If you are PhD holder from a non Italian University, and want to compete for an academic position in Italy ("concorso"), in many cases you will need the Italian authorities to certify that your PhD diploma is valid.
There are two similar procedures: "equivalenza" and "equipollenza". Equipollenza needs to be done only once, equivalenza will have to be repeated each time you apply for an acedmic position in Italy.
The new rules for the procedure are out: the recognition is done by an Italian university: the exact details will vary from univesrity to university.
Here is the link for the University of Pisa with the instuctions (in italian) for the "equipollenza": I will translate below the main points.
The procedure in Pisa can be done only from 28th October 2022 to 31st March 2023
You have to find a PhD course in your chosen Italian university that matches the one you have.
You need:
Your PhD diploma (authenticated copy)
A Statement of Comparability and Verification (both): https://www.cimea.it/EN/pagina-attestati-di-comparabilita-e-verifica-dei-titoli
Diploma Supplement (in English; original or authenticaed copy; you can get it from the university where you obtained your PhD)
Your PhD thesis
Your master diploma (copy; with apostille if it is not from an italian institution: see at the bottom of this page for the apostille procedure).
You will have to pay a fee, depending on the institution (500€ in Pisa).
The procedure for "equivalenza" is the same, but less expensive (no fees, only taxes): but equipollenza needs to be done only once, equivalenza will have to be repeated each time you apply for an academic position in Italy.
How long will it take? I don't know; the whole procedure is quite new, and presumably it will vary from university to university.
The apostille alone I would expect would take 1 month (but it depends on the particular italian consulate issuing it); the Statement of Comparability and Verification has its own time (which I don't know).
The procedure has changed substantially. However, the exact new procedure has not been decided yet.
Here is a mail from the MIUR on the subject (in Italian):
The remainder of this page will therefore be obsolete "soon"
In italia non c’è nulla di più provvisorio del definitivo e nulla di più definitivo del provvisorio
Giuseppe Prezzolini
There are two procedures, one is called "equipollenza" and the other "equivalenza".
If your bachelor/master is in some Italian university, I recommend that you do "equipollenza"; otherwise it's better that you do the "equivalenza".
Here and here are the websites where equipollenza is explained: the detailed explanation is here; if you have some problem loading the latter pdf file, you can find a copy here.
The procedure per se is not particularly difficult: it will take quite a bit of time (a few months), but often in order to participate to a "concorso" it suffices to start the procedure and send (together with the application to the concorso):
-a copy of the application letter for the equipollenza
- and the receipt from the Post Office.
However, there are a few documents you will have to send to together with the application for the "equipollenza" or "equivalenza", which will take time and money to get.
I will give now a detailed explanation (it is a translation in english of the above websites).
Throughout the explanation I will assume that you are either Italian or an EU citizen, and that the country where you got your PhD can do apostille (legalisation of documents according to Hague Convention).
If you are not from EU, you cannot do "autocertificazione" (sworn statements that certain facts are true, e.g. the fact that you are born), and will have to send instead some certification from your state; if your country does not do apostille, I don't know the procedure.
I will also assume that you need the equipollenza in order to participate to compete in a concorso for some academic position.
Notice that the procedure to have your Bachelor or Master recognized is different: see here.
The informations on this page are updated at 11 July 2017; they are, as far as I know, accurate, but (as usual) I don't take any responsibility for them.
The pdf file linked above contains the instructions procedure for the equipollenza, together with the application form that you have to fill.
You have to send:
a sworn statement ("autocertificazione") that you are born (Date and place of birth) and a citizen (country of citizenship)
a copy of your passport (the page with your photo should be enough)
a copy of your Master degree: if it from a non-Italian university, should also have its own "dichiarazione di equipollenza" (the instructions are here). If you don't have a Master, but only a Bachelor, I don't know what you should do: I suppose you can send your bachelor instead and hope for the best.
copy of your PhD diploma, together with:
translation in Italian done by some official ("traduzione giurata")
apostille on your diploma (this is a complicated procedure: we will see later how)
declaration of value for your PhD (this is also a complicated procedure: more on it later)
Letter/Academic Statement in original from University Department or Faculty specifying:
- name, surname and d.o.b. of the applicant
- stating the normal legal duration of the course in question
- dates of registration of the student at the University
- whether full time or part time course, whether the course comprised periods of research or work internship
- entry requirements (whether Bachelor/Master/Honours degree etc.).
your PhD thesis, either in Italian, or English, or "one of the most common language in EU" (which I suppose means French or German), or together with a translation in Italian. The thesis can either be printed, or on a Cd-Rom, or on a USB stick.
Together with the thesis you should specify either the web repository of your university or library, where people can access your thesis, or the the address of a university official to whom one may ask to see the thesis in order to compare it with what you sent
CV
optional: recommendation letters (e.g. your PhD advisor) that explain what you did in your PhD
You have to compile the application mentioned above
together with 2 "Marca da bollo" of 16 Euros each (one you glue on the application, the other to be used by the bureaucrats). How to get a "marca da bollo" outside Italy, I don't know: ask the nearest Italian consulate.
Send the whole package to
MIUR (Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università, della Ricerca)
Direzione Generale per lo studente, lo sviluppo e
l’internazionalizzazione della formazione superiore – Ufficio VI
Via Carcani, 61 – 00153 Roma
The procedure explained above is for the "equipollenza".
For "equivalenza", the procedure is similar, with two important differences
The equivalenza is valid only for 1 concorso
But you don't need that your Bachelor/Master has already been recognized equivalent to an Italian one
The instructions are here:
You need to send all the documents to 2 different addresses: you can use either the "posta certificata" (certified e-mail) or normal physical mail. The most difficult document to obtain is the "Declaration of Value", which is explained later in this page.
As mentioned before, you need to do a declaration of value and apostille in order to start the equipollenza procedure.
The procedure to get declaration of value and apostille will depend on the place where you got your PhD.
More precisely:
- the apostille is a procedure done by the state where you obtained your PhD,
- the declaration of value is done by the Italian consulate responsible for the city where you got your PhD.
In my experience, the functionaries in Italian consulates are quite efficient and helpful.
For instance, I got my PhD in Edinburgh, so the relevant consulate is the one in Edinburgh: here are the instructions for both the procedures (you will have to go to the website of the relevant consulate to find your instructions). Here is the snippet from the consulate webpage:
DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED:
1) Application Form (see forms section) duly completed and signed by the applicant. The applicant must supply a full postal address and daytime contact telephone number. Please also attach a copy of a valid passport or ID card;
2) Certified copy of the PhD qualification, legalised by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (apostille)*;
3) According to your qualification, [...]
o For PhD diplomas: Letter/Academic Statement in original from University Department or Faculty specifying:
- name, surname and d.o.b. of the applicant
- stating the normal legal duration of the course in question
- dates of registration of the student at the University
- whether full time or part time course, whether the course comprised periods of research or work internship
- entry requirements (whether Bachelor/Master/Honours degree etc.).
4) Pay the Consular fees.
And here are the instructions on how to get the apostille in UK:
APOSTILLE – legalisation of documents according to Hague Convention. In order to obtain the legalization of a degree/academic qualification issued in the UK you must ask a local Notary Public/Solicitor to issue a ‘certified copy’ of the original document. The ‘certified copy’ must then be sent to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (see their website for details: https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised).
Thanks to Luca Motto Ros for his suggestions.
Thanks to Rosario Mennuni for the update instructions.
Please write me if you have any comments or suggestions. And please write me with your experiences with the procedure, especially if there are errors or changes from what I wrote!