Politecnico di Milano is worth a close look if you want to study engineering, architecture or design in Italy. For the September 2027 intake, the most useful starting point is the early-bird application period: it affects both your application fee and eligibility for the university’s international merit-scholarship competition. This guide is for applicants with a bachelor’s qualification obtained outside Italy, with a section specifically for students who studied in Pakistan. It covers the Laurea Magistrale, equivalent to a Master of Science. Bachelor’s degrees and specialised postgraduate courses have different admission routes. Official sources checked on 20 October 2026. Confirm your selected programme and applicant category before submitting. The dates to put on your calendar Keep the admission application and scholarship form as two separate tasks: - 1 October–1 December 2026: the admission application and fee-payment window required for participation in the 2027–28 international merit-scholarship call. - 15 December 2026, 12:00 noon Italian time: deadline for the separate merit-scholarship form. This is 19:00 in China and 16:00 in Pakistan on the same day. - 4 March 2027: the university’s scholarship webpage gives this deadline for a valid English-language proficiency certificate for scholarship consideration. Check how the evidence accepted for your application applies to this requirement. For Architecture and Design, the official 2027–28 general admission window runs from 1 October 2026 to 28 January 2027 at 23:59 CET; its early-bird cutoff is 1 December 2026 at 23:59 CET. Applying later in that general window does not satisfy the scholarship call’s early-bird condition. The official Engineering timetable currently contains a year-heading inconsistency, although its rows refer to September 2027. Confirm later Engineering rounds with admissions before relying on them. The additional March round is restricted to specified applicant categories; students applying from abroad should not assume it is available to them. Official admission timetable: https://www.polimi.it/en/prospective-students/how-to-apply/admission-to-laurea-magistrale/foreign-qualification/deadlines Choose a course that matches your previous studies Start with the curriculum, rather than the university name alone. Compare the subjects in your transcript with the preparation expected by the programme. Make a short note of the courses, projects and practical work that demonstrate that match. Examples marked as English-taught in Polimi’s current master’s catalogue include: - Computer Science and Engineering — Milano Leonardo. - Management Engineering — Milano Bovisa. - Automation and Control Engineering — Milano Leonardo. - Digital and Interaction Design — Milano Bovisa. - Architectural Design and History — Mantova. - Sustainable Architecture and Landscape Design — Piacenza. These are course references checked on the date above. Read the individual programme page for the curriculum, campus and entry requirements applying to your intake. Campus selection also matters when checking scholarship categories and accommodation. Official master’s catalogue: https://www.polimi.it/en/education/laurea-magistrale-programmes Academic eligibility and requirements for Pakistani qualifications The foreign-qualification route requires a recognised, relevant bachelor’s degree, completed before enrolment. Applicants who are finishing their bachelor’s can apply with the required evidence. Polimi assesses the bachelor’s background even if the applicant also holds a master’s degree. For qualifications obtained in Pakistan, the current country-specific rules state: - Minimum GPA: 3.3 out of 4. - A four-year continuous bachelor’s programme is accepted; a 2+2-year bachelor’s arrangement is not accepted. - Provide the university’s weighted-average letter, or a certified current-GPA document if still studying, alongside the required academic records. - Follow the specified certification rules for transcripts issued or certified by the university Registrar’s Office or HEC Pakistan. Polimi describes its country-specific minimum requirements as strict. Meeting the minimum allows an application to be considered; it does not establish that the programme will admit you. These rules follow the country where you studied. A Pakistani citizen holding a qualification from another country should check the rules for that qualification. Official requirements and country-specific guidance: https://www.polimi.it/en/prospective-students/how-to-apply/admission-to-laurea-magistrale/foreign-qualification/requirements English requirements: check your evidence early The official document page lists IELTS 6, PTE Academic 59 and other accepted tests. Read the full table for your chosen certificate and its validity. A medium-of-instruction route is also listed: the bachelor’s must have been taught in English for at least three years, supported by a university-certified document confirming at least 75% of its courses were in English. This has specific conditions; an informal statement that you studied in English is insufficient. Ask admissions to confirm uncertain language evidence before relying on it for scholarship consideration. Keep that confirmation with your application records. Documents to prepare Use the official checklist for the final requirements. Prepare: - Bachelor’s degree, provisional certificate or qualifying final-year enrolment evidence. - Official academic transcript, scanned clearly on both sides. - Official cumulative-GPA evidence and grading scale. - CV of no more than two pages. - Portfolio where required for Architecture, Urban Planning and Policy Design or Design. - Accepted language evidence and any required translations. A recommendation, motivation statement and course descriptions may strengthen the file where relevant; check their status in the official instructions. Official document and language requirements: https://www.polimi.it/en/prospective-students/how-to-apply/admission-to-laurea-magistrale/foreign-qualification/application/list-of-documents-required-by-the-admissions-office Give yourself time to obtain university-issued documents. Open every file after scanning it: names, grades, signatures and page edges should be readable. Use consistent filenames so you can find the correct version when uploading. Application fee and tuition: keep the two separate The published admission timetable lists an early-bird application fee of €50 and a standard fee of €150 from 2 December, subject to the applicable application window. This pays for the application, not your annual studies. The admission instructions describe it as mandatory and non-refundable. For tuition, the currently published fee page gives a maximum annual reference of €3,943.04 for a standard study plan. Its accompanying enrolment information refers to 2026–27, so this is a planning reference, not a confirmed 2027–28 tuition quotation. The current rules also say that specified international students in the reserved non-EU category, admitted with a foreign first degree and without a qualifying scholarship, pay the maximum amount adjusted to their study-plan credits. Do not assume that submitting a low-income certificate automatically reduces tuition for every applicant category. Official tuition information: https://www.polimi.it/en/prospective-students/how-much-does-it-cost/laurea-laurea-magistrale-and-single-cycle-programmes Build a budget with separate lines for application charges, tuition, housing deposit, rent, food, transport, travel and document preparation. Work out what you would need before any scholarship instalment arrives. A fee waiver and money for living costs are different parts of a funding plan. Polimi scholarships for 2027–28 The published international merit-scholarship call covers tuition waivers, with cash awards depending on the category: - Platinum, Milan: €10,000 gross. - Gold, Milan: €8,000 gross. - Gold, Piacenza: €5,000 gross for the specified programmes. - Bronze, Piacenza: €2,500 gross for the specified programme. - Silver, specified regional campuses: tuition waiver without the cash awards above. Read the call for the eligible programme and campus. It quotes an approximately €190 administrative fee for acceptance; the general scholarship webpage shows a different approximate figure, so use the current call and award instructions for budgeting. The separate scholarship form is in Online Services under economic benefits and international master’s scholarships. Save its submission confirmation. Read the payment, renewal and incompatibility conditions before accepting an award. Selection is competitive. Official 2027–28 scholarship call: https://www.polimi.it/fileadmin/user_upload/futuri_studenti/borse-di-studio/Merit_Based_Call_For_Applications_a.y._2027-2028.pdf Scholarship overview and English-evidence deadline: https://www.polimi.it/en/prospective-students/how-much-does-it-cost/scholarships DSU financial aid is a separate funding route with its own annual competition. Do not transfer the merit-scholarship dates to a DSU application. Check the relevant academic year in the DSU notice before preparing the financial documents. Official DSU information: https://www.polimi.it/en/students/tuition-fees-scholarships-and-financial-aid/university-financial-aid-diritto-allo-studio-universitario-dsu How to apply, step by step 1. Check eligibility before paying. Review the programme requirements, your qualification’s country rules and the relevant admission period. Write down anything that needs clarification. 2. Create or reuse your Polimi account. Follow the official application page to Online Services. Keep control of your personal email and application account. Use your existing personal code if you previously registered. 3. Choose your programme preferences. The foreign-qualification instructions allow up to two master’s choices in an application. Compare them carefully rather than adding an unrelated second option. 4. Upload and review the complete file. Check every attachment against the official list. Polimi’s instructions say uploaded documents cannot be changed after payment, so finish the review before that step. 5. Pay within the correct window. Save the receipt and check the application status. Do not leave payment until the final evening in case the bank or card transaction needs attention. 6. Complete the scholarship task separately. If eligible, submit its form and keep the confirmation beside your admission receipt. Track language evidence as a further task. 7. Read messages from admissions. An application involves more than the initial upload. Check for requests, outcomes, acceptance instructions and enrolment steps in your account. Official application instructions and portal access: https://www.polimi.it/en/prospective-students/how-to-apply/admission-to-laurea-magistrale/foreign-qualification/application Prepare a stronger application without overstating your experience For each programme, create a one-page working note with three columns: required preparation, evidence in your transcript and evidence in your projects. This helps you see an academic mismatch before paying an application fee. Use your CV to explain work you actually did. Describe your role, tools and result in a project rather than listing many skills without examples. If you provide a motivation statement, explain why the particular curriculum fits your next step. A paragraph that could be sent unchanged to any university usually needs more work. For a portfolio, select work you can discuss clearly. Let the reader understand the problem, your contribution and the design or technical decisions. Keep supporting material organised so the application tells a consistent story. Questions students ask Is 1 December the final deadline for every Polimi application? No. It is the early-bird cutoff relevant to this merit-scholarship call. Admission windows also depend on the study area and applicant category. Use the timetable and the separate scholarship notice together. Does an admission offer mean I have a scholarship? No. Keep the admission outcome and funding outcome as separate records. Plan your costs while waiting for the scholarship decision. Can I apply while finishing my bachelor’s? Check the final-year section of Polimi’s document list against your expected graduation date. Should I use an old fee figure or last year’s scholarship date? Only as a clearly labelled planning reference. Before submitting or paying, check the academic year shown in the official instructions and the amount in your own application account. More Italy guidance from Ali Zubair Compare other universities and English-taught course examples in our Italy resource hub: https://www.studywithalizubair.com/blog/study-in-italy-2027-28-resources For the broader application process, read our Italy admission guide: https://www.studywithalizubair.com/blog/italy-university-admission-2027-28 Watch scholarship and study-abroad guidance on our own Learn With Ali Zubair channel: https://youtube.com/@learnwithalizubair?si=q5vQmqucDjQ3tT6S If Polimi is on your shortlist, start by checking your course fit and requesting the university-issued documents you still need. Then put the admission payment, scholarship form and language-evidence tasks into your calendar separately.