🎓 About This Opportunity

Founded in 1222, the University of Padua is one of the oldest universities in the world and has counted Galileo Galilei among its professors. Today it’s a major public research university roughly 40 km from Venice, offering a wide mix of Italian-taught and English-taught Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes to a genuinely international student body.

Like most large Italian public universities — Bologna and Politecnico di Milano included — Padua runs its own dedicated online application portal separate from any single national system, and asks for broadly the same core documents (transcripts, a recognised entry qualification, language proof, CV). Where Padua stands apart this cycle is its move to a single unified CEnT-S entry test for English-taught Bachelor’s programmes, replacing the older, more fragmented English TOLC sittings that used to vary by programme.

This particular guide covers the general international-applicant admission process for AY 2027/2028 — it is not a scholarship listing. Scholarships and financial aid at Padua are handled through separate regional and university-level schemes, which we touch on below.

🎓 Available Programmes / Fields

The University of Padua offers Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes across a wide range of Schools, including Engineering, Economics and Political Science, Medicine, Science, Psychology, Agricultural Sciences, and Human and Social Sciences. A growing number of these — particularly at Master’s level, and increasingly at Bachelor’s level — are taught fully in English.

Applicants search and select their preferred programme(s) directly through the apply.unipd.it search tool before registering, since each programme has its own specific entry requirements and required-document checklist. Students interested in a specific field should check the individual programme page for exact admission criteria rather than assuming the general process described here covers every detail.

🎓 Open Weeks, Webinars, and the CEnT-S Test — What’s New This Cycle

Two things changed for this admission cycle that most generic guides skip entirely, and both are worth understanding before you apply.

First, Padua replaced its old system of separate English TOLC sittings — where each English-taught Bachelor’s programme ran its own entry test on its own schedule — with a single unified test called the CEnT-S (CISIA), which started running from November 2025. If you’re targeting an English-taught Bachelor’s programme, this test consolidates what used to be a confusing, programme-by-programme process into one standard exam, which is genuinely easier to plan around from abroad.

Second, the university runs a Fall edition of Open Weeks and a “Meet UniPD” webinar series specifically for prospective international students during this admission window. These aren’t optional fluff — the Open Weeks let you meet the actual professors coordinating your target English-taught programme, along with currently enrolled international students and alumni, while Global Engagement Office staff use the webinars to walk through scholarship opportunities, tuition fee bands, and practical tips for a stronger application. Attending at least one before you submit is one of the few free ways to validate your programme choice directly with the people who run it, rather than relying only on the written programme page.

🎓 Required Documents

1. Valid Passport or ID card (ID card accepted only for EU or equivalent applicants — Pakistani applicants will use a valid passport)
2. Italian Residence Permit — only if you are a non-EU applicant already residing in Italy
3. Academic transcript / marksheet
4. Upper secondary school certificate or academic qualification (if already obtained) — country-specific entry-title requirements apply and should be checked before applying
5. Curriculum Vitae
6. Motivation Letter
7. Language proficiency certificate — a full list of accepted English certificates, minimum scores, and exemptions is linked from the portal
8. Any other documents specific to your chosen degree programme, added automatically to your Checklist once you select it

All documents must be uploaded as PDF files. Diplomas and transcripts must be official — carrying the issuing institution’s stamp and the signature of the person responsible — and written or translated into Italian or English.

For Pakistani students specifically: a common point of confusion is whether HEC attestation or an equivalence certificate is needed at the application stage. Based on the portal’s own guidance, no legalised documents are required just to submit your application — legalisation/equivalence steps typically become relevant later, at enrolment, if you are admitted. Always confirm this against your specific programme’s Checklist once you’ve registered, since requirements can vary by degree.

🎓 Step-by-Step Application Process

1. Go to apply.unipd.it and use the Search tool to find your degree programme(s) — you can select up to two per Academic Year.
2. Read the programme’s specific entry requirements carefully and confirm you meet them before proceeding.
3. Check the document checklist for that specific programme and get your documents ready as PDFs.
4. Click “Sign in/Register”, then “I’m a new applicant” and enter an email address you check regularly — do not register with more than one email, or your application can be rejected.
5. Open your email, click the verification link, enter the one-time PIN shown on screen, and set your password.
6. Sign in and complete every field of your application, uploading each required document.
7. Click “Save” regularly, even if your application is incomplete — you can return to finish it later.
8. Once everything is complete and accurate, click “Submit.” After submission, uploaded documents cannot be deleted or replaced (though missing documents like a final diploma can still be added later), and form fields can no longer be edited — so double-check everything before this step.
9. Watch your email closely afterward for any follow-up requests from the university.

Practical tip: Save your application as soon as you start it, even half-filled. Because submitted information locks permanently, applicants who rush the final submission in the last days before 15 November are the ones most likely to make an error they can’t correct.

For Pakistani students: budget extra time for translating and getting transcripts officially stamped through your board/university — this step alone can take several weeks in Pakistan and is the most common bottleneck before submission.

🎓 Why Apply

Padua gives international students a genuinely old, research-heavy European university experience without the cost of studying in London, Zurich, or a major US city. For Pakistani applicants specifically, an English-taught programme at a public Italian university is one of the more accessible routes into a European degree that still carries strong global recognition — provided the document and translation steps are handled early rather than in a last-minute scramble.

🎓 Official Source

Always apply and verify current requirements directly through the official University of Padua application portal: apply.unipd.it. For general FAQs covering tuition fees, VISA, and scholarship topics, refer to the university’s official FAQ for International Students page.