Higher education in Italy

Higher education in Italy is mainly provided by a large and international network of public and state affiliated universities.

33 Italian universities were ranked among the world's top 500 in 2019, the third-largest number in Europe after the United Kingdom and Germany.

[7] In 2023, 385,952 students graduated, of which 57,3 % are women[8] Universities in Italy fits the framework of the Bologna Process since the adoption, in 1999, of the so-called 3+2 system.

Selected students can then complete their studies in the following step: two additional years of specialization which leads to the Laurea Magistrale.

Medical schools (Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia) are part of some universities and they only offer six-year courses.

Some of them also organize courses master's degree, individually, or jointly with the universities with whom they work like Bologna Business School or MIP Politecnico di Milano.

Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies also has long history of existence within overall Italian educational excellence, as its origins are in Collegio Medico-Giuridico of Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Conservatorio di Sant’Anna, an even older educational institution originating its roots in the 14th century.

Bologna University , established in AD 1088, is the world's oldest academic institution
Established in 1224 by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor , University of Naples Federico II in Italy is the world's oldest state-funded university in continuous operation. [ 1 ] [ 2 ]
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore , an Italian private research university founded in 1921. Its main campus is located in Milan , Italy, with satellite campuses in Brescia , Piacenza , Cremona and Rome . Degrees are offered both in Italian and in English. [ 3 ]
Palazzo della Carovana , Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa main building
Collegio Castiglioni Brugnatelli , University of Pavia , Lombardy