Best universities in Italy 2025

Explore the top universities in Italy using data from the Times Higher Education's World University Rankings 2025

October 28 2024

Top 8 universities in Italy 2025

Scroll down for the full list of best universities in Italy

Italy Rank 2025	World University Rank 2025	World University Rank 2024	University	City
1	=146	=155	University of Bologna	Bologna
2	=154	=168	Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa	Pisa
3	=185	181	Sapienza University of Rome	Rome
=4	201–250	201–250	Politecnico di Milano	Milan
=4	201–250	201–250	Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies – Pisa	Pisa
=4	201–250	201–250	University of Padua	Padua
=4	201–250	251–300	Vita-Salute San Raffaele University	Milan
8	251–300	251–300	Humanitas University	Milan

It isn’t difficult to see why Italy is a popular place to study. After all, it is the home of the University of Bologna, believed to be the world’s oldest university.

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Situated in the heart of southern Europe, Italy has a multitude of landscapes: from the alpine pistes in the north to the Mediterranean beaches in the south.

Italy (tied with China) is home to more Unesco World Heritage sites than any other nation in the world. These attractions, alongside Italy’s famous cuisine and rich history, are just some of the reasons it is among the world’s most visited countries each year.

If you think Italy sounds like a good destination for your studies, read on to find out about the nation’s best institutions based on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025.

Every major Italian town has a university, most of which are state-funded. However, there are also private universities and superior graduate schools, which are specifically focused on teaching and research at graduate level and above.

There are four main types of qualification in the Italian higher education system. The most basic is the three-year laurea – the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree.

The laurea magistrale consists of the three-year laurea followed by an additional two years of study, which makes it the equivalent of a master’s degree. Then there’s the laurea magistrale a ciclo unico, a five- or six-year course only awarded in some fields – including medicine, architecture and law – which is similar to an integrated master’s degree because there is no separation between the bachelor’s and master’s parts to the qualification.

Finally there’s the dottorato di ricerca, a doctoral programme primarily offered in superior graduate schools.

Top 7 universities in Italy

1. University of Bologna

The University of Bologna, founded in 1088, is believed to be the world’s oldest university.

There are campuses in Bologna, Cesena, Forli, Ravenna and Rimini in Italy and an international campus in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Bologna has varied nightlife and lots of live music, from opera to modern DJs and bands.

The University of Bologna is also responsible for the Bologna Process, a series of agreements between European countries with the aim of ensuring cooperation and comparability between the higher education systems of Europe.

The university’s long list of alumni includes Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket, a number of popes, Nobel-winning inventor and engineer Guglielmo Marconi, and Enzo Ferrari and Giorgio Armani, founders of their eponymous brands.

2. Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa

The Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, together with the University of Pisa and Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, is a part of the Pisa University system.

The university was founded in 1810 as a branch of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris.

It offers programmes in both the humanities and sciences and still operates from its original building, Palazzo della Carovana, in the medieval centre of Pisa.

3. Sapienza University of Rome

The Sapienza University of Rome was founded in 1303 by Pope Boniface VIII, making it Rome’s oldest university.

It is the largest university in Europe, supporting about 115,000 students, including nearly 9,000 international students, and almost 4,000 academic staff.

It offers 280 degree programmes and 200 specialist courses across 63 departments, with 50 libraries available for student use (the largest number of any Italian university) as well as 18 museums.

=4. Politecnico di Milano

Politecnico di Milano was established in 1863.

It provides courses in engineering, architecture and design and is the largest technical university in Italy. Many of the courses are taught in English and the university has more than 7,000 international students from over 100 countries.

The university's two main campuses are located in Milan, while there are other satellite campuses in five other cities across the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions.

=4. Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies – Pisa

The Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies – Pisa is a public university specialising in applied sciences.

The university has a rigorous entrance exam and if students are able to achieve top marks and demonstrate proficiency in two languages, they are able to study for free. As a result, the student population is very small with fewer than 1,000 students attending the university.

The Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies offers degrees in business sciences, economic sciences, legal sciences, political sciences, agricultural sciences, medical sciences, industrial engineering and information engineering.

=4. University of Padua

The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law.

It is the second oldest university in Italy and the world’s fifth oldest university.

The university is made up of 32 departments and eight schools. It also has a university hospital, a museum and 14 halls of residence.

=4. Vita-Salute San Raffaele University

A fairly young university having been founded in 1996, the teaching is structured across three departments: medicine, philosophy and psychology.

In 2015, the institute became part of the Gruppo San Donato, the first hospital group in Italy.

The university is situated in the vibrant city of Milan.

Top universities in Italy 2025

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2025 results

Italy Rank 2025	World University Rank 2025	World University Rank 2024	University	City
1	=146	=155	University of Bologna	Bologna
2	=154	=168	Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa	Pisa
3	=185	181	Sapienza University of Rome	Rome
=4	201–250	201–250	Politecnico di Milano	Milan
=4	201–250	201–250	Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies – Pisa	Pisa
=4	201–250	201–250	University of Padua	Padua
=4	201–250	251–300	Vita-Salute San Raffaele University	Milan
8	251–300	251–300	Humanitas University	Milan
=9	301–350	301–350	Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore	Milan, Brescia, Piacenza-Cremona and Rome.
=9	301–350	351–400	University of Milan	Milan
=9	301–350	301–350	University of Pavia	Pavia
=9	301–350	301–350	University of Rome II – Tor Vergata	Rome
=9	301–350	351–400	University of Trento	Trento
=14	351–400	351–400	Free University of Bozen-Bolzano	Bolzano
=14	351–400	401–500	University of Brescia	Brescia
=14	351–400	351–400	University of Florence	Florence
=14	351–400	351–400	University of Milan-Bicocca	Milan
=14	351–400	351–400	University of Naples Federico II	Naples
=14	351–400	401–500	University of Pisa	Pisa
=14	351–400	501–600	University of Siena	Siena
=21	401–500	401–500	Polytechnic University of Turin	Turin
=21	401–500	401–500	University of Genoa	Genoa
=21	401–500	401–500	University of Turin	Turin
=21	401–500	401–500	Verona University	Verona
=25	501–600	501–600	Ca’ Foscari University of Venice	Venice
=25	501–600	401–500	Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome	Rome
=25	501–600	501–600	Polytechnic University of Bari	Bari
=25	501–600	501–600	University of Ferrara	Ferrara
=25	501–600	501–600	University of Messina	Messina
=25	501–600	401–500	University of Modena and Reggio Emilia	Modena
=25	501–600	501–600	University of Salerno	Salerno
=25	501–600	501–600	University of Trieste	Trieste
=33	601–800	601–800	Marche Polytechnic University	Ancona
=33	601–800	601–800	Parthenope University of Naples	Naples
=33	601–800	601–800	University of Bari Aldo Moro	Bari
=33	601–800	NR	University of Cagliari	Caligliari
=33	601–800	501–600	University of Calabria	Cosenza
=33	601–800	601–800	University of Insubria	Como and Varese
=33	601–800	501–600	University of L’Aquila	L'Aquila
=33	601–800	601–800	University of Palermo	Palermo
=33	601–800	601–800	University of Parma	Parma
=33	601–800	601–800	University of Sassari	Sassari
=33	601–800	601–800	University of Tuscia	Viterbo
=33	601–800	601–800	University of Udine	Udine
=45	801–1000	601–800	Amedeo Avogadro University of Eastern Piedmont	Vercelli
=45	801–1000	601–800	Gabriele d‘Annunzio University	Abruzzo
=45	801–1000	801–1000	University of Camerino (Unicam)	Camerino
=45	801–1000	601–800	University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli	Caserta
=45	801–1000	601–800	University of Foggia	Foggia
=45	801–1000	601–800	University of Rome III	Rome
=45	801–1000	601–800	University of Salento	Lecce
=45	801–1000	601–800	University of Sannio	Benevento
=53	1001–1200	801–1000	Kore University of Enna	Enna
=53	1001–1200	801–1000	University of Bergamo	Bergamo
55	1201–1500	1001–1200	University of Urbino Carlo Bo	Urbino