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

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

. State-run universities of Italy are under the supervision of Italian's Ministry of Education. There is also a number of private universities and state-run post-secondary educational centers providing a vocational instruction. Italian universities are among the oldest universities in the world. In particular the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in contin ...

(founded in 1088, the oldest university in the world), the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...

, founded in 1222, and the University of Naples, founded in 1224, are among the most ancient state universities in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Most universities in Italy are state-supported. 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. The Bocconi University,

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (English: ''Catholic University of the Sacred Heart'', colloquially the ''Catholic University of Milan''), known as UCSC or UNICATT or simply Cattolica, is an Italian private research university founded in 1 ...

, LUISS,

Polytechnic University of Turin The Polytechnic University of Turin ( it, Politecnico di Torino) is the oldest Italian public technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Urban Planning and Industrial Design, and is con ...

Polytechnic University of Milan The Polytechnic University of Milan () is the largest technical university in Italy, with about 42,000 students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and higher education courses in engineering, architecture and design. Founded in ...

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

, and

University of Milan The University of Milan ( it, Università degli Studi di Milano; la, Universitas Studiorum Mediolanensis), known colloquially as UniMi or Statale, is a public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe ...

are also ranked among the best in the world.

Structure

Universities

Universities in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

fits the framework of the Bologna Process since the adoption, in 1999, of the so-called ''3+2 system''. The first level degree is the ''

Laurea In Italy, the ''laurea'' is the main post-secondary academic degree. The name originally referred literally to the laurel wreath, since ancient times a sign of honor and now worn by Italian students right after their official graduation ceremony ...

triennale'' that can be achieved after three years of studies. Selected students can then complete their studies in the following step: two additional years of ''specialization'' which leads to the ''Laurea Magistrale''. The "Laurea triennale" corresponds roughly to a

Bachelor Degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...

while the "Laurea Magistrale" corresponds to a

Master Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

. Only the Laurea Magistrale grants access to third cycle programmes (Post-MA degrees, Doctorates or Specializing schools), that last 2 to 5 years (usually completing a PhD takes 3 years). However, there is just a single five-year degree "Laurea Magistrale Quinquennale" (''Five-Year Master of Arts'') for some programmes such as Law (''Facoltà di Giurisprudenza''), Arts (''Accademia di Belle Arti'') and Music (''Conservatorio di Musica''). Medical schools (''Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia'') are part of some universities and they only offer six-year courses. The title for MA/MFA/MD/MEd graduate students is ''Dottore'' (abbreviation in ''Dott.''/''Dott.ssa'' or ''Dr.'', meaning Doctor). This title is not to be confused with the PhD and Post-MA graduates, whose title is ''Dottore di Ricerca'' (''Research Doctor'' or ''Philosophy Doctor''). The Italian master's degree should not be confused with Italian "Masters" that are one-year specialistic postgraduate courses which guarantee a more practical education but do not necessarily give access to doctoral studies. Universities in Italy can be divided into 4 groups: * state-funded public universities: this category comprises most Italian universities, particularly the largest institutions. * universities funded by other public authority (other than the state, such as

Provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

): this is the case of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano. * private universities officially recognized by the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. * superior graduate schools, which focus only on postgraduate education.

Superior Graduate Schools

The Superior Graduate School (''

Grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: *Agustín Muñoz Grandes Agustín Muñoz Grandes (27 January 1896 – 11 July 1970) was a Spanish general, and politician, vice-president of the Spanish Government and minister with Francisco Franco several times; also know ...

'')Ricerca Italiana – Scuole di Eccellenza
/ref> or ''Scuola Superiore Universitaria'' offer recognized national and international titles, including the ''Diploma di Perfezionamento'' equivalent to a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

, ''Dottorato di Ricerca'' i.e.

Research Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' l ...

or ''Doctor Philosophiae'' i.e. Ph.D.Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR) Decree
/ref> and are recognized by the

Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (Italy) The Ministry of Education, University and Research (in it, Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, italic=no or MIUR) is the ministry of the Italian government for the national education system, the Italian universities and ...

(MIUR) as fully autonomous. Some of them also organize courses

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

, individually, or jointly with the universities with whom they work like Bologna Business School or MIP Politecnico di Milano. There are three Superior Graduate Schools with "university status", three institutes with the status of Doctoral Colleges, which function at graduate and post-graduate level. Nine further schools are direct offshoots of the universities (i.e. do not have their own 'university status'). The first one is the

Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa The Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa (commonly known in Italy as "la Normale") is a public university in Pisa and Florence, Tuscany, Italy, currently attended by about 600 undergraduate and postgraduate (PhD) students. It was founded in 181 ...

(founded in 1810 by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

as a branch of

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

), taking the model of organization from the famous

Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies , latin_name = , image = , motto = L'eccellenza come disciplina , mottoeng = Committed to excellence , established = 1987 from previously existing institutions , type = State-supported , administrative_staff ...

also has long history of existence within overall Italian educational excellence, as its origins are in ''Collegio Medico-Giuridico'' of

and ''Conservatorio di Sant’Anna'', an even older educational institution originating its roots in the 14th century.Statuto della Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna
in

Gazzetta Ufficiale The ''Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana'' (Italian, ) is the official journal of record of the Italian government. It is published by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in Rome. Function The ''Gazzetta Ufficiale'' promulga ...

il 28 dicembre 2011 These institutions are commonly referred to as "Schools of Excellence" (i.e. "Scuole di Eccellenza").Scuole di Eccellenza
/ref>

Professional higher education

Higher education in Italy is mainly covered by universities
Sistema di accreditamento degli studi universitari MIUR e verifica standard qualitativi ANVUR
and superior graduate schools, with almost no professional or vocational school following the secondary education. This is considered a weak point of the Italian post-secondary education. However, Italian system provides a few vocational schools and courses. There are two main vocational paths after having obtained a secondary degree: those courses called "Istruzione e Formazione Tecnica Superiore" (IFTS; "Higher technical training and education"), and the "Istituti Tecnici Superiori" (ITS; "Higher technical institutes"). The first ones, IFTS, were established in the late nineties and are managed on regional basis. An IFTS course lasts between 1 and 2 years and it is usually strictly connected with a secondary school specialised in the same field of studies. These courses were generally unsuccessfully: in 2007 on a number of 450.000 students with a secondary degree, only 2430 of them (0,54%) followed an IFTS course. The ITS, created in 2008, lasts 2 years and are managed by a secondary institute in collaboration with local universities or institutions. In 2013, only 59 professional higher courses were available.

Structure

Universities

Superior Graduate Schools

Professional higher education

See also

References

Further reading

Historical