Recognition of foreign PhD qualifications

Law 15/2022 amended the text of Article 38 of Legislative Decree 165 of 2001, introducing into the Italian legal system the possibility for Universities to recognise for academic purposes PhD degrees awarded abroad.

The request for academic recognition is aimed at having a foreign PhD degree evaluated in order for it to be recognised as equivalent to an Italian PhD degree.

Such recognition requires a detailed verification of the correspondence in level and contents between the two degrees. The foreign title recognized as equivalent has the same legal value as the corresponding Italian title.

According to the Guidelines for the Academic Recognition of Foreign Doctoral Degrees in Italy issued by CIMEA, for the purpose of evaluating the foreign doctoral degree for the direct award of the Italian one, the foreign degree must always comply with the following features:

- being an official third-cycle doctoral degree of the foreign system of reference, issued by an official institution of that Country;

- conferring the same academic rights in the foreign system of reference;

- having the same nature and disciplinary elements as the corresponding Italian degree in terms of duration, nature of research and awarding procedure;

 - the Italian University must be running a Ph.D. Course in the same field with which the foreign degree can be compared, both in terms of research field and disciplinary scope.

These requirements apply to all foreign PhD degree holders, regardless of their nationality, both for degrees awarded in European Union (EU) and non-EU countries.

The procedure for academic recognition of a PhD degree awarded abroad consists of four main steps:

- Submission of the application;

- Formal check of minimum requirements (PhD Office);

-  Scientific-disciplinary evaluation (PhD Board);

- Outcome (issuance of the Rectoral Decree of academic recognition or communication of denial, as appropriate).

To initiate the process aimed at academic recognition of the foreign doctoral degree, the interested party must first contact the PhD Office (dottorati.ricerca@ateneo.univr.it). Afterwards they will be requested to:

- Complete the form “Request for Academic Recognition of Foreign Doctoral Degree”, selecting the PhD Course running at UNIVR to be considered as equivalent (at least one 3-year study cycle has to be yet concluded for the selected programme).

- Attach the required documentation;

- Send the Request for Academic Recognition of Foreign Doctoral Degree, including all attachments, to the certified mail address ufficio.protocollo@pec.univr.it. All files must be sent in .pdf format.