NARIC guide on Higher Education Systems in the European Union

As State examination certificates, maturity diplomas are issued by the Ministry of Education. In addition to the name of the
Ministry, each diploma mentions the type of USE institution attended by the student and/or the study course followed together
with the final mark (results obtained in the examination subjects are not quoted).
Maturity diploma for adults
The diploma di maturità is a sine qua non condition for admission to university studies. Under Italian law, no reason whatever
allows the disregard of this rule, not even in the case of people already employed who, through this job experience, might
have matured sufficiently to be able to pursue studies at university level.
However, there are no significant obstacles — at least from the formal point of view — to the acquisition of the maturity
diploma by adults who intend to resume their studies. The privatista, i.e. the person who takes the maturity examination
without attending conventional secondary education courses, is a characteristic of an education system which separates the
final examination from the study course leading up to it.
Italian law states that any citizen who is aged at least 18 and gives evidence of having completed compulsory education may
apply to take the maturity examination (L. 5 aprile 1969, n. 119, art. 3). Candidates with no previous educational
qualifications may also take the examinations, providing they are aged at least 23 (RD 6 maggio 1923, n. 1054,
art. 74).
Therefore, employed students can prepare themselves privately for the examination, which in such cases includes also oral
tests in the subjects forming part of the relevant USE course.
At their discretion, employed candidates may make available to the examining board their employment cards and/or
individual statements by their employers giving details of their positions, tasks, working hours as well as an evaluation of their
work skills and experience. The board may take this information into account when assessing the candidates’ maturity.
Other USE qualifications
Among the existing USE leaving certificates mention should also be made of the following:
diploma di abilitazione magistrale (old designation for the four-year maturità magistrale; see under istituti magistrali, in
this section);
diploma di maestro d’arte (see istituti d’arte,in this section);
diploma di abilitazione all’insegnamento nelle scuole di grado preparatorio, issued at the end of three-year study courses
run by scuole magistrali (institutions for teacher training); this diploma is specifically meant for prospective teachers in
nursery schools; colloquially, it is often referred to as diploma di maestro/a d’asilo;
diploma di qualifica professionale (see under istituti professionali, in this section).
They may all be accepted as basic requirements for access to certain non-university higher education studies (see II.1.1.
Academies of Fine Arts).
II.1.1.Qualifications for admission to
non-university higher education
Accademie di Belle Arti (Academies of Fine Arts)
Direct access (i.e. with no need for any entrance examination) is granted to the holders of the following qualifications:
diploma di maturità artistica di 1 a sezione (diploma of artistic maturity, first section; for more details, see licei artistici;
diploma di maestro d’arte (three-year diploma of master in the arts; for more details, see the description of istituti d’arte;
maturità di arte applicata (five-year maturity in the applied arts; for more details, see the description of istituti d’arte.
All other candidates — including the holders of any other five-year maturity as well as of lower secondary qualifications,
ranging from licenza di scuola media to diplomi di qualifica professionale, up to the 4-year maturità magistrale have to pass
an entrance examination.