Mixed performance of Italian HEIs in QS ranking 2022

 

The QS World University Rankings released on June 9th shows mixed results by the Italian university system as a whole.

Overall, 41 institutions are now listed, 5 more than 2021. Out of 61 public institutions active in Italy,  39 are then now listed, an excellent result for the system as a whole. Among the top international rankings, QS is the one reporting fewer universities. THE (2021) has 49, and ARWU (2020), 46. Gradually, then, QS is aligning the total number of institutions represented in ita charts to those reported by the other two main competitors.

The new entries are the University of Catania, the University of Messina, the University of Naples Parthenope, the University of Tuscia, and the University of Bergamo. Except for the latter, these all universities located in the Centre-South part of the Country, a clear sign of growing vitality.

Conversely, 8 out of the top ten institutions lose ground. Some, as the University of Padua and Naples – Federico II, heavily, too. Within the top 10, Sapienza University of Rome is stable vs. its 2021 position, and Università Vita-San Raffaele gains two positions. As a whole, the top 10 universities lose a full 150 positions, not a terrific performance. The Milan Polythecnin maintains the first position, as in the 2021 ranking.

QS registers a remarkable jump by the University of Milano-Bicocca (+ 75 positions). Overall, most of the Italian institutions placed in the middle of the chart show excellent results: Pavia, Genoa, Siena, Trieste, Bari, and Reggio Emilia all grow an average of 50 positions each.

 

*A note on methodology. For the institutions ranked below the 500th position, QS does not report the exact placement of the Institution, but only an interval (e.g.: 701-750). Therefore, the institution may be placed 701st or 750th. In order to calculate the difference with the previous years’ results, we assumed a mean position in the 2021 interval and a mean position in the 2022 interval.

 

Photo courtesy of: https://www.hflpi.polimi.it/

 

QS Ranking – Performance of Italian HEIs – 2022 vs. 2021
2021 results	Univesity	2022 results		Difference
137	Politecnico di Milano	142		-5
160	Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna	166		-6
171	Sapienza University of Rome	171		0
216	Università di Padova	242		-26
301	University of Milan	316		-15
308	Politecnico di Torino	334		-26
383	University of Pisa	388		-5
392	Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele	390		2
392	University of Naples – Federico II	424		-32
403	University of Trento	440		-37
521-530	University of Milano-Bicocca	450		75
432	University of Florence	451		-19
521-530	University of Turin	485		60
511-520	University of Rome “Tor Vergata”	494		21
511-520	Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore	551-560		-50
601-650	Università degli Studi di Pavia	561-570		50
651-700	University of Genoa	601-650		50
651-700	University of Siena	601-650		50
601-650	Free University of Bozen-Bolzano	651-700		-50
701-750	University of Trieste	651-700		50
751-800	Politecnico di Bari	701-750		50
751-800	University of Modena and Reggio Emilia	701-750		50
751-800	Università degli Studi di Perugia	751-800		0
751-800	University of Brescia	751-800		0
751-800	Ca’ Foscari University of Venice	801-1000		-125
801-1000	University of Catania	801-1000		0
801-1000	Universita’ degli Studi di Ferrara	801-1000		0
801-1000	University of Salerno	801-1000		0
801-1000	Università degli Studi di Udine	801-1000		0
801-1000	Universita’ Politecnica delle Marche	801-1000		0
801-1000	University of Palermo	801-1000		0
801-1000	University of Bari	801-1000		0
801-1000	University of Parma	801-1000		0
801-1000	University of Verona	801-1000		0
801-1000	Università degli studi Roma Tre	801-1000		0
Not ranked	University of Catania	801-1000		new
Not ranked	University of Messina	801-1000		new
Not ranked	University of Naples Parthenope	801-1001		new
801-1000	University of Calabria	1001-1200		-200
Not ranked	University of Tuscia	1001-1200		new
Not ranked	University of Bergamo	1201+		new