MAECI Scholarship: Language and Culture Course Eligibility

Who is the language-and-culture award for?

The award is aimed at internationals resident outside Italy who want to learn Italian or push their existing level on — generally on intensive courses at Italy’s recognised language institutions, or at the universities that teach Italian to foreigners (the Stranieri universities of Perugia and Siena among them). Unlike a full bachelor’s or master’s, this award is short and language-focused. For the student planning a later Italian degree and wanting the level it demands (a B2, say), the language award is the strategic first step.

The conditions, and the starting level

A minimum starting level of Italian is generally expected — the award aims at carrying existing knowledge to an advanced level, not at the absolute beginner; the floor moves with the bando. Turkish citizenship, residence outside Italy and the age limit are among the base conditions besides. The application wants the motivation set out clearly: why Italian matters to you, and how it ties to the academic or professional goals ahead. The exact conditions sit in each year’s published call.

The course’s coverage and length

The courses generally run intensive across a few months, covering the culture beside the language — building skills from daily conversation to academic Italian, backed in most cases with cultural events. At the course’s end, the level reached can be certified through an official CILS or CELI exam — the certificate that later shows a university or master’s application the language condition met. The length and the content move by institution and by bando.

Who is it the sensible choice for?

The award makes sense above all for: those planning a later Italian degree who want the language ready first; those with an academic or personal pull towards the language and the culture; and those after a short, focused Italian experience. Aiming straight at a bachelor’s or master’s instead, head for the MAECI award at that level, not the language one. The award’s detailed workings are on our MAECI language-and-culture grant page.

The application and the documents

The application generally wants a document showing your current Italian level, the academic documents and the motivation statement — with sworn translations where needed. The course periods running short, plan the whole season from the start: application to admission, visa to arrival. The Italian Cultural Institute’s learning and certification routes support the preparation besides; the general process is on our application steps page.

Where is the course taken?

The courses generally run at Italy’s institutions specialised in teaching Italian to foreigners — led by the Stranieri universities of Perugia and Siena, which teach the culture, the literature and the history beside the language; the universities’ language centres and the recognised language schools sit among the options too. Where you study follows the call’s conditions and your preference. The institutions’ intensive programmes are built for visible progress in a short span, generally in small, interactive classes.

After the course: from certificate to degree

What makes the language award strategic is the roads it opens after. The level reached, certified with a CILS or CELI, shows a later bachelor’s or master’s application the language condition met — the award becoming not a stand-alone course but the first rung of a longer Italian plan. The Italian experience and the academic contacts gained during the course pay in the later applications too. Plan the award, then, tied to the goals ahead — that is the most productive reading of it.

Notes for Turkish students

For the Turkish applicant, the biggest point is the motivation set out clearly: why Italian matters to you, and how it ties to the academic or professional road ahead. The course running short, plan the visa and the arrival from the start; and through the course, take all the exposure the country offers — the daily conversation, the reading, the events all speed the learning. The short term used fully is the award turned into an investment in the future.

Notes for language-course candidates

• Tie the motivation to the goals ahead
• Certify the level with CILS/CELI at the course’s end
• Plan the visa and arrival early for the short course
• Check the current level meets the floor condition
• Choose the institution (Stranieri universities, language centres) right

The language award and the degree award

Keep the language-and-culture award apart from the degree-level ones. The language award is short, language-focused and generally ends in a certificate — no academic degree at its end; the degree award supports a whole bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate. Fix the goal clearly, then: the Italian pushed on — the language award; a degree taken — the MAECI award at that level. And a bridge runs between them: the Italian readied on the language award first, the degree application after, is a clever ordering.

The value of the immersion

The most effective way of truly learning a language is living where it’s spoken — and the award offers exactly that immersion: the classroom’s lesson reinforced in the street, the café and the events. The world carries the learning past the classroom walls and speeds the progress; and the culture, the way of life and the people known up close pay hugely should a longer Italian education follow. The immersion is what turns the language award from a mere course into an experience worth far more.

Frequently asked questions