Academic recognition doctorate earned abroad

The full recognition of a doctoral degree awarded abroad, pursuant to Articles 2 and 3 of Law no. 148/2002, is aimed at the issuance of an Italian doctoral degree similar to the one held and which, therefore, has the same legal value.

The evaluation is carried out by the University of Naples Federico II in accordance with the "Guidelines for the Academic Recognition of Foreign Doctoral Degrees in Italy" issued by CIMEA - Centro di Informazione sulla Mobilità e le Equivalenze Accademiche(https://www.cimea.it/) with document no. 137 of July 2022 and any subsequent updates.

Recognition involves detailed verification of the correspondence in level and content between the foreign degree and the Italian degree.

The University can make recognitions only for PhD degrees that it awards, therefore, before contacting the University to make an official application for direct recognition, according to the procedures outlined below, interested parties must identify the University of Naples Federico II Doctorate with which the foreign degree can be compared, by type and by disciplinary field, by consulting the web pages http://www.unina.it/didattica/post-laurea/dottorati-di-ricerca/elenco-dottorati.

A contribution of €400.00 is requested - this amount is in no way refundable.

The Board of teachers of the identified Doctoral Course will provide for the evaluation of the foreign title.

The evaluation may produce the following results:

• the direct award of the corresponding Italian PhD degree;
• the denial of recognition of the foreign degree in the case of "substantial difference."

For the purpose of evaluation for the direct award of the Italian PhD degree, the foreign degree must always meet all the following characteristics:

• be an official third-cycle doctoral degree of the foreign system of reference, issued by an official, accredited and/or recognized institution of the foreign system;
• confer the same academic rights in the foreign system of reference;
• present the same elements as the corresponding Italian degree in terms of discipline, nature of research, duration (minimum of three years) and method of obtaining it;
• there must exist at the University a PhD course comparable with the foreign doctorate, both in type and in disciplinary field.

These requirements apply to all students with foreign doctoral degrees, regardless of their citizenship, both for degrees awarded in European Union (EU) and non-EU countries.

Procedure for academic recognition of doctoral degree awarded abroad

The interested party submits the application and documentation by logging on to https://pica.cineca.it/unina/

The documentation to be uploaded ( with official translation into Italian or English, if not written in one of these languages) is:

• Copy of the foreign doctoral degree, awarded at a foreign official higher education institution, with certificate of comparability and certificate of verification issued by the Italian ENIC-NARIC-CIMEA center(www.cimea.it/pagina-attestati-di-comparabilita-e-verifica-dei-titoli);
• Attestation/certification issued by the competent foreign institution, stating the elements, duration and activities of the doctorate, carried out in order to obtain the final degree. Alternatively, for EU countries, the Diploma Supplement in original or certified copy, in English on headed paper of the foreign institution with signature and stamp of the foreign institution;
• Doctoral Thesis in digital format with indication of the web address of the Institution's repository or library where the thesis is stored and searchable. Alternatively, the abstract of the thesis in original, on the letterhead of the Institution that issued the title or corroborated with original stamp and signature of the Institution itself;
• Copy of the Italian second-cycle degree with which one had access to the foreign doctoral course, or, notarized copy of the foreign second-cycle degree with legalization or "apostille" stamp, provided with a declaration of value by the Italian Diplomatic Consular Representation competent for the territory or, alternatively, provided with the certificate of comparability and verification certificate issued by the Italian ENIC-NARIC-CIMEA center(www.cimea.it/pagina-attestati-di-comparabilita-e-verifica-dei-titoli);
• Copy of a valid identity document.

Supplements to the submitted documentation may be requested.