MAECI Application Steps (Study in Italy)

Before you open the portal

Have these ready first: a valid passport, scans of your bachelor’s degree and transcript, your language certificate, a current CV and a draft motivation letter. Settle your target universities and departments in advance too — researching them mid-application wastes time and multiplies mistakes. And check the eligibility conditions from the start.

Step 1 — Open an account on Study in Italy

Create your account at studyinitaly.esteri.it. Enter your identity details exactly as written in your passport — a single letter’s difference in your name can bounce your file at later stages (visa, university enrolment). For the Turkish characters (ç, ş, ğ, ü, ö, ı), follow the spelling in your passport’s machine-readable line.

Step 2 — Read the call (bando) and the country list

The ListaBandi section of the portal publishes each year’s call and eligible-country list. Confirm there that Turkey is listed, which categories (master’s/doctorate/AFAM/language) are open, how many preferences you may enter, and the closing date and time. The bando is the application’s constitution: whenever you hesitate, check the bando first.

Step 3 — Choose your category and institution/programme

On the form you select your scholarship category (a master’s, say) and your target Italian institution and programme. The fit between department and goal weighs in the assessment — choose a programme you genuinely want and that matches your profile, not one at random. Enter as many preferences as the call allows, ranked by a realistic order of priority.

Step 4 — Upload the documents

Upload the required documents — diploma, transcript, language certificate, motivation letter, passport, CV, references where held — as legible PDFs. Make sure the scans are sharp, full-page and the right way up; a blurred or incomplete document weakens the file. The full list and formats are on our required documents page.

Step 5 — Strengthen the motivation letter

The motivation letter is the document that most separates you from the other candidates. A good one answers three questions plainly: Why this programme? Why Italy, and this university or group? How does this education sit in your future plan? Avoid boilerplate; use concrete examples, references to the target group’s academics and their work, and measurable goals. Whatever language you write in, have a native speaker do the final read.

Step 6 — Submit and track

Send the form before the deadline. The portal closes at a set hour on the final day — generally in the afternoon, Central European time — so don’t leave it late; uploading and verification take time. After submitting, track the status through the portal; additional documents or corrections can be requested. Check your e-mail regularly so no notification slips past.

The result, and after

Winners are announced towards the end of summer. If you win, the university enrolment, Universitaly pre-enrolment, Dichiarazione di Valore and visa process all begin — and at that stage the apostilled, sworn-translated diploma and transcript are essential. Prepared, you move fast. For this timing-critical stretch, see the calendar page.

A short checklist

• Account opened, details matching the passport exactly
• Bando and country list read
• Category and institution/programme chosen
• Documents uploaded as sharp PDFs
• Motivation letter through its final read
• Application sent before the closing date and time

Preference strategy: how many, and which?

The call allows a set number of preferences — don’t waste them. Give each one to a programme you would genuinely accept and that fits your profile. A sound strategy balances them “reachable–target–ambitious”: stacking everything on one hyper-competitive programme is risky, and spending them all on easy targets throws opportunity away. Judge programmes on course content, teaching language, research groups and post-graduation prospects — and let the city and its cost of living weigh in too, since the grant stays the same while the outgoings don’t.

Building the motivation letter, section by section

A motivation letter is built from concrete blocks, not stock sentences. Open by fixing who you are and what you’re aiming at in a single sentence. In the middle, connect your bachelor’s experience to the programme: which course, project or internship pointed you here? In the third section, answer “why Italy, why this university/group” with references to the target group’s work. Close by placing the education in your future plan, with measurable goals. Keep it unexaggerated, honest and easy to read — the assessors read a great many of these.

Common application mistakes

• Writing your name differently from the passport
• Uploading blurred, incomplete or wrongly oriented documents
• Leaving it to the last day and jamming at the portal’s closing
• A copy-paste motivation letter not written for the programme
• Acting on guesswork without reading the bando

After submitting: the quiet stretch

Between submission and the result lies a long silence. Use it well: follow the university admission processes, research the Universitaly pre-enrolment, and prepare the apostille and sworn translation of your diploma and transcript. When the results land, you’re ready for enrolment and the visa. Planning beats panic — the students who lose the most opportunities are the ones who fall into a document scramble after winning.

The small details that strengthen a file

Between two candidates with identical qualifications, small details usually open the gap. Scan your documents sharp and complete; cropped or crooked scans read as carelessness. Keep the file names orderly so the assessor finds what they’re looking for. Make the CV one page, chronological and legible — don’t pad it with irrelevant work. Ask for references from people who genuinely know you and can judge you against the programme; a generic letter from a grand title who barely knows you does less than a warm, concrete one from further down the ladder. And build one consistent narrative across the whole application: motivation letter, CV and chosen programmes should all point at the same goal. A scattered file looks weak even when its parts are strong.

Related document guides

The portal and document side, in our guide library: the Study in Italy portal and the master document checklist.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply to more than one university?

You may enter a set number of preferences under the call’s rules. Keep them to programmes you genuinely want and that fit your profile.

Does the application cost anything?

The MAECI application through Study in Italy is free. Your only spending is on the document work — translation, apostille and the like.

Can I make corrections after submitting?

The portal may allow edits to some fields until the deadline; after it, no changes are possible. Check every field twice before sending.