CENSIS 2026/27 university ranking crowns Luiss top non‑state university and Padua leading mega‑university
The CENSIS institute released its annual 2026/27 ranking of Italian universities, evaluating 70 institutions on more than 960 indicators covering structures, services, scholarships, internationalisation, communication, digital services and graduate employability.
Luiss Guido Carli topped the large non‑state university category for the third consecutive year with a 95.8 score, earning full marks for scholarships and a nine‑point jump in digital communication. Among the mega‑universities (over 40,000 students) the University of Padova led with 91.2 points, followed by Bologna (87.8) and the University of Calabria, which remained first in the 20‑40 000‑student bracket with 91.7.
The Politecnico di Milano retained the top spot among polytechnics (100.8), with Torino (94.8) and Bari (85.7) completing the podium.
University of Verona ranked first nationally for graduate employability and sixth for internationalisation.
In the small‑university segment (under 10,000 students) the University of Camerino (Unicam) held the overall lead for the sixth year, while the University of Cassino placed second.
Tor Vergata achieved the highest score in pharmacy programmes.
Overall enrolments continued their decade‑long rise of 19.8%, with the central region showing the strongest annual increase (+2.3%).
The University of Magna Graecia (Catanzaro) announced a review of CENSIS employability figures, citing discrepancies with the AlmaLaurea system.