Rankings: The 52 best universities in Italy for 2019/2020

Italy seems to have it all: Amazing landscapes from coasts to mountains, an impressive history, and a remarkably tasty and diverse cuisine. Not to mention it was here that the very first university in Europe was founded, nearly one thousand years ago.

Today, several of Italy’s institutions are among the top-ranked universities in Europe. That includes centuries-old traditional universities like the University of Bologna, Sapienza University of Rome or the University of Padua - but also younger modern universities like Roma Tor Vergata or the University of Milan. Among dozens of world-class schools, it can be difficult to pick one when you are planning to study in Italy.

Top ranked universities in Italy

University	QS Ranking 2019	THE Ranking 2019	ARWU Ranking 2018
Politecnico di Milano	156	301	201
Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies	167	153	–
Scuola Normale Superiore	175	161	501
University of Bologna	180	180	201
Sapienza University of Rome	217	251	201
University of Padua	249	201	201
University of Milan	325	301	151
Politecnico di Torino	387	401	601
University of Pisa	422	301	201
University of Trento	426	251	501
University of Naples Federico II	472	301	201
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore	491	401	501
University of Florence	501	401	301
University of Rome Tor Vergata	511	401	501
University of Turin	571	401	201
University of Pavia	581	401	301
University of Milano-Bicocca	601	401	401
University of Ferrara	701	401	401
University of Brescia	701	501	701
University of Genoa	701	401	501
University of Siena	701	351	701
University of Trieste	701	401	501
Ca' Foscari University of Venice	751	601	–
University of Perugia	751	351	501
Roma Tre University	801	401	–
University of Bari Aldo Moro	801	401	501
University of Catania	801	501	601
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia	801	351	601
University of Palermo	801	501	401
University of Verona	801	401	601
Vita-Salute San Raffaele University	–	201	401
University of Salerno	–	351	701
University of Urbino	–	401	701
University of Udine	–	501	701
University of Sassari	–	601	801
University of Salento	–	501	801
University of Parma	–	501	401
University of Messina	–	–	701
University of L'Aquila	–	–	801
University of Eastern Piedmont	–	–	901
University of Chieti-Pescara	–	–	901
University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”	–	–	901
University of Calabria	–	401	701
University of Cagliari	–	601	701
Università degli Studi dell’Insubria	–	–	801
Scuola Superiore Studi Pavia IUSS	–	–	901
Marche Polytechnic University	–	401	501
International School for Advanced Studies	–	–	601
Humanitas University	–	–	501
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano	–	351	701
Polytechnic University of Bari	–	401	–
University of Bergamo	–	501	–

Explained: How do the university rankings work?

The QS World University Rankings are among the most important, most-referenced rankings. The QS ranking relies heavily on its academic survey, asking thousands of academics worldwide about the reputation of universities.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings (or the THE Rankings for short) compile a wide range of statistics. Equal weight is put on teaching quality, research excellence, and research impact through citations (meaning how often a university’s research is referenced elsewhere).

The Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (often just Shanghai Ranking, or ARWU) focuses on research output and quality, for example measured by the number of published and cited scientific papers and the number of staff or alumni winning the Nobel Prize or Fields Medal.

Study in Italy

Italy offers the perfect combination of stunning history, academic tradition, and innovative research and education. In the birthplace of Europe’s first university, many of Italy’s institutions are today among the best in the world. International students are flocking to the Southern European country to receive world-class education and enjoy la dolce vita - “the sweet life”.