The ISU is not a Bocconi prize. It is Italy's Right to University Education benefit, funded by the Lombardy Region and the Ministry of Universities and Research and administered through the university, which is why it turns on income rather than on an admissions decision. Bocconi runs it through ISU Bocconi, its Student Assistance and Financial Aid Center, under Lombardy regional law 33 of 2004.
What arrives is a package rather than a single award: a cash stipend set annually by the Region, a waiver of the regional tax and enrolment fee, a cash payment for the daily meal, and, for international students entering a Master of Science and for everyone past their first year, full exemption from Bocconi's own tuition and fees.
Two conditions run together. Income is tested through the ISEE and ISPE indicators, and merit through a minimum number of credits each year. Miss the credit threshold and the benefit is not confirmed for the following year.
The timing is the part that catches people. Applications open in early January and close on 25 June, and first-year bachelor's and law applicants cannot apply until they have submitted the Bocconi4Access to Education form, with a funding window tied to their admission session. A second window sometimes reopens in late August for students who missed June, but only when the Region raises its income thresholds. Dates for the next academic year are published around the end of October.
Two cautions worth carrying into the application. The regulations are issued as provisional and finalised only after the Region's annual resolution, so thresholds and amounts can move. And for students on a double or joint degree, the exemption covers Bocconi's fees alone, not the partner university's.
The ISU programme page, the 2026-27 deadlines and procedures and the provisional 2026-27 application requirements and regulations were checked on 15 September 2026.