Laurea Specialistica

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS – EIGHTH EDITION

The ALPIP project offers Latin American students the possibility to receive a scholarship and other benefits to graduate from the Politecnico di Torino attending, starting from the second semester of the first year, a Laurea Specialistica (Laurea Magistrale) course in Engineering or Architecture (for more information about what the Laurea Specialistica degree corresponds to, visit the section GENERAL INFORMATION - Italian University System).

Academic offer

For the eighth edition of the ALPIP project, applications for the following Laurea Specialistica courses will be accepted:

The activities will begin in January 2009.

If not otherwise indicated, the courses are held in Italian.

Requirements

University of origin

The ALPIP project is open to students who are citizens of Latin American countries and/or come from Latin American universities. By Latin American countries we mean: countries in Central and South America, including the Caribbean islands.
To apply, it is not necessary that an agreement be signed between the Politecnico di Torino and the student’s university of origin. Students participating in or selected for Double Degree programs between their university of origin and the Politecnico di Torino can participate as well (note, however, that participation in a Double Degree program is not necessary to apply for ALPIP).

Academic requirements

In order to be admitted into a Laurea Specialistica program, applicants must possess a university degree equivalent to a Bachelor of Science degree, which is approximately equivalent to three or four years after secondary school, depending on the number of secondary school years; alternatively, they must have completed at least 8 semesters of university courses, in a national school system that requires 11 or 12 years of study before enrolling in university.
For further information, please visit the Entry requirements page.

Application is open to students who:

  • are not already enrolled in a Laurea Specialistica course of the Politecnico di Torino before the 2008/2009 academic year
  • are not recipients of other scholarships, Italian or foreign.

Obtaining a degree at the Politecnico di Torino

To graduate at the Politecnico di Torino, students must attain a total of 90 credits, including exams and the final dissertation. A plan of studies must be outlined under the guidance of the student’s academic tutor to identify, in relation to the student’s previous academic career, the courses additionally required to complete the program of studies for the Laurea Specialistica course in which the student is enrolled at the Politecnico di Torino. The time required to graduate is approximately 3 semesters. However, the effective duration is also dependent upon each student’s capacity. Note also that the time required for the compulsory Italian course, which will begin in late January, before classes start, is not considered in the estimated duration of the program.

Please note that scholarship recipients must attend their course for its entire length (3 semesters – 90 credits). Students who have already attended other university courses can ask for a credit transfer up to a maximum of 10 credits per year (15 credits in total). Please note that credits achieved in preparatory courses or in the first year/second year in systems where preuniversity education lasts 10/11 years can not be taken into account.

Scholarships

Selection criteria

Applicants will be selected based on their previous academic career and on their Curriculum Vitae.

Amount of the scholarship

  • The gross amount of the ALPIP scholarship is 10.000 Euro for the complete period. The exact net sum is dependent upon the individual tax conditions of each student, which can be verified only upon the arrival of the student.
  • The amount of the scholarship will not be increased in case the student will need more time to graduate than indicated.
  • The allocation of the scholarship is dependent upon the submission, within 10 days from the arrival in Italy of the student, of the original documentation, which must correspond with the documentation attached to the online form (see the “Selection outcomes” section below).
  • Payment of the scholarship occurs periodically. The first instalment is dependent upon the possession of the relevant documentation (residence permit, Italian fiscal code, and bank account in the name of the scholarship recipient), all obtainable upon arrival in Italy; for this reason, the first instalment is not paid at the moment of arrival at the Politecnico di Torino, but in the course of the following month.

Requirements to maintain the scholarship

  • Given that it is not possible to combine the benefits received from more than one scholarship, students who are assigned another study grant while receiving the ALPIP scholarship must promptly notify the Politecnico di Torino.
  • Payment of the scholarship will be suspended if the academic performance of the recipient does not meet a satisfactory level.

How to apply

To apply, students must, under the penalty of being excluded from the selection process:

COMPLETE THE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM

  • Deadlines:
    1st application period: 8 p.m. (Italian time) on February 10th, 2008.
    2nd application period: 8 p.m. (Italian time) on May 10th, 2008.
  • Method: fill in the online application form by first registering and providing your biographical information, logging in and choosing your level and degree course, and subsequently submitting the application. Students must also provide information on their previous educational career, language abilities and work experience, and they must attach the necessary documentation in pdf format. After having completed these steps, the application for a scholarship will be considered complete.

    N.B. The scholarship or project for which the applicant is eligible is not specified in the application form, since the Politecnico will automatically assess your eligibility for the ALPIP scholarship based on the information you provide. At the end of the selection process, the Politecnico di Torino will inform you if you have been selected for a ALPIP scholarship (see the “Selection outcomes” section below).

    The following documentation must be attached in pdf format to the online application form:

    1. an official transcript (original or authenticated copy) issued by the registrar of your university of origin containing ALL of the following information:

      • Planned duration of the program of study (no. of semesters)
      • Total number of exams sustained in the program of study
      • Total number of credits obtained in the program of study (if available)
      • Year of enrolment
      • A list of the exams already taken with the score of each exam and, where applicable, the number of credits earned with each exam.
      • The overall average score of the exams taken (at the moment of application)
      • A list of the exams still to be passed to complete the degree course
      • The grading system used with explanations (e.g. quantitative system from 0 to 10, with 5 corresponding to satisfactory; or qualitative system ABCD, with A as top grade and C corresponding to passing)
      • The semester of enrolment at the moment of the presentation of the application (e.g. "on xxx [day] the student is enrolled in the second semester of the fourth year of the degree course in xxx")

      If the transcript provided by the students' registrar does not contain ALL of the above information, an additional document will have to be sent that provides it. This additional document must be signed by an authority of the university of origin (Tutor of the degree course, Dean, etc).

    2. Curriculum Vitae, dated and signed (in English if possible) - maximum 3 pages
    3. Letters of reference (2 maximum)
    4. A personal introduction letter (written by the applicant)

    The above documents must be rendered in English (preferably), Italian, French, Spanish or Portuguese.

    We emphasise that the data shown in the documents must coincide with those inserted in the online application form. Moreover, failure to attach even one of the above documents will result in exclusion from the selection process.

Selection outcomes

Following the closure of the online application form, a special commission will meet to assess the applications.

At the end of the selection process, a provisional list of standings will be composed with the names of the students who have been awarded a scholarship and the names of the eligible applicants that may be awarded a scholarship in the event of one or more renunciations.

The list of standings will be affixed to the Official Register of the Politecnico di Torino. Beginning from February 29th, 2008 (1st application period) or May 23rd, 2008 (2nd application period), information about where and how to access the selection outcomes will be published on this project website and on the Apply@Polito section of the Politecnico website.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE AFFIXING OF THE LIST OF STANDINGS TO THE OFFICIAL REGISTER OF THE POLITECNICO DI TORINO WILL BE, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, THE ONLY OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION OF INCLUSION IN THE LIST OF SELECTIONS AND, FOR STUDENTS WITH THE APPROPRIATE QUALIFICATIONS, THE ONLY OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION THAT THEY HAVE BEEN AWARDED A SCHOLARSHIP.

An e-mail message will be sent to all scholarship recipients and eligible applicants summarising the terms for the disbursement of the scholarship. This message will be sent to the address(es) specified by the students themselves on the online application form. NEVERTHELESS, THIS MESSAGE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION OF THE OUTCOME OF THE SELECTION.

The scholarship awardees and eligible applicants who wish to confirm their position must take the following steps:

  1. download the scholarship acceptance form which will be published together with the list of selection outcomes, fill it in and fax it to the number +39 011 090 6329. Failure to send in the acceptance fax within the given period will constitute a definitive renunciation and the scholarship will be reassigned accordingly.
  2. upon arrival in Italy scholarship recipients must hand in the original documentation, which was previously attached to the online application form (see the above list), to the Politecnico di Torino. Before handing in the aforementioned documentation, we recommend that you make photocopies for yourself. We ask that you not hand in any other documentation other than that which has been required, and put all the documentation in a single folder bearing your name, surname and "ALPIP project". We reemphasize that the information given in the documents must correspond to that attached to the online application form. Failure to hand in the original documentation within 10 days from the student’s arrival according to the above conditions will result in the non-allocation of the scholarship.

Publication of the final list of standings is foreseen for March 2008 (1st application period) or June 2008 (2nd application period).

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE AFFIXING OF THE LIST OF STANDINGS TO THE OFFICIAL REGISTER OF THE POLITECNICO DI TORINO WILL BE, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, THE ONLY OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION OF INCLUSION IN THE LIST OF SELECTIONS AND, FOR STUDENTS WITH THE APPROPRIATE QUALIFICATIONS, THE ONLY OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION THAT THEY HAVE BEEN AWARDED A SCHOLARSHIP.

We emphasize that the Politecnico di Torino assumes no responsibility for the applicant's failure to view the list of standings and/or the terms for the acceptance of the scholarships as published online and on the Official Register of the Politecnico.

In all the e-mail messages and the correspondence sent to the Politecnico following the awarding of the scholarship, the recipient must clearly specify "ALPIP project".

Facilities

The amount of tuition fees for the 2008/2009 academic year is about 1700 Euro. Students from low-income families can be entitled to a reduction or a waiver of tuition fees. In order to obtain such benefit, students must provide a declaration from their family about:

  • the family unit
  • the financial income
  • the family property

These declarations must be translated into Italian and certified by the Italian Embassy or Consulate.

Scholarship recipients, together with the Laurea Specialistica course, will benefit from:

  • an intensive Italian language course, compulsory and free of charge
  • advice on lodging facilities (for more information visit the Accomodation section)
  • additional services offered to the student community (access to the Politecnico libraries and computer laboratories, WI-FI (Wireless LAN), etc.); scholarship recipients will also be entitled to all the services offered by the regional university student assistance organisation, Ente regionale per il DIritto allo Studio Universitario (EDISU Piemonte) at full fee: student canteen service, cultural and recreational activities, sports activities, libraries with lending service, etc. (for more information visit the Campus Facilities section)
  • assistance in obtaining an entry visa. For more information consult the Immigration Requirements section and the websites of the Italian Embassies and Consulates
  • assistance by the Stage and Job Placement office for internship and employment.

Notes

  • The scholarship does not include accommodation costs, which are thus totally at the expense of the student.
  • The Politecnico di Torino does not guarantee any type of accommodation for ALPIP scholarship recipients. For students turning to the private market to rent an apartment, the initial amount requested for the cautionary deposit is equal to about three months rent, plus any fees charged by the real estate agency, if applicable. The approximate amount of the rent for an apartment shared with other students comes to about 250 EURO/month per person, and the rent for a small/medium sized apartment is about 500 EURO/month.
  • Enrolment at the Politecnico includes insurance coverage for accidents occurring on the university premises.

    Medical insurance for emergencies (First Aid), as required by the law for non-EU citizens, is 98 EURO per year. Upon their arrival in Italy, students must pay this amount to INA Assitalia: this is required for the conversion of the entry visa into a residence permit. For further information on these matters, see the Health insurance section.

  • We advise students to go to the Italian Embassy or Consulate to inform themselves on the necessary requirements to obtain an entry visa in Italy.

Specific contacts for Laurea Specialistica

For Scholarship:
International Relations Office
e-mail: alpip@polito.it

For Admission:
Incoming Students Office
e-mail: international.admission@polito.it

For Accommodation
Selected students will be contacted by the Foreign Citizens Services Office

Poliweb

Last modified: 20/05/2009 11:08 am