Hello my people, welcome to the SCORE channel, my name is Meacham, and this is the first video in a series of videos on how to study in different countries. I decided to go with Italy first because I've helped a few people get into universities in Italy, so I kind of knew the process a little better, but I'm preparing a few other ones for different countries right now. If there's a country that you want us to cover, just leave a comment below and we'll check it out for you. Italy, a country rich in culture with 55 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, a history that extends back over 2,000 years, and renowned cuisine. Without standing programs in art history, economics, political science, architecture, fashion, business, foreign affairs, and engineering, Italy is an excellent option for studying abroad. Today's SCORE presents How to Study in Italy. Italy's undergrad studies are known as L'Orea, literally coming from the laurels bestowed upon graduates. You need 180 credits to graduate, which you get in 1800 hours of study over the course of three years. It's equivalent to a bachelor's degree and is valid in all of the EU if you're looking to do a master's afterwards. Since European academic credits are standardized, it's possible to do one of your three years in another country, and many universities have networks that make this even easier. You do have to present a thesis paper to get your degree, but at this level they don't usually demand research or experiments, just an in-depth analysis is sufficient. The admission process starts around April, acceptance letters come in August, and if need be, you may have to take language exams in September. So what do you need to get in? Let's go to the pre-rex. To get into an Italian university, you need 12 years of basic education between elementary and secondary school. If you have less, you can make up the difference by studying at a local university or by looking for a foundation year program in Italy. You don't have to do the foundation year in the same university you plan to graduate from. If you graduated from an IB school or a school whose diplomas are issued or certified by a European country, then all you need to do is make sure it's translated into Italian and you're good to go. Otherwise, you'll need to send your translated diploma and transcripts, along with university transcripts, if need be, to your Italian embassy or consulate to get a document called The Dichiarazione di Valore. This paper basically says your education is sufficient to study in Italy. The whole process starts at Italy's single national portal called UniversItaly. You fill out a pre-enrollment application and can start to apply to universities through the site. Some programs have quotas that limit how many foreigners can enter, but others are wide open. Once accepted, you'll likely have to take a language exam. So let's talk about the language barrier. If your study program has even a single course in Italian, then you're going to have to show your Italian language level. Interestingly, the university itself conducts a test that usually involves reading some Italian literature and writing an answer to a couple of questions about it, and then this is followed up by an interview. The only way to get out of this is to study a program that's entirely in English or to present a celli certificate. The celli is the official Italian language test. You need to be too level on the celli to get into an Italian university. But if you can get a C1 or C2 level, you can actually be exempt from some of the quotas that are applied to foreigners. If you're a native English speaker, Italian isn't the most difficult language to learn, but you'll definitely want to learn Italian. The country's English level is nothing compared to Germany or the Netherlands, and even the pride Italians have in their culture, don't expect many people to accommodate you in fluent English. Fortunately, Italians are friendly and gregarious, making it easy to find people to practice with. On top of that, you can probably figure out 90% of what they're saying by just watching their hands. Seriously. So many gestures. When it comes to language, Italy will be a moderate challenge for native English speakers. If you know Spanish, it'll make it easier since the language is much easier for Italians to understand and make them learn it as a second language. So what's it going to cost you? Let's talk finances. Italy is remarkably cheap compared to studying in the UK or the United States. Public universities can cost as little as a thousand euros a year, but few of them offer programs in English, making Italian a must. Private universities, on the other hand, can range between 4,000 and 20,000 euros a year, but most sit closer to 10,000 a year or less. The cost of living is also reasonable. You should expect to spend between 800 and 1,000 euros a month, although you can save even more if you choose to study and live in the rustic southern parts of the country. And as an added bonus, it's possible to work in Italy while you study thanks to how their visa works. So let's move on to the visas. If you're an Italian citizen or a citizen of an EU country, you don't need a visa to stay and study. For everyone else, the process is relatively simple. After making your Università lì account and completing the pre-enrollment form, you send it to your Italian embassy or consulate. If you need the dichiarazione di valore, you should request this too and submit your paperwork.  Your visa is valid for one year and you can renew it from Italy once you register for next year's courses. So that's everything you need to know to study in Italy. If you have any questions about the process, just leave us a comment below. We'll get back to you. Everything we do here is trying to be educational. We're trying to adhere to fear of use. But if you have an issue with something, just let us know. And we've also left in the description links to every website containing important information for how to study in Italy, including all of the different application sites that we mentioned today. So everything you need is there. But if you've got any other questions, just hit us up. We'll be getting right on it. And make sure you like and subscribe to the videos so that we can actually keep telling you more about other countries that you want to study in and give you all that sweet, juicy information that you need so that you can actually get admitted into these universities.