Admission
requirements
Candidates can apply for admission if they hold a graduate university degree. Doctoral Programs are
open to all nationals with no age limit. Admission is granted on a competitive basis. A Commission
examines the CVs of the candidates and evaluates, in an entering examination, their abilities to carry
out research. At least half of the doctoral candidates hold a scholarship.
Deadlines for application
Between September and October, the notice of the competitive examination for the Doctoral Programs is
issued together with the number of places and scholarships available. Within 30 days of the published
notice, the application for admission must be submitted to the Politecnico di Milano. Candidates are
evaluated in January. The Courses begin on March 1st.
Application procedure
The application procedure is described in the notice of the competitive examination and can be summed
up as follows:
 | candidates with a graduate university degree can apply for admission by filling in the application
form; the first step of the selection is based on the analysis of the Curriculum Vitae. Then,
selected candidates are invited for an entering examination (a written test and a colloquium) to
assess attitude to research and motivation; |
| candidates who wish to apply for a scholarship granted by an external organization in a particular
study area will have to take an additional oral examination in that particular study area; |
| the application form and examination may be in Italian or English. |
There are two ways of enrolling in the Doctoral Program: by obtaining a scholarship or by paying a
tuition.
Scholarships are available for more than half of the Doctoral Programs (in the XVI cycle, 65% of the
doctoral candidates held scholarships). Scholarships are awarded on the basis of the candidate's ranking
based on the qualifying examination results. The net amount of the scholarship amounts to Euro 10'104
per year.
For students who do not hold a scholarship, the tuition and registration fees amount to about Euro
1'500 per year, depending on the income (for the exact amount, see the notice on competitive
examinations).
It is important to note that the Doctoral Programs require compulsory attendance. Therefore,
candidates with major outside commitments will find it extremely difficult to complete the Doctoral
Program and obtain the Ph.D. degree. A longer period of studies is however possible. |
