Law no. 15 of 25 February 2022 modified the text of Article 38 of Legislative Decree no. 165 of 30 March 2001, introducing into the Italian legal system the opportunity to recognise, for academic purposes, PhD qualifications obtained abroad directly by higher education institutions, according to the rules dictated by art. 2 of Law 148/2002.
The University of Messina has issued D.R. n. 1718/2023 “University Regulations regarding the recognition of the PhD qualification obtained abroad for academic purposes”.
The application process for recognition of foreign PhD degrees will be open from January 1st to June 30th.
Before undertaking the process of recognizing a PhD degree obtained abroad, it is important to know that you can request:
- direct recognition for the purpose of obtaining an Italian degree (equipollenza), through a process of evaluating the foreign PhD to obtain a corresponding Italian third-cycle degree, legally valid throughout the country
- recognition only "for the purpose of participating in public competitions for the recruitment of personnel" (equivalenza), pursuant to Article 38, paragraph 3, of Legislative Decree No. 165/2001. The equivalence of a foreign qualification allows you to participate in a competition without being awarded an Italian qualification and without following the procedure for obtaining academic recognition. The equivalence procedure is the responsibility of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers - Department of Public Administration - Public Administration Office. – Recruitment Service (www.mur.gov.it/it/aree-tematiche/universita/equipollenze-equivalenza-ed-equiparazioni-tra-titoli-di-studio/titoli-1).
To obtain recognition of a foreign PhD as an Italian PhD degree awarded by the University of Messina, the foreign degree must meet all of the following requirements:
- It must be an official third-cycle PhD degree awarded by the relevant foreign system, issued by an official institution of the foreign system
It must confer the same academic rights in the relevant foreign system;
- It must have the same nature and subject matter as the corresponding Italian degree in terms of duration, which must not be less than three years, nature of research, and awarding method
- There must be a PhD degree in the same field within the research programs offered by the University of Messina, of which at least one cycle has been completed, with which the foreign degree can be compared, both in terms of type and subject matter.
These requirements apply to all students with a foreign PhD degree, regardless of their nationality, whether awarded in European Union (EU) or non-EU countries.
Please note that, for the purpose of recognition of a foreign PhD, the qualification, foreign or Italian, that granted access to the PhD must be verified (Master's Degree/Single-Cycle Degree in Italy, or an official second-cycle academic qualification, including one obtained abroad).
To submit an official application for direct recognition, interested parties must identify the PhD program at the University of Messina with which the foreign degree can be compared, by type and subject area, by consulting the page https://www.unime.it/didattica/post-laurea/dottorati-di-ricerca, which lists the active PhD programs, along with the relevant coordinator.
If the pre-evaluation is successful, the candidate must contact the PhD Programs Office (dottorati@unime.it) to receive instructions on how to pay the foreign qualification recognition fee of €216.00, including stamp duty. They will then submit all the documentation required by Article 3 of the Regulations to protocollo@unime.it, with the subject line "Request for Foreign PhD Recognition."
Please note that, regardless of the recognition outcome, the fee paid is non-refundable.
All documentation, if written in another language, must be accompanied by a certified translation into Italian.
The PhD Office will evaluate the completeness and formal accuracy of the documentation submitted for subsequent forwarding to the Coordinator of the PhD Program corresponding to the foreign qualification for which official recognition is requested. At the Coordinator's request, the PhD Program Board of Professors will conduct a substantive evaluation of the foreign qualifications.
The PhD Office and the PhD Program Board of Professors reserve the right to request clarifications and/or additions to the documentation from interested parties.
Please note that the recognition procedure will only be initiated if the documentation indicated in Article 3 of the Regulations is complete.
The substantive evaluation of a foreign PhD for the purpose of obtaining the Italian PhD title will be carried out with a formal and reasoned resolution of the Board of Professors for:
- academic recognition and direct awarding of the corresponding Italian PhD title
- denial of recognition of the foreign qualification if the requirements indicated in the aforementioned Art. 2 are not met, or if the procedure identifies one or more "substantial differences" between the foreign qualification and the Italian one.
Academic recognition is formalized with a specific Rector's Decree.
For administrative information, please write to: dottorati@unime.it