bologna where I saw that there are tuition fees + Italian is required and even though there are scholarships available, not all PhD students get them.

This is so weird...I would expect the same country to have similar policies across its Unis.

So yeah, any Italians able to explain the system?

Reply 1

ader1

the "scuola normale superiore di pisa" is an exception. it is a special institution, totally different from any other university in italy. basically, its philosophy is to admit only the best of best and the most motivated student. you have to be extremely excellent in you subject, and you must maintain your excellence while you study there (for example, if you manage to pass the exams to do your undergraduate there, you have to keep your exam results above a certain level, otherwise you get kicked out of the school). in exchange, it is free (or paid in same cases) and gives you one of the best possible education in the world. basically, you go there if you are an incredible genius/nerd and you wish to dedicate your whole life and free time to your subject. bologna is a normal university, so its policies are similar to all the other unis in italy. however, i'm italian and i really dont suggest you to come study here. seriously. if you want to see a beautiful country, come here on vacation. what do you study, btw?

Reply 2

*Corinna*

Original post by ader1

But you just said that Pisa is apparently an amazing university. So why not study there? I am studying Latin and there is actually a very good professor at the scuola normale superiore di pisa. That's why I am considering it.
Just one question, do they actually accept students who don't speak Italian? (My Italian is pretty basic. Of course I will learn it if I go there, but at the point of my application it will not be good)

ps. If I wanted to go see a beautiful country, I could just go back to mine :tongue:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 3

ader1

Original post by *Corinna*

I'm sorry, as i'm a physics student (if i pass my exams,lol) my immediate thought was that you were in a scientific field. the situation is different for non-scientific subjects, and i know less about it. i was suggesting you not to come here because the quality of teaching, thats true, is really high, but the resources (labs etc) are really low, and finding a good and well-paid job is nearly impossible.
I dont know about the language, there might be some courses in english, but i think that most of them are in italian. remember also that italian mindset is really different from english, ill give you an example: an university might not say "italian required", simply because it is your business to get information about the language of courses, and if you go there and dont understand a word, well, its not their problem, it's yours!
so try to contact someone that studied there. good luck! and remember that is extremely hard to get in, even harder if you study latin and you are not italian.
PS i dont know where you live, but there are just no countries as beautiful as italy. FACT!

Reply 4

*Corinna*

Original post by ader1

Well, Italy is very beautiful, but Greece is better. FACT! :tongue:

And thanks for the info. I will ask about the languages but it's weird cause they even allow you to choose if you want to be interviewed in Italian or English. This is for PhD btw, I am guessing that for undergrad its different since there are many classes etc.
Have you studied at the SNS btw? So when you say that the resources are not good you mean at the SNS or in general?

Reply 5

ader1

Original post by *Corinna*

Well, Italy is very beautiful, but Greece is better. FACT! :tongue:

fundings for scientific researches are low in general, in italy, as the governments keep lowering the research funds. (thats why italian unis arent high in the world rankings: rankings are based on how many articles an uni produces, more than the quality of its teaching, which is, i think, higher here than in many western countries, because italian school always gives you a broad range of knowledge. example: in a scientific-oriented high school, you will study maths, physics, chemistry, astronomy, geology but also italian, latin, english, french, art, philosophy, history) however the lack of resources shouldnt affect your field of study (am i right?). plus, pisa is among the best (if not the best) italian uni, so if you just wanna come to italy, thats the right choice; consider also roma and bologna, as far as i know they are the other top universities here.