Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa)

What kind of institution is it?

SNS is not a traditional university but a select “scuola superiore”. Undergraduates are enrolled at the University of Pisa while winning SNS’s additional honours programme through a very demanding competitive examination; the institution also runs doctoral programmes.

Extremely small and elite with around 600 students, SNS offers intensive per-student academic support, a seminar culture and an international research environment.

The city of Pisa and student life

In Tuscany, Pisa is a mid-sized university city known for its scientific tradition. SNS’s historic buildings are in the city centre; the dense academic community shapes student life.

Programmes and levels

Programmes concentrate in two areas:

• The sciences: mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology
• The humanities: literature, philosophy, history, art history
• Undergraduate honours programme (jointly with the University of Pisa)
• Doctoral (PhD) programmes

Admission and selection

Admission rests, far more than on school marks and interview, on a very demanding subject-specific competitive examination. There may be separate assessment processes for international students; places are limited and competition is high.

Fees, housing and grant

For admitted students, tuition is free. The institution also provides free halls, meals and a regular financial allowance. SNS therefore offers a fully-funded education based on merit alone, independent of financial means.

Language of instruction

At undergraduate level teaching is mainly in Italian; the doctoral and research environment runs largely in English. Italian proficiency is needed for the honours programme; English proficiency is expected for doctoral applications.

Application for Turkish students

Applying from Turkey, for the degree recognition and the official procedures in Italy the Universitaly pre-enrolment, a CIMEA report or a Dichiarazione di Valore are needed. For your academic application file, the sworn translation of your diploma, transcript and supporting documents must stand ready.

Which documents should you have sworn-translated for the Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa)?

Applying to the Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa) (or to a programme in the same city), most documents issued in Turkey need a sworn Italian translation. The most-translated documents in master’s, doctoral and bachelor’s applications:

• The diploma (bachelor’s/master’s) and, where applicable, the provisional graduation certificate,
• The transcript and the diploma supplement,
• The course contents (where a recognition/compatibility assessment is needed),
• The income and financial documents (for the DSU grant and the ISEE Parificato),
• The statement of intent, CV and references (in Italian or English, by the programme’s language).

The order generally runs: the document is apostilled first, then sworn-translated into Italian from the apostilled version, and where needed the degree recognition (a CIMEA report or the consulate Dichiarazione di Valore) is obtained. For detail see our apostille guide, CIMEA recognition, Dichiarazione di Valore and Universitaly application pages. For document-level detail, the diploma-transcript translation and university application translation pages help.

Frequently asked questions