Unibo for Refugees

Obtaining political refugee status is a process that can take several months, as the asylum-seeker has to wait for his or her case to come before the Territorial Commission.

The Unibo project aims to make this long wait for the recognition of refugee status useful.

The doors of the university are now open to asylum-seekers. The International Desk organises orientation interviews for students interested in enrolling at Unibo and examines their school certificates and academic qualifications. Students will have the possibility of enrolling for single learning activities and Italian courses with exemption from fees; an opportunity to fill learning gaps and get a preliminary taste of the subjects awaiting them in the degree programmes. And, perhaps just as important, the enrolment will give asylum-seekers the chance to become part of the student community and to begin to understand how the university is organised and get to know what services it provides, its programme catalogue and teaching methods, thus enabling them to decide whether this is the place for them to reconstruct their future.

On obtaining international protection the students will be able to enrol in the first cycle and single cycle degree programmes, in the second cycle degree programmes, with the credits they have already obtained counting towards the degree. Unibo for Refugees thanks to the collaboration with ER.GO accompanies them also in this phase, with a dedicated support to carry out the admission process to degree programmes and to access ER.GO benefits. Unibo also finances scholarships and catering services, which are awarded through the ER.GO calls for applications, and offers study awards to the most deserving students.

Further initiatives are dedicated to specific groups of students, to facilitate and support their entry into the university world.

Enrolling in single learning activities, a.y. 2025/26

If you hold a residence permit as an asylum seeker (“richiesta asilo” – asylum request) or for temporary protection (DPCM 28 March 2022), you can enrol in single learning activities with full exemption from the payment of the contribution. You only have to pay the insurance premium of €1.04 and the stamp duty of €16.

In order to enrol you must also demonstrate with appropriate certification that you have attended Italian courses at least at level A2. Unibo gives you the opportunity to access the MOOC Modern Languages ITA101 available on the Unibook site (Unibo Open Knowledge).

This certification is also required for enrolling in single learning activities taught in English.

The enrolment can be done with documentation related to the qualification more simplified than that laid down in the instructions (see documents to be submitted), but you must do an interview and a verification of the qualifications at the International Desk. To schedule an interview, send an e-mail to internationaldesk@unibo.it

If you are already enrolled in single learning activities in a.y. 2024/25 or if you already have all the documents, you can go directly to the Student Administration Office to register.

Unibo for Refugees scholarships awarded by ER.GO

Every year Unibo finances 12 scholarships and related catering services for students holding international protection. Scholarships are awarded through the general calls for applications for ER.GO scholarships. Therefore to obtain the scholarships you need to submit the application, according to the regular procedures and within the deadlines set by ER.GO for the scholarships.

Unibo for Refugees study awards, a.y. 2025/26

Unibo offers deserving refugee students, already winners of the ER.GO, UNICORE or CRUI scholarships, 10 study awards of a gross amount of €2,500 each.

Requirements

You ca apply for Unibo for Refugees study awards if:

• you hold a residence permit for international protection (political asylum, subsidiary protection, humanitarian reasons) or temporary protection for Ukrainian citizens;
• you are regularly enrolled in a first, second or single cycle Degree programme at Unibo for a.y. 2025/26;
• you are a winner of the ER.GO, UNICORE project or CRUI scholarship in the a.y. 2025/26;
• you will be in possession of the merit requirements for the balance of the ER.GO, UNICORE or CRUI scholarship, for a.y. 2025/26.

Times and methods

• Publication of the call for applications: June 2026
• Applications deadline: August 2026
• Publication of results: October 2026

Prizes will be awarded based on the credits obtained and the grades achieved.

Detailed information will be available in the call for applications (in Italian).

Admission to the Economics, Politics, and Social Sciences (EPOS) degree programme: places reserved for students from the Palestinian Territories, academic year 2026/27

A special application procedure is available for the Economics, Politics, and Social Sciences (EPOS) degree programme for the 2026/27 academic year. The application procedure is reserved for students who have obtained their high school diploma in the Palestinian Territories.

Available places: 5

Target countries: Palestinian Territories

Participation requirements: possession of a Certificate of General Secondary Education (Tawjihi), obtained in the Palestinian Territories, with a score of at least 85% in one of the following subject areas: science, literature, technology, or business. Other areas are excluded.

Selection criteria: based on qualifications and interview

For detailed information, read call for applications.

Summary of the deadlines for participating in the selection

• Applications opening: 2 February 2026

• Applications deadline: 31 March 2026, 13:00 CEST

• Applications procedure: via StudentiOnline

• Posting of the list of candidates admitted to interviews: 10 April 2026

• Interviews: scheduled for 14, 15 and 16 April 2026, via Teams

• Posting of the ranking list: 6 May 2026

Scholarships

The Department of Economics will award a scholarship of €4,608, gross, before all the charges to be borne by the beneficiary, to the top five students on the ranking list for the 2026/27 academic year. A separate application is not required.

Payment of the scholarship is subject to enrolment in EPOS for the 2026/27 academic year. The scholarship is not renewable for subsequent academic years.

Please note: submitting fraudulent school certificates is a crime. All documents you submit will be carefully checked by experts. If you submit fraudulent documents, there will be serious consequences, including your disqualification from this and other opportunities. Unibo may also report the incident to the police authorities.