Academic recognition of foreign Doctoral degree at the University of Sassari Law 15/2022, by amending Article 38 of Legislative Decree 165 of 2001, established that universities are competent to recognise for academic purposes PhD qualifications obtained abroad.The purpose of the request for academic recognition is to have one's PhD degree obtained abroad assessed in order to obtain a corresponding Italian PhD degree (what in the past was called a declaration of equivalence).In this regard, it should be noted that universities are only competent to assess a foreign doctoral qualification for academic purposes (for the purpose of issuing the corresponding Italian qualification); on the other hand, recognition of the qualification for non-academic purposes (e.g. for access to public competitions, social security purposes, redemption of the study period, etc.) or for professional purposes is carried out by other State administrations.More information on the various practices for recognising foreign qualifications for non-academic purposes can be found on the CIMEA page.Recognition for academic purposes presupposes a detailed verification of the correspondence in level and content between the foreign title and the Italian title. The recognised foreign title has the same legal value as the corresponding Italian title.According to the Guidelines for the Academic Recognition of Foreign PhD Degrees in Italy issued by CIMEA, for the purposes of assessing the foreign PhD degree for the direct award of the Italian PhD degree, the foreign degree must always comply with all the following characteristics: be an official third-cycle doctoral degree of the foreign systembe an official third-cycle doctoral degree issued by an official institution of the foreign system of referenceconfer the same academic rights in the foreign system of referenceit must have the same nature and disciplinary elements as the corresponding Italian degree in terms of duration, nature of research and method of obtaining it;must be active in the academic year in which the application is submitted a PhD in the same sector with which the foreign qualification can be compared, both in terms of type and disciplinary field.These characteristics are valid regardless of the nationality of the holders of the foreign PhD degree, both for degrees awarded by European Union (EU) and non-EU countries. Procedure for the recognition Submission of the request for academic recognitionTo start the procedure, the interested party must:Fill in the form "Request for academic recognition of foreign PhD qualifications", indicating the PhD Course offered by the University of Sassari deemed comparable, by type and subject area, with the foreign one attended. The list of PhD Programmes active at the University of Sassari is available on the request form; Declare under his/her own personal responsibility that he/she has not submitted and undertakes not to submit - except in the case of a refusal of recognition at the end of the present procedure - an application for recognition of the qualification for which he/she is requesting examination at another Italian university;Attach the following documentation:Valid identity document;Copy of the foreign official doctorate title corresponding to the third cycle according to the Bologna Process qualifications framework and level 8 according to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) or level of the 2011 ISCED framework or pre-2011 ISCED 6A level obtained at a foreign official higher education institution;Certificate issued by the Italian ENIC-NARIC centre (CIMEA);Declaration of value in situ, issued by the competent Italian diplomatic-consular representation in the country of issue of the qualification and legalisation (such as the Hague Apostille, where applicable) of the PhD diploma, containing the following minimum information: years of previous schooling, duration of the PhD academic course, correspondence of the level of training according to the European EQF Framework;Attestation/certificate issued by the competent foreign higher education institution attesting the elements and activities of the doctorate carried out in order to obtain the final degree, as well as the indication of the number of years of the course or Diploma Supplement if the foreign system provides for the issue of such a document also for doctoral studies;A copy of the doctoral thesis completed and indication of the web address of the university repository or library where the approved thesis is stored and available for consultation;Copy of the Italian or foreign title with which the foreign PhD Course was accessed;Translations into Italian or English of the required documents (where necessary);Curriculum vitae/studiorum indicating any additional titles, publications and research and teaching activities carried out.Transmit the request for academic recognition of the foreign PhD qualification, including all attachments, to the certified email address protocollo@pec.uniss.it. Requests must be submitted between 1 December and 31 January.The office in charge, after a preliminary check of the request and of the completeness of the documentation, may request any additional documentation, or send the applicant the PagoPA payment slip for the preliminary investigation expenses (300 euros). Formal verificationHaving verified the presence of all the required documentation and the payment of the preliminary investigation fees, the Office in charge performs a formal verification of the foreign qualification, establishing its comparability in terms of duration and level:Officiality and denomination of the title: the doctoral title for which recognition is sought must have been issued by a higher education institution to which such authority is given at national level, and which is accredited; the date of issue of the title must always be verified in order to check whether at that time the foreign institution had the possibility of issuing official qualifications. Nature of the title: the formal verification must take into account the nature of the programme carried out and the fulfilments required in order to obtain the final title, in line with those of the Italian system in force. Level of the title: the PhD title for which recognition is sought must refer to qualifications respectively placed at the 3rd cycle of the Bologna Process (EHEA QF), at level 8 EQF, or at the level of the 2011 ISCED framework or pre-2011 ISCED level 6A. Duration: the PhD degree must have been awarded at the end of a course lasting at least three years.At the end of the formal verification, the documentation will be forwarded to the Board of Teachers of the PhD Course indicated in the application form, which will make its decision within 60 days of receipt of the documentation by the office. Scientific and disciplinary verificationThe Board of Teachers of the PhD Course indicated by the applicant, shall carry out a scientific-disciplinary evaluation of the foreign training and research programme carried out, of the delivery methods (e.g.: online teaching, training requirements, mobility requirements, number and quality of publications required; final dissertation, etc.) and of the consistency with the training and research programme of the PhD Course for which academic recognition is requested.The Board of Teachers may decide for the academic recognition of the foreign qualification or for its refusal, deliberating in a special meeting. Result of the procedureIf the Board expresses a positive opinion, the Office will prepare the Rector's Decree of academic recognition of the foreign qualification, which will be sent to the applicant upon payment of the fixed fee for recognition of the foreign PhD qualification (350 euros).In the event of refusal, the Office will inform the applicant by providing the extract of the report containing the reasons for non-recognition. The refusal is based on the concept of "substantial difference", both in consideration of the elements of the foreign qualification and of the institution that issued it, and in consideration of the structural elements of the foreign reference system and of the Italian system of higher education.In any case, the applicant will be notified of the outcome of the procedure within 90 days from the date of reception of the receipt of payment of the preliminary investigation fees. 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