OE University Rankings 2025 – Top 10 most attractive Universities in Italy. Pegaso University, Mercatorum University, Ecampus University, Palermo University, Roma Tre University lead the top 10
OE University Ranking 2025 – The most attractive Italian Universities by Osservatorio Economia
Enrollment trends reveal a significant shift: online and human-scale universities are attracting more students, while traditional big-city institutions face declining numbers.
Italy University Rankings 2025 – OE Rankings by Osservatorio Economia
Measuring the Real Attractiveness of Italian Universities
The OE Rankings (Osservatorio Economia Rankings) are an independent, non-profit research ranking developed by the Osservatorio Economia.
The OE Rankings concretely measure the real attractiveness of Italian universities through objective enrollment data. Based on four years of official data from the Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca (MUR), OE Rankings analyze consistent growth or decline in student enrollment to determine which institutions are genuinely attracting students in the post-Covid era.
Italy’s Most Attractive Universities 2025: A Massive Shake-up in Enrollment Trends
The Italian university landscape is changing rapidly. The latest Dossier Università 2025, produced by the Osservatorio Economia – National Observatory on Economics, has measured the real attractiveness of Italian universities, identifying which institutions are currently attracting the most students, both in the short and medium-to-long term.
Here is the general finding of our research:
According to Dr. Davide Scialpi, Economist-Market Analyst and Director of OE University Rankings for the Observatory, “The Italian University landscape has changed. The allure of big-city universities with famous or prestigious names is fading. Provincial universities, student-friendly campuses, and especially online universities are taking the lead. A combination of structural factors, accelerated by COVID, is driving this transformation. What we are observing is the emergence of a structurally segmented higher education market for university students”
“The Italian University landscape has changed. The allure of big-city universities with famous or prestigious names is fading. Regional universities, student-friendly campuses, and especially online universities (also known as Telematiche) are taking the lead.” Davide Scialpi, Economist & Market Analyst
Top “Super Attractive Universities” – SA Category V
The research and the related ranking identify Universities that have shown constant enrollment growth over the last 4 years. In the super attractive category, the top institutions are:
- Università Telematica Pegaso – Multiversity (4 years of growth) V – SA
- Università Mercatorum – Multiversity (4 years of growth)V – SA
- Università e-Campus (4 years of growth)V – SA
- Università degli Studi di Palermo (4 years of growth)V – SA
- Università degli Studi Roma Tre (4 years of growth)V – SA
- Università degli Studi di Perugia (4 years of growth)V – SA
- Università di Pavia (4 years of growth)V – SA
- Università di Napoli Parthenope (4 years of growth)V – SA
- Università delle Marche (4 years of growth)V – SA
These universities have not only grown constantly but also demonstrated the ability to create a compelling and modern University experience that adapts to student needs and wants, offering flexible and innovative learning opportunities.
“Attractive Universities” with growing Enrollments – A Category – V
17 additional universities were identified as attractive, showing constant growth over the past 3 years:
- Università di Catania (3 years of growth)V – A
- Università di Bari (3 years of growth)V – A
- Università della Valle d’Aosta (3 years of growth)V – A
- Università Napoli Benincasa (3 years of growth)V – A
- Università dell’Insubria (3 years of growth)V – A
- Università di Bolzano (3 years of growth)V – A
- Università di Trento (3 years of growth)V – A
- Politecnico di Bari (3 years of growth)V – A
- Università di Genova (3 years of growth)V – A
- Università Luiss (3 years of growth)V – A
- Università di Cagliari (3 years of growth)V – A
- Università di Trieste (3 years of growth)V – A
- Università del Sannio Benevento (3 years of growth)V – A
- Università di Reggio Calabria Mediterranea (3 years of growth)V – A
- Università di Macerata (3 years of growth)V – A
- Università dell’Aquila (3 years of growth)V – A
These universities are showing promising trends and are increasingly attractive to prospective students.
Universities facing Enrollment Challenges – D Category X
Conversely, some historically prestigious and metropolitan universities are experiencing a significant decline in student numbers:
- In decline for 4 years:
- Politecnico di Torino (4 years of decline), XXXX
- Università Bicocca Milano(4 years of decline), XXXX
- Ca’ Foscari Venezia (4 years of decline)XXXX
- In decline for 3 years:
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (3 years of decline), XXX
- Università Tor Vergata Roma (3 years of decline), XXX
- Università La Sapienza Roma (3 years of decline), XXX
- Università IULM Milano (3 years of decline), XXX
- Università di Messina (3 years of decline), XXX
- Università del Piemonte Orientale (3 years of decline), XXX
- Università di Napoli L’Orientale (3 years of decline)XXX
This trend highlights a broader shift: online universities and smaller, student-focused institutions are increasingly preferred over large, traditional city-based universities.
Top 10 Italian Universities by annual enrollment – Ranking 2025
Top 5 Private Universities by annual enrollment – Ranking 2025
Key Inisghts
Online universities (Università Telematiche) have emerged as the leading force in Italy’s higher education landscape, driving enrollment growth and surpassing traditional private institutions such as Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, LUISS Guido Carli and Università Bocconi. These long-established private schools are now shifting from a position of “Leaders” to that of “Followers,” alongside other well-known universities that were previously stable in the top-10 enrollment rankings. Notably, Università Telematica Pegaso has officially become the number one private university in Italy by student enrollment and has entered the overall national top 10, overtaking Cattolica in both classifications.
At the same time, provincial-regional and human-scale universities are strengthening their appeal, as students increasingly value accessibility, tailored academic experiences, and flexible learning pathways.
Sicilian universities, Palermo and Catania, are showing strong and steady growth. While Sapienza University of Rome and University of Rome Tor Vergata have experienced a decline in enrollment in recent years, Roma Tre University has continued to attract a constant and growing number of students, strengthening its reputation as a student-friendly campus
The traditional prestige associated with large metropolitan universities is no longer sufficient to secure steady student inflows. Today, competitiveness depends on adaptability, innovation, and the ability to provide strong digital and online learning solutions.
Overall, the Italian higher education system is undergoing a profound transformation. Universities that invest in flexibility, digital development, and student-centered models are expanding and consolidating their position, while some historically prestigious institutions risk facing mounting challenges.
“Online universities (Telematiche) have officially transformed and innovated the Italian higher education landscape. Together with regional institutions and student-friendly campuses, they are capturing significant market share in enrollments” Davide Scialpi, Economist & Market Analyst
OE University Rankings Special Interviews: discovering the attractivness of the University of Perugia, the Università of Valle d’Aosta, and the Università of Sannio – Benevento.
We had the pleasure of interviewing the Rectors of the University of Perugia, the University of Sannio, and the University of Valle d’Aosta about their growing attractiveness.
Read the interviews here: Full Interviews
Purpose of OE University Rankings
OE University Rankings measure real university attractivness and aim to help stakeholders of all kinds make better decisions by identifying which universities are most preferred by Italian students and guiding informed choices in higher education.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
For those who wish to understand more trends, perspectives and changes, we point out that our Universities 2025 Dossier investigates the attractiveness of our universities—from the most appealing to those facing challenges—by creating specific categories:
- Super Attrattive – In crescita costante di iscritti da 4 anni
- Attrattive – In crescita costante di iscritti da 3 anni
- In calo costante di iscritti da 3 e 4 anni
- Telematiche
- Private Non-Statali
- Area di Roma
- Area Centro Italia
- Area Sud Italia
- Prime 10 Università per numero di Iscritti
Here are the links to the rankings and related analysis:
- Classifica delle prime 10 Università per numero di Iscritti
- Classifica delle Università Super Attrattive
- Classifica delle Università Attrattive
- Classifica delle Università Telematiche
- Classifica delle Università Private-Non-Statali
- Classifica delle Università in Calo da 3 anni consecutivi
- Classifica delle Università in Calo da 4 anni consecutivi
- Classifica delle Università Romane
- General Findings – Dossier completo
The Osservatorio Economia Team
This research is non-profit. The Research and the related Rankings are developed and produced by Davide Scialpi (Economist, Market Analyst, International Brand-Marketing-MarTech Expert and Reputation and University Ranking creator) , based on MUR data for the period 2021–2025, and the results are intended for informational purposes only.
About Post Author
