Why Padua is worth the paperwork
Padua is one of Italy's strongest research universities and one of its cheaper serious student cities: roughly EUR 600 to 850 a month against Milan's EUR 800 to 1,200. That combination is what makes the funding here worth chasing - a modest award goes considerably further than a larger one in Lombardy. The living-cost detail is in the Padua city guide.
The two schemes
| Padua's own scholarship | ESU di Padova | |
|---|---|---|
| Decided on | Academic merit and the application | Assessed family income (ISEE) |
| Roughly worth | Around EUR 8,000 a year in recent calls | Cash grant, hall place, canteen access, fee waiver |
| Applied for | Inside the admission application | Separately, on ESU's own call |
| Deadline shape | Winter to spring, with the admission rounds | Summer |
| Conditional on | Credits each year | Credits each year, plus income each year |
Note the last row. Neither award is granted once and forgotten. Both are re-tested annually, and Padua's own scheme in particular is renewed only if you meet the progression requirement - which for a student adjusting to a new country, a new language of instruction and a new assessment system is a genuine risk in year one, not a formality.
Padua's own scholarship
The scheme targets international students entering English-taught degrees, and the important mechanical detail is that you apply for it inside the admission application - you indicate that you want to be considered, and the same evaluation decides both. There is generally no separate later window, so a student who applies for admission and plans to look at funding afterwards has usually missed it.
Recent calls have set the award in the region of EUR 8,000 a year for the normal duration of the degree. The number of awards, the exact value and the eligible programmes are republished each cycle, so read the current call. Where the call and this article disagree, the call is right.
ESU di Padova
ESU is the Veneto right-to-study agency. Veneto runs a separate ESU per city - Padova, Venezia and Verona are three different bodies with three different calls - so confirming which one covers your university is the first step. The wider map is in which DSU agency covers your university.
The award for a student living away from the family home normally combines a cash grant, a fee waiver, priority for a hall place and access to subsidised canteens. It needs a valid ISEE parificato, which takes six to ten weeks to assemble from Bangladesh, and its window closes in the summer - before the visa decision, from Dhaka.
Cost of a year, three ways
| Item | Self-funded | With ESU | With the university scholarship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition | EUR 0 to 2,600 by ISEE band | Waived | Per the call |
| Rent | EUR 300 to 480 a month | Hall place, lower | EUR 300 to 480 a month |
| Food | EUR 180 to 240 a month | Subsidised canteen | EUR 180 to 240 a month |
| Transport | Near zero, most students cycle | Near zero | Near zero |
| Cash received | None | Regional grant | Around EUR 8,000 a year |
Padua is small and flat, and a second-hand bicycle at EUR 50 to 100 removes transport from the budget almost entirely. That is a small point that compounds over three years.
Why applications fail
- 1Not ticking the scholarship option inside the admission application, then finding there is no second window.
- 2Applying to the wrong ESU. Padova, Venezia and Verona are separate agencies.
- 3No ISEE parificato, which removes ESU and puts you in the top fee band.
- 4Missing the summer ESU deadline while waiting on the visa.
- 5Failing the credit condition in year one, which ends the award and can trigger repayment of the regional grant.
What to do now
- 1Check which admission round you can realistically make, and apply in the earliest one.
- 2Say yes to the scholarship consideration inside that application.
- 3Start the ISEE chain in February or March, independently of the admission result.
- 4Model the year with no award at all in the calculator. If Padua only works with a scholarship, treat that as information rather than a plan.
Official sources — check for yourself
- Università degli Studi di Padova — scholarships
- ESU di Padova — housing and grants
- Universitaly — pre-enrolment
- Study in Italy — Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Rules and figures change. We review these articles periodically and show the date above, but always confirm the current requirement with the official source before you act on it.
Common questions
How much is the University of Padua scholarship for international students?+
Recent calls have offered awards in the region of EUR 8,000 a year for the normal duration of the degree, for students entering English-taught programmes. The value, the number of awards and the eligible programmes are republished each cycle, so the current call is the authority.
Do I apply separately for the Padua scholarship?+
No, you indicate that you want to be considered inside the admission application itself, and the same evaluation decides both. There is generally no later window, so students who plan to look at funding after applying have usually already missed it.
What is ESU and is it the same as the university scholarship?+
ESU di Padova is the Veneto region's right-to-study agency and it is entirely separate. Its award is income-assessed and adds halls and subsidised canteens. Veneto runs one ESU per city, so Padova, Venezia and Verona are three different bodies with three different calls.
Can I lose the scholarship after the first year?+
Yes. Both the university scheme and the ESU grant are re-tested annually against a credit requirement, and the regional grant can be reclaimed if the threshold is missed. Year one is the risky one, because you are adjusting to a new system at the same time.
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