Italian Government Scholarship Deadline 2027–28
2027–28 is the next annual MAECI cycle. As of 6 October 2026 its opening and closing dates have not been published. The last official close was 26 March 2026 at 14:00 Italian time.
ScholarshipUnion Editorial
4 min read
Updated Oct 6, 2026
What is official today — 6 October 2026
The 2026–27 Italian Government Scholarship call is closed. It closed on 26 March 2026 at 14:00 Italian time. That timestamp is the last official application deadline MAECI published for this programme. It is not a recurring holiday, and it is not “the Italian deadline”. It is one closed window.
The next cycle is the 2027–28 annual call. As of 6 October 2026, the MAECI scholarships page still shows the 2026–27 call, so official 2027–28 dates have not been published. This handbook will not invent a 26 March 2027 close, an opening Monday, or a results week. Anyone publishing those numbers is guessing.
What recent calls looked like
The closing date moves from year to year, which is exactly why you should not copy one onto the next cycle.
| Call | Application close | Funding period (9-month grants) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | 16 May 2025, 14:00 | 1 November 2025 – 31 July 2026 |
| 2026–27 | 26 March 2026, 14:00 | 1 November 2026 – 31 July 2027 |
| 2027–28 | Not yet published | Not yet published |
Source: the official 2025–26 and 2026–27 calls on esteri.it. Based on these two cycles, a 2027–28 close somewhere in spring 2027 is plausible — but that is an expectation, not a date. Confirm on the official site.
Milestones in the last call
- 26 March 2026, 14:00Applications closed
Online applications on Study in Italy had to arrive by 14:00 Italian time.
- After the closeEvaluation, interviews and merit ranking
Each Italian mission's committee shortlisted, interviewed and published a ranking. No single global results date was published.
- 1 July 2026, 14:00Supplementary documents
Ranked applicants who had declared missing papers (degree, PhD admission, language certificate) uploaded them, only if requested.
- 415 November 2026Arrive in Italy for the full grant
Funding ran from 1 November 2026; arrivals on or after 16 November had the grant reduced in proportion.
- 531 July 2027Nine-month funding ends
Italofonia quarters ran between 1 January and 30 September 2027.
A planning calendar that does not invent MAECI dates
These are applicant-side tasks, not official Ministry milestones. They exist so you are not starting language tests the week a future call happens to open.
Now — autumn 2026
Confirm the degree you want is onsite in Italy. Start language proof for the teaching language (B2 Italian or B2 English as the last call required; A2 Italian if you are aiming at Italofonia). If you want the research type, begin the invitation-letter conversation with a host. Open a Universitaly account when you are ready to pre-enrol — that calendar is a university calendar, not a scholarship rumour.
Typical winter–spring shape
Recent MAECI calls have been published in the first half of the year and closed on a stated Italian-time hour — in March in 2026, in May in 2025. That is the pattern, not a date. Use it only to decide when to finish translations. Do not tell a referee “the deadline is 26 March 2027”. That sentence is false today.
When the 2027–28 PDF appears
Read the close date, the hour, the country list, the age caps, and whether types or amounts changed. Then file on Study in Italy. Until that PDF exists, you cannot submit a 2027–28 MAECI scholarship form, and no agent can submit one for you.
Why Italian time keeps surprising people
The last close was 14:00 in Italy. In the Americas it is easy to treat “26 March” as a full local day and upload after Rome has already locked the portal. In Asia it is easy to assume a midnight cut-off. The Ministry states a clock. Honour that clock — and do not wait for the final days, because the call warns that portal slowdowns from heavy traffic are not an excuse.
Results timelines are also unpublished for 2027–28. Missions have historically notified applicants after the close, but this handbook will not assign a month to that step. If you need a visa appointment after selection, start gathering civil documents now; do not wait for a date that is not on esteri.it.
Where the date will appear
- Official MAECI scholarships page — call text and notices.
- Study in Italy — the form's own countdown, once a cycle is live.
- Your chosen Embassy or Consulate site — local instructions and the merit ranking, never a substitute for the national close hour.