Explore the top universities in Italy 2026

Best universities in Italy 2026

Discover the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 and explore which universities in Italy rank the highest.
This list reveals the best universities and colleges in Italy, according to the trusted THE World University Rankings 2026.
Universities across Italy are scored in areas such as teaching, research and international outlook.
It uses a robust methodology, created by the in-house data team, that is relied upon by students, academics, policymakers and industry leaders worldwide.

Published on November 11 2025

Last updated November 12 2025

Top universities in Italy 2026

Country Rank	WUR Rank	University	Overall	Teaching	Research Environment	Research Quality	Industry	International Outlook
1	130	University of Bologna	63.3	54.2	50.1	83.3	82.5	59.7
2	137	Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa	62.8	58.6	46.9	86.4	37.7	59.3
3	=170	Sapienza University of Rome	60.6	55.9	53.5	73.4	85.2	42.9
=4	201–250	Politecnico di Milano	56.4–58.6	46.2	51.9	67.8	98	65.5
=4	201–250	Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies – Pisa	56.4–58.6	50.2	38.3	77.5	93.7	56.8
=4	201–250	University of Padua	56.4–58.6	46.4	41	80	78.9	53.2
=7	251–300	Humanitas University	54.3–56.3	36.6	29	98.5	64	64
=7	251–300	Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore	54.3–56.3	37.4	32.9	89.6	81.9	47.8
=7	251–300	Vita-Salute San Raffaele University	54.3–56.3	34.3	34	98.8	66.3	51.3
=10	301–350	University of Milan	51.6–54.2	38.9	32.5	86.1	71.2	47.2
=10	301–350	University of Naples Federico II	51.6–54.2	40	31.8	83.9	72.5	35.2
=10	301–350	University of Rome II – Tor Vergata	51.6–54.2	40.4	36.1	71.7	86	65.7
=13	351–400	University of Brescia	49.9–51.5	35.4	24.7	88	72	43.2
=13	351–400	University of Florence	49.9–51.5	37.6	37.9	75.9	76.7	46.7
=13	351–400	University of Pavia	49.9–51.5	38.9	31.9	77	78.9	52.2
=13	351–400	University of Pisa	49.9–51.5	36.3	34.7	77.7	67.7	43.2
=13	351–400	University of Siena	49.9–51.5	39.3	35.1	75	75.5	46.7
=13	351–400	University of Trento	49.9–51.5	34.6	35.2	77.4	70.3	61.5
=13	351–400	Verona University	49.9–51.5	34.6	31.1	81.6	71.1	45
=20	401–500	Free University of Bozen-Bolzano	46.2–49.8	31.4	21.9	83.7	51.3	78.2
=20	401–500	Marche Polytechnic University	46.2–49.8	35.8	26.4	75.9	72.6	33.9
=20	401–500	Polytechnic University of Turin	46.2–49.8	31.6	30	71	86.7	56.6
=20	401–500	University of Genoa	46.2–49.8	39.4	30.9	74.6	76.2	46.9
=20	401–500	University of Milan-Bicocca	46.2–49.8	25.1	27.1	87.7	68.1	46.3
=20	401–500	University of Turin	46.2–49.8	24.3	31.9	81.7	74	44.3
=26	501–600	Ca’ Foscari University of Venice	43.6–46.1	38	38	53.2	61.3	65.9
=26	501–600	Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome	43.6–46.1	36.9	27.2	73.3	54.1	33.6
=26	501–600	Polytechnic University of Bari	43.6–46.1	27	31.1	72.8	73.9	36.7
=26	501–600	University of Catania	43.6–46.1	31.4	22	78.7	59	47.2
=26	501–600	University of Ferrara	43.6–46.1	31.9	26.8	70.3	68.5	44
=26	501–600	University of Messina	43.6–46.1	35.6	28.1	71.8	64.3	36.6
=26	501–600	University of Modena and Reggio Emilia	43.6–46.1	34.7	25.7	72.9	77.9	38.9
=26	501–600	University of Palermo	43.6–46.1	33.3	30.5	66.7	54.7	37
=26	501–600	University of Salerno	43.6–46.1	30.6	30.2	72.7	63.1	36.9
=26	501–600	University of Trieste	43.6–46.1	34.3	27.7	72.4	57.6	50.9
=36	601–800	Amedeo Avogadro University of Eastern Piedmont	39.0–43.5	25.6	24.8	70.6	52.9	47.8
=36	601–800	Parthenope University of Naples	39.0–43.5	18.9	22.8	78	34.8	35.4
=36	601–800	University of Bari Aldo Moro	39.0–43.5	20	25.8	71.4	64.6	38.1
=36	601–800	University of Cagliari	39.0–43.5	33.8	24	64.3	62.7	40.5
=36	601–800	University of Calabria	39.0–43.5	39.5	21.9	62.4	59.7	42.5
=36	601–800	University of Insubria	39.0–43.5	19	23.7	79.3	48.7	41.2
=36	601–800	University of L’Aquila	39.0–43.5	32.8	22.4	66.6	78.5	39.4
=36	601–800	University of Parma	39.0–43.5	20.9	23.9	70.1	64.8	39.2
=36	601–800	University of Tuscia	39.0–43.5	23.8	28.7	66.5	59.7	50.6
=36	601–800	University of Udine	39.0–43.5	32.8	20.9	69.4	58.5	41.1
=46	801–1000	Gabriele d‘Annunzio University	35.5–38.9	17.6	20.9	63.6	56	38.7
=46	801–1000	University of Foggia	35.5–38.9	16.8	26	63.6	38	32.2
=46	801–1000	University of Rome III	35.5–38.9	22.7	25.6	54.7	63.2	42.2
=46	801–1000	University of Salento	35.5–38.9	27.2	21.4	61.4	55.8	35.6
=50	1001–1200	Kore University of Enna	32.1–35.4	17.8	16.6	57.8	43	41.3
=50	1001–1200	University of Camerino (Unicam)	32.1–35.4	21.7	18.3	54.2	58.5	55.1
=50	1001–1200	University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli	32.1–35.4	18.4	10	75	51.2	31.5
=50	1001–1200	University of Sannio	32.1–35.4	30.4	16.8	56.5	42.8	29.7
54	1201–1500	University of Urbino Carlo Bo	27.3–32.0	17.6	19.9	47.6	36.3	50.1

Key insights from the Italy University Rankings 2026

The top university in Italy is the University of Bologna. The University of Bologna is believed to be the world's oldest university.
Some 54 universities from Italy are ranked in the Italy University Ranking 2026.
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.
The top three universities in Italy remain the same from last year.

Choosing a university in Italy

Italy is fast becoming a popular study abroad destinations. As the home to one fo the oldest university's in the world, the University of Bologna, Italy has a long history of providing high-quality education.

When considering which university to choose in Italy, students will need to consider factors such as tuition fees and cost, programme offerings, campus culture and location.

The table for the best universities in Italy was derived from data collected for the THE World University Rankings. The results are calculated using 18 performance indicators underlying five metrics: research environment, teaching (the learning environment), research quality, industry, and international outlook. For more insight and a detailed breakdown of our ranking methodology, visit our methodology page. Use the Italy university ranking table above to explore the right institution for you.