Top Public Universities in Italy for Indian Students in 2027-28

Top 10 Public Universities in Italy for 2027-28

Italy runs one of Europe’s largest public university systems, and unlike Germany’s near-uniform tuition-free model, Italian public universities charge tuition on a sliding scale tied to family income. Here are the top-ranked public universities in Italy for the 2027-28 intake, according to the QS World University Rankings 2027.

Get My university Shortlist in 60 Secs

0%

Choose your dream country

Please select a country

UK

USA

Germany

Australia

Ireland

New Zealand

Canada

UAE

France

Sweden

Italy

Other

When do you want to study abroad?

Please select an option

Sep 2026

Recommended Jan 2027

Sep 2027

2028 or later

What's your highest level of education?

Please select an option

Bachelor's

Master's

MBBS / MD

Diploma

12th Grade

10th Grade

Have you completed Class 12th?

Please select an option

Yes

No

What was your Class 12 CGPA/percentage?

Please enter a valid CGPA/percentage (0-100)

Are you a student or a parent/guardian?

Please select an option

Student

Parent/Guardian

Other

What do you want to study?

Please select a course

Select your current city

Please select your city

 

Please Enter Your Name

 

IN +91 UAE +971 QA +974 SA +966 KW +965 OM +968 BH +973

Please Enter a Valid Number

 

Please Enter Your Email

How Leap will help you

Personalised University Shortlist

Express Applications with Quicker Admits

End-to-End Application Support

Continue

Note: Italy's public universities have all improved their global standing in the 2027 rankings cycle, with Politecnico di Milano climbing 11 places in a single year and Sapienza reaching its best-ever result. This upward trend is worth factoring in if you're comparing Italy against a country with flatter ranking movement.

Top 5 Public Universities in Italy: Detailed Overview

1. Politecnico di Milano: Italy's top-ranked university and its leading technical institution, with over 42,000 students across engineering, architecture, and design. Two main Milan campuses plus five regional campuses. Strongest for AI, mechanical engineering, and design.

2. Sapienza University of Rome: Europe's largest university by enrollment (112,500+ students), founded in 1303. Broad strength across sciences, engineering, medicine, and the humanities, with 100+ English-taught Master's programs.

3. University of Bologna: The world's oldest continuously operating university, founded in 1088, with roughly 86,500 students across 11 schools. Known for law, life sciences, and STEM research.

4. University of Padua: One of Europe's oldest universities (founded 1222), climbing 132 places over the past decade. It is strong in medicine, engineering, and psychology, and has a historic association with Galileo.

5. Politecnico di Torino: A leading technical university for aerospace, automotive, and mechanical engineering, closely tied to Turin's industrial base (Fiat, Stellantis).

Related reading: Study in Italy for Indian Students 2026-27 Guide

IMAT vs TOLC: Which Entrance Exam Do You Need?

This aspect is where Italy's public university system differs from Germany's and where most generic guides do not provide enough detail. Not every course needs an entrance exam, but Medicine, Dentistry, and Veterinary programs always do.

Related reading: IMAT Exam 2026: Dates, Pattern & Seats for Indians and IMAT exam dates for 2026

For the 2026-27 cycle, Italy allocated 1,362 English-taught Medicine seats to non-EU candidates resident abroad, plus 11 Dentistry and 7 Veterinary seats, distributed university by university. Indian applicants compete only within the quota of the specific university where they completed pre-enrollment, so your first-choice preference on Universitaly is the decision that matters most.

Counselor insight: NEET is not required to register for or sit the IMAT, and Italian universities don't consider your NEET score for admission. But India's National Medical Commission requires you to have qualified for NEET-UG before joining any foreign medical course so you can later sit for FMGE or NExT and register as a doctor in India. Many Indian students prepare for both exams in the same cycle since the Biology and Chemistry syllabi overlap substantially.

Cost of Studying at Public Universities in Italy: Tuition, Living Costs, and Scholarships

Tuition Fees

Public university tuition in Italy isn't a flat international-student rate the way it often is elsewhere in Europe. It's calculated on a sliding scale tied to family income (ISEE), typically ranging from €150 to €4,000 a year (Rs.16,496-Rs.4.4L), with STEM and Medicine programs generally at the higher end.

Related question: Are tuition fees waived for some universities, and what about hostel fees in Italy?

Cost of Living by City

Where you study changes your monthly budget significantly, often by more than your tuition band does. Milan and Rome run highest; Bologna, Padua, Pisa, and Turin offer meaningfully better value without sacrificing university quality.

Related reading: Accommodation in Italy for Indian Students

Counselor insight: Two students with identical DSU support can end up with very different disposable income purely based on city choice. A student in Bologna or Padua on a full DSU grant often has real monthly savings left over; the same grant in Milan barely clears rent. If your budget is tight, weigh the city as seriously as the university ranking.

Scholarships Beyond DSU: The Full Landscape for Indian Students

DSU is Italy's largest need-based scheme, but it isn't the only route, and several of the alternatives are merit-based rather than income-based, which matters if your family income is too high to qualify for DSU but your academic record is strong.

Related reading for a deep-dive into Italy scholarships for Indian student: Government of Italy Scholarships for Indian Students ·Top Italy Scholarship for Indian Students

Note: Invest Your Talent in Italy is worth flagging separately, since it's one of the few Italian scholarships that pairs your degree with a guaranteed paid internship at an Italian company, giving you a direct pathway into the Italian job market before you've even graduated. It's restricted to 23 eligible countries and three fields (Engineering, Architecture, Economics), and India is on the eligible list.

Counselor insight: DSU and MAECI or university merit scholarships can both be applied for at the same time, but each has its own application, deadline, and documentation, so treat them as three separate parallel tracks rather than one combined process. Apply to whichever ones you qualify for at the same time; don't wait for one result before starting the next application.

How to Apply to Public Universities in Italy for 2027-28

1. Shortlist your universities and course, checking whether it requires IMAT, TOLC, or direct admission based on your academic transcripts.
2. Prepare your documents: academic transcripts, Statement of Purpose, CV, English proficiency proof (IELTS or MOI certificate), and passport copy.
3. Legalize your Indian degree by first obtaining HRD attestation (state level), then the MEA Apostille (national level), and finally a Declaration of Value (DOV) from the Italian consulate.
4. Apply for CIMEA Statement of Comparability, confirming your Indian degree's equivalence to the Italian system.
5. Register on the Universitaly portal, the mandatory national platform linking your university seat to your visa application.
6. Apply for your Type D national visa at the Italian Embassy or VFS Global once your Universitaly status shows "Validated."
7. Apply for the DSU scholarship separately, if eligible, through your regional agency, since it runs on its deadline independent of university admission.

Sources: Universitaly Official Portal: Ministry of University and Research · Study in Italy: Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale

Related reading: Italy Student Visa: Process, Fees & Documents

Which Situation Are You In?

If you're targeting Medicine, Dentistry, or Veterinary Medicine: Your path runs through IMAT, not general admission. Register on Universitaly during the IMAT window (typically late August to early September), and treat your university preference order as the single most important decision, since non-EU applicants abroad are ranked separately by university, not through a shared national list.

If you're targeting Engineering, Data Science, or Economics at a top-ranked university like Politecnico di Milano or Bologna: Check whether your specific program requires TOLC, since this varies by university and course. Apply to 3-5 universities in parallel to maximize your chances, as is common practice among Indian applicants.

If your family income qualifies for DSU support, you should: Prioritize universities in regions with well-funded DSU agencies (Emilia-Romagna's ER.GO and Tuscany's DSU). Toscana is consistently well-regarded, so start your ISEE Parificato documentation as soon as you receive an offer, since this process alone can take 6-8 weeks.

Documents Required for Public Universities in Italy

If you are applying to a Master’s course, read our full guide on MS in Italy

Planning Calendar for the 2027-28 Intake at Public Universities in Italy

Read our detailed walkthrough on Italy intakes for 2027-28 to make an informed decision.

Counselor insight: The 31 October 2027 date is the outer national deadline, not your real deadline. Most universities close their applications three to five months earlier, and MUR now allows universities to validate applications only up to their allotted seats plus a 20% over-quota allowance. A program that accepted late applicants in 2025-26 may close months earlier for 2027-28.

Work Opportunities and Career Prospects After Graduating From Public Universities in Italy

A public university degree in Italy isn't just about the classroom years; it also opens part-time work during your studies and a defined post-study runway afterward. This is where cost planning connects directly to what you can realistically earn back.

Part-Time Work During Your Studies

For a detailed overview, read our guide on part-time jobs in Italy for Indian students

Post-Study Work and Graduate Salaries

Once you graduate from a public university in Italy, you're not required to leave immediately. Italy provides a structured, if modest, runway to convert your degree into employment.

Note: AlmaLaurea reports net monthly take-home pay, not gross annual salary, which is the opposite convention from how salaries are often quoted in India. Don't compare these figures one-to-one against a gross Indian CTC figure; the annualized INR conversions above already reflect net take-home multiplied by 12, not a gross package.

Read about Italy’s post-study work permit in our detailed guide.

Counselor insight: Italy's graduate starting salaries are genuinely lower than Germany's or the Netherlands' for the same fields; this disparity is a real trade-off against Italy's much lower tuition and DSU-driven cost savings. If maximizing post-study salary is your primary goal, factor the trade-off in alongside the cost advantage. If minimizing total cost and debt is the priority, Italy's combination of low tuition, DSU support, and a functional (if modest) post-study pathway still works out favorably overall.

3 Takeaways

1. Politecnico di Milano, Sapienza Rome, and Bologna lead Italy's public university rankings for 2027-28, but your entrance route depends entirely on your course: IMAT for Medicine/Dentistry/Veterinary, TOLC or direct admission for most other programs.
2. The DSU scholarship is Italy's biggest financial differentiator among European study destinations, need-based rather than merit-only, and can bring your total cost close to zero if your family income qualifies.
3. The outer visa deadline for 2027-28 is 31 October 2027, but most universities close their applications 3-5 months earlier, so treat your specific university's cutoff, not the national one, as your real deadline.

Verified by: LeapScholar's Italy counseling team, with hands-on experience guiding Indian students through IMAT registration, Universitaly pre-enrollment, DSU scholarship applications, and Italian student visa processes.

Have questions about public universities in Italy for the 2027-28 intake? Book a free session with a LeapScholar counselor.

Frequently Asked Questions About Public Universities in Italy for Indian Students