Students of history can apply for a scholarship to spend a semester next year, February –July 2026 at Messina University in Sicily, Italy. They will attend classes on International History and Global History in English, based on a study program agreed on with their supervisors and supervisors in Italy. This opportunity is particularly suitable for students interested in or planning to write a thesis on topics related to European or Mediterranean politics or history. It is also possible to take classes in Italian.

Eligible: Master and PhD students of History can apply

Application: send the following documents to Iris Borowy (irisborowy@shu.edu.cn) by 30 October: 1. A transcript of records of your classes and grades; 2. your cv, 3. A brief motivation letter explaining why you want to spend a semester at Messina University (max. 300 words); 4. A short description of your research proposal (max. 400 words); 5.for PhD students: your MA certificate. Please, send as a single pdf file.

Applications will be evaluated based on academic performance and compatibility of academic interests with the academic program at Messina. Priority will be given to students with disabilities and from disadvantaged backgrounds. Successful candidates need to show they have sufficient English language skills to follow classes in a brief interview. Please, include your phone or wechat contacts for this purpose.

Shanghai University can select up to 2 students.

The scholarship will be € 900/ month to cover living expenses.

The Erasmus+ programme recognizes a travel contribution of €1,735.00 for the round trip. The University of Messina can provide students with the flight tickets using this contribution, otherwise the amount will be transferred to the students’ bank account once they are in Messina.

In addition, there is the possibility for only 1 student to receive an additional top-up of €250.00 per month if he/she falls in one of these categories:

- students in disadvantaged economic conditions based on income as established by individual national provisions (certificable or self-declarable)

- students with disabilities or certifiable physical, health and mental problems according to individual national provisions (certificable)

- students with minor children (self-declaration)

- working students (self-declaration)

- students orphaned by at least one parent (self- declaration)

- students who are children of victims of terrorism and organized crime (self-declaration)

- professional student athletes (self-declaration)

- students from ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities (self-declaration)

- refugee students or asylum seekers (self-declaration)

The University of Messina was founded in 1548 and specializes in European studies, International Relations and Mediterranean history. https://international.unime.it/ Messina is a university town in Sicily with about 220,000 inhabitants.

Thanks to its long history, Messina has a lot of beautiful medieval architecture, town squares with restaurants, small roads and impressive churches. It boasts excellent food especially with a broad variety of seafood. The island provides great opportunities for traveling to visit an active volcano as well as Roman ruins. It is a wonderful place to combine academic learning on European studies with experiencing Mediterranean life in Southern Italy.

The history of Sicily goes far back to prehistoric times when it hosted proto-Celtic peoples and other groups, including the Siculi, for which the island is named. Later the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims, Normans, Swabians, Aragonese and others passed by here and left their mark.

For further information, please contact Iris Borowy (irisborowy@shu.edu.cn) or Shuting Li (shutingli@shu.edu.cn).