Minimal entry requirements
- A first (at least three-year) degree covering one or more of the humanities or social sciences and including at least 36 credits (ECTS or international equivalent) in one or more of the following areas: politics; sociology; modern or contemporary history; public, private or international law; demography; economics (not including business studies).
For students taking their first degree at an Italian University, these disciplinary areas are given official classifications. Click here to see these classifications.
- Proof of proficiency in the English language (this requirement does not apply to students who have completed a course of higher education in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, USA, or UK, or who can demonstrate, by means of certification from the relevant university, that their previous degree was taught and examined in English).
English proficiency can be demonstrated by taking one of the following tests:
TOEFL Internet-based test (IBT), with a score of at least 90;
TOEFL Paper-based test (PBT), with a score of at least 570;
IELTS (Academic version), with a score of at least 6.5;
Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE), Grade C with a score of 67;
Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE), Grade C.
The English language test need not already have been taken at the time of application. The admissions committee may decide (on the basis of an interview) to admit a student on condition that they demonstrate their proficiency in the English language by a subsequent date.
Applicants taking their first degree at an Italian University must have acquired at least 150 credits by the application deadline (for application deadlines, see below).
The admissions committee will assess applicants not only in terms of their satisfaction of these minimal entry requirements but also, more generally, in terms of their level of achievement so far in the relevant areas of study, their potential as students in the Master program, and their level of English.
Application procedure
Applications should be submitted, by one of the deadlines listed below, using our online application procedure. The online application procedure involves uploading the following files, which should be prepared in advance:
- A completed application form. To download the application form, click here;
- A scan of an academic transcript supplied by your university (or, where not available, a scan of a statement signed by yourself) containing the individual exams taken (or to be taken) for your first degree, the marks for individual exams already taken, and (where available) numbers of credits for each exam. If you have more than one degree, you may upload more than one transcript, each as a separate file.
- A curriculum vitae;
- A scan of your English language certificate (optional);
- A scan of the receipt of payment of an application fee of 31 euro. All applicants (of all nationalities) must pay this fee in order for their application to be considered. Click here to see how to pay your application fee.
In addition, you should arrange for two letters of reference to be sent by email to the address references.wpir@unipv.it. References should arrive no later than the relevant application deadline. At least one of the letters must be from a member of the university where you took (or are taking) your first degree. When requesting letters from your referees, please send them our instructions.
References will be treated as confidential and must be submitted directly by the referees using their institutional email addresses. References submitted by the applicants themselves will not be considered.
The selection committee will inform all applicants by email of the outcome of the application procedure. Successful applicants will then be supplied with further information about the enrollment process.
To access the online application procedure, click here.
Erasmus Mundus applicants: please consult the instructions below.
Application deadlines
The next application deadline for prospective students wishing to enroll in the Master in September 2013 is 5 May 2013.
This is the final application deadline for all non-EU applicants.
There will be another deadline in late August for Italian applicants (non-Italian EU nationals may also apply in late August, providing they have already completed the necessary bureaucratic procedures). Italian applicants may apply at either deadline.
Applicants are normally interviewed by skype (or, if residing locally, in person).
As a general rule, non-Italian applicants are advised to apply earlier rather than later, given the time needed to obtain a study visa and the competitive nature of the application process. Non-EU applicants should consider beginning their visa application (at the Italian Embassy) beforehand, or simultaneously, given that the deadline for application to the Italian Embassies tends to be in late spring. For more precise information, we advise non-EU applicants to contact the Italian Embassy in their own country.
Successful applicants will be notified shortly after the relevant deadline.
Attendance requirement
Applicants should be aware that full attendance at all classes is required of all students enrolled in the Master. In practice, this means that students will be permitted to take a particular exam only if they have attended all the classes for that exam (exceptions are made for work placements if these are an official part of a student’s study plan). Students with part-time employment may arrange to frequent the degree course part-time over a period extending beyond the normal two years, but the above attendance requirement will nevertheless apply without exception to each individual exam.
Funding
Thanks to the University of Pavia’s participation in the Erasmus Mundus program, a limited number of two-year grants are available for applicants from the following countries: Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria (deadline: 28 February); Belarus, Ukraine, Moldavia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia (deadline: 3 February). Interested applicants need to put in a separate application for such a grant. For further details, click here. For inquiries, write to: erasmusmundus@unipv.it.
In addition, Pavia University offers a limited number of grants to students coming from developing countries, thanks to its Fund for Cooperation and Knowledge.
NB: if your enrollment in the Master depends on your winning a grant from the Erasmus Mundus program or from the Fund for Cooperation and Knowledge, you should apply only for the grant, and not directly to the Master program. All winners of these grants will be automatically admitted to the Master program. If you apply only for the grant, be sure that your application includes your academic transcripts, a curriculum vitae (including a Skype address), an English language certificate (if required and already available), and a statement of purpose (of no more than 400 words) outlining your academic interests and reason(s) for applying.
How and where to take an English Language test
You can register to take the TOEFL test here: http://www.ets.org/toefl
You can register to take the IELTS test here: http://www.ielts.org/
Full instructions are provided at these websites. In most localities around the world, there are frequent opportunities to take TOEFL and IELTS (often as frequent as once a week).
Pavia students have opportunities to take English tests (Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE) and Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency (CPE)) for reduced fees at the University’s Centro Linguistico (there are two opportunities a year: in June and in December). Otherwise, the internet-based TOEFL test can be taken at the Flag School in Pavia, and there are also weekly opportunities to take the TOEFL or IELTS in Milan.
