The dottorato di ricerca (research doctorate) is the highest Italian academic degree, the equivalent of a Ph.D.
Selected students can then complete their studies in the following step: two additional years of specialization which leads to the Laurea Magistrale.
However, it is now established that there is just a unique five-year degree Laurea Magistrale a ciclo unico (Single cycle master's degree) for programmes such as Law (Facoltà di Giurisprudenza), Arts (Accademia di Belle Arti), Music (Conservatorio di Musica) and a few others, and six-years degree for Medicine and Surgery (Medicina e Chirurgia) and Dentistry (Odontoiatria e Protesi Dentaria).
The Italian Master's Degree should not be confused with Italian "Masters" that are one-year specialistic courses which guarantee a more practical education but do not give access to further levels of studies (they can be considered similar to Postgraduate diplomas).
[4][5] Hence, the Superior Graduate Schools in Italy (Grandes écoles)[6] (Italian: Scuola Superiore Universitaria),[7] also called Schools of Excellence (Italian: Scuole di Eccellenza)[6][8] such as Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies still keep their reputed historical "Diploma di Perfezionamento" PhD title by law[3][9] and MIUR Decree.