Rankings: The 58 best universities in Italy for 2025/2026
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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.
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.
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”.
Read more about studying in Italy
