Foreign Diplomas at the University of San Marino: Recognition and Documents

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

The University of the Republic of San Marino (UNIRSM) checks foreign qualifications itself, with the help of the national information centre CINERTA ENIC San Marino or any other ENIC-NARIC centre. Which documents you need depends on the country that issued your diploma and on how many years of schooling it represents. This guide follows the university's enrolment rules and the 2026/27 admission notices for Design and for Communication and Digital Media.

The basic rule for a bachelor's degree

For a first-cycle degree you must hold the final upper secondary diploma, or a comparable foreign title where San Marino has an automatic recognition agreement with the country that issued it. Where there is no such agreement, you need a legalised final secondary title with at least 12 years of schooling.

The university may also ask you for:

a statement from CINERTA ENIC San Marino or another ENIC-NARIC centre, a statement from official foreign bodies, or a declaration of value
a certificate that you passed the academic aptitude test, if your home country requires one for university entry
official translations into Italian or English of the documents above
any other document it needs, including to verify that the diploma is genuine

The words "may ask" matter. The requirements can differ by applicant, so confirm with the Student Office which items apply to you.

If you have fewer than 12 years of schooling

If your secondary studies took fewer than 12 years, you must add one of the following. The university's teaching committee validates it:

a certificate of attendance of a specific post-secondary bridging course, such as a foundation course
a post-secondary qualification from a non-university institution that is recognised for university entry under European rules, at level 5 of the European Qualifications Framework
a certificate of attendance and passed exams covering one or more academic years at a recognised higher education institution in your country, showing that you reached at least 12 years of schooling

If you want credit for studies partly completed abroad, attach the certificates of the individual exams you passed, with official documents describing the content of those exams.

The Design and Communication notices

The 2026/27 notices for the two limited-places degrees repeat the 12-year rule and add practical steps. Foreign applicants must arrange, in time, through Italian diplomatic missions abroad, the translation, the legalisation and the declaration of value of the diploma, and convert the diploma grade into a mark out of 100. Candidates whose mother tongue is not Italian must show adequate Italian in the interview.

The Government of San Marino explains the declaration of value as follows. It is issued by the consular authority in the country where the qualification was obtained, and a declaration from an Italian consular authority is valid for San Marino. You do not have to appear in person: you can delegate someone in that country to collect it, and you send your original qualification to that person. You get back the original qualification, apostilled, with a certified translation and the declaration. The page states no fee or processing time, so ask the consulate. For the apostille step in general, see apostille and legalisation of documents.

Master's and doctoral applicants

The university also states what second-cycle and third-cycle applicants need:

Master's: an official first-cycle title at level 6 of the European Qualifications Framework, from an institution that allows studies to continue to the next level locally and with no substantial difference under the Lisbon Recognition Convention. Send the transcript with the programme of each subject, or the Diploma Supplement, plus an ENIC-NARIC or declaration-of-value statement if the university asks for one.
Doctorate: an official second-cycle title at level 7 with the same conditions.

Translations of these documents must be official, into Italian or English for the master's and into Italian for the doctorate. Our catalogue lists only bachelor's programmes.

San Marino documents

If you hold a San Marino school qualification, note that self-declarations of it have no legal value (Law no. 159/2011). The Student Office needs an official certificate.

A sensible order

Ask the Student Office, with your diploma in hand, which of the supporting documents it will want.
Count your years of schooling and see if you need a bridging document.
Start the translation and legalisation early, since they involve consulates and sworn translators.
Upload the documents when you enrol. See how to get into the University of San Marino.

Where to look next

Official sources

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.