Italy DSU Regions Compared: Six Calls, Six Rulebooks
The national decree sets the floor; each region writes its own call on top. Here is how the six biggest university regions compared in 2026/27 — the best guide to what 2027/28 will look like.
ScholarshipUnion Editorial
3 min read
Updated Oct 6, 2026
All figures below are from the official 2026/27 calls, checked on 6 October 2026. Regions update amounts by inflation each year (+1.4% for 2026/27), so treat them as a baseline for 2027/28, not a promise.
Side by side
| Region / body | ISEE / ISPE cap | Top fuori-sede grant | 2026/27 deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lazio · DiSCo | €28,339.88 / €61,608.48 | €7,556.78 + 2 meals a day (€600) | 22 Jul 2026, 12:00 |
| Tuscany · DSU Toscana | €27,000 / €60,000 | €3,338 cash + 2 meals + free room | 7 Sep 2026, 13:00 |
| Lombardy · PoliMi | €26,887.93 / €58,452.06 | €8,248 total (cash + 1 meal) | 5 Aug 2026 (first years) |
| Piedmont · EDISU | €26,306.25 / €57,187.53 | €8,096.78 | 4 Sep 2026, 12:00 |
| Veneto · Padova | €26,306.25 / €43,125.94 | €8,246 | 30 Sep 2026 |
| Emilia-Romagna · ER.GO | €25,000 / €50,000 | €8,246.78 (ISEE ≤ €12,500) | 24 Aug 2026, 16:00 |
“Top” means the lowest ISEE band, full-time, without the female-STEM increase. Amounts taper as ISEE rises — to as little as €3,585 (ER.GO, Padova) or €3,800 (EDISU) near the cap.
Explore one region
DiSCo Lazio (Rome, Viterbo, Cassino and others). Highest ceilings in Italy. Internationals whose family lives at least 50% abroad are automatically fuori sede with no rent contract needed. ISEE parificato is signed at a DiSCo-approved CAF by 10 December 2026, after the July application. Uses 2024 income. Source: bando 2026/27.
ER.GO (Bologna, Modena, Parma, Ferrara and Romagna campuses). Lowest ISEE cap (€25,000) but generous top band. Foreign documents for 2025 income are uploaded through the “Dossier Utente” by the application deadline. First-year bachelor’s grants are paid in four instalments. Source: bando 2026/27, amounts.
EDISU Piemonte (Turin, Novara, Vercelli and others). From 2026/27, EDISU calculates the ISEE parificato itself from originals sent by post or courier; a CAF-made parificato is not accepted. Non-EU students use 2025 income; EU students use 2024. Room in an EDISU residence is deducted at €245.45 a month. Source: step-by-step guide, ISEE guide.
Lombardy has no single body: each university runs its own call under regional rules. At Politecnico di Milano, the ISEEU parificato must come from the university’s own approved CAF, with documents delivered by the application deadline. 4,300 grants for 2026/27, including 1,250 for first-year master’s. First-years must earn 35 credits (Engineering, Architecture) or 40 (Design). Source: bando, supplement. This guide covers only PoliMi in Lombardy. Other Lombard universities, such as Milano Statale, Milano-Bicocca and Pavia, publish their own calls with different deadlines and CAF rules; check your university’s own bando.
Veneto grants are also run by each university. At Padova, you file a “Richiesta di Agevolazioni” in Uniweb, get the ISEE parificato from the university’s approved CAF and pay the first tuition instalment (even if only €16) — all by 30 September 2026. Strictest ISPE cap (€43,125.94). ESU Padova provides rooms and meals. Source: bando 2026/27.
DSU Toscana (Florence, Pisa, Siena). Cash looks low, but fuori-sede winners get a free room and two daily meals, valued at €3,150 and €1,760. If rooms run out, renters get up to €3,150 instead. Original legalised documents (2025 income) go by registered post or courier to Florence, postmarked by 7 September 2026. Source: bando 2026/27.
How to read the differences
You cannot pick a region for the grant alone — you apply where your university is. But the differences matter when you are choosing between offers:
- Near the ceiling? A family ISEE of €26,000 is eligible in Rome, Florence and Milan (PoliMi) but not in Bologna. Small differences in cap decide many cases.
- Housing is the real value. In Tuscany the free room and meals are worth more than the cash. In Lazio and Milan, room costs are deducted from your grant.
- Paperwork route. Lazio and Padova go through an approved CAF; ER.GO takes uploads; EDISU and Tuscany want originals by post. Plan courier time from home.
- Reference year. Lazio used 2024 income for everyone; ER.GO, Tuscany and EDISU (non-EU) used 2025. Ask your family for the right year’s certificates.
Italy has more DSU bodies than these six — Campania (ADISURC), Sicily (ERSU), Sardinia (ERSU), Liguria (ALFA), Trentino (Opera Universitaria) and others. The logic is the same; check your university’s “diritto allo studio” page for the right body.