The new Censis Ranking of Italian Universities. Once again this year, the rankings of Italian universities elaborated by Censis are available. These rankings have become an annual appointment to support the orientation of thousands of students ready to embark on a university career.

This is a detailed analysis of the university system based on the evaluation of universities (both state and non-state, divided into homogeneous categories by size) with regard to: available facilities, services provided, scholarships and other interventions in favor of students, level of internationalization, communication and digital services, employability. In addition to this ranking, there is the ranking of groupings of three-year degree courses, single-cycle courses and two-year master's degrees according to students' career progression and international relations. Altogether, there are 64 rankings, which can help young people and their families to consciously identify their educational path.

Risk of enrollment collapse averted. The feared drop in enrolment due to the pandemic in the 2020-2021 academic year did not occur, thanks in part to the exceptional measures to support the right to study that were approved. On the contrary, the 4.4% growth in enrolled students consolidates the positive trend that has been repeated for seven years now. Calculated on the 19-year-old population, the matriculation rate reached 56.8%.

College choice is increasingly female. In 2020, compared to a male matriculation rate of 48.5%, the female matriculation rate was 65.7%. An annual increase of 5.3% was recorded for females compared to +3.3% for matriculated males. With 77.7% of female students enrolled, the Artistic-Literary-Teaching subject area is the one with the highest rate of feminization. On the other hand, in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) area, the female universe is represented by a percentage which, although growing from year to year, is still a minority (39.4%).

State mega-universities. Among the state-run mega-universities (those with over 40,000 students), the University of Bologna (Emilia Romagna) remains stable in the first two positions, first with an overall score of 91.8, followed by the University of Padua (Veneto) (88.7). Next in line, exchanging positions from the previous year, are La Sapienza di Roma (Lazio), which, with a score of 85.5, rises from fourth to third place, and the University of Florence (Tuscany), which falls from third to fourth, with an overall score of 85.0. The University of Pisa (Tuscany) is stable in fifth place, with 84.8 points, followed by the University of Turin (Piedmont), which regains a position in the ranking (82.8). Last among the state mega-universities is the University of Naples Federico II (Campania) (73.5), preceded by the University of Bari (Apulia) in the penultimate position (79.5).

Large state universities. The University of Perugia (Umbria) maintained its top position among the large state universities (with enrollments of between 20,000 and 40,000 students), obtaining an overall score of 93.3. The University of Salerno (Campania) (91.8) climbs six places, rising from eighth to second place, while the University of Pavia (Lombardy) (91.2) falls one place to third place. Stable in fourth place is the University of Calabria (90.2), followed in fifth place with a score of 89.7 by the University of Venice Ca' Foscari (Veneto), which this year made the leap from medium-sized to large state universities. The University of Messina (Sicily) (76.5), Chieti and Pescara (Abruzzo) (78.3) and Catania (Sicily) (78.5) close the ranking.

Small state universities. In the ranking of small state universities (up to 10,000 enrolled students), the University of Camerino (Marche) defends its first position, with an overall score of 98.2, followed by another university in the Marche region, the University of Macerata, which scores 86.5 points and which, due to its size, no longer ranks among the medium-sized state universities. Two universities in the Lazio region, the University of Cassino (84.7) and the University of Tuscia (84.3), and one university in Campania, the University of Sannio (84.0), climb the rankings and, thanks to the positions they have earned, are now in third, fourth and fifth place, reporting an across-the-board increase in all indicator families. The University of Molise (75.5) closes the ranking of small state universities.

State medium universities. Once again this year, the University of Trento (Trentino Alto Adige) is in first place in the ranking of medium-sized state universities (10,000 to 20,000 students), with a score of 97.3. The 16-point increase in the internationalization indicator ensures that the university maintains its top position. The University of Siena (Tuscany) (94.0) climbs one position to second place, overtaking the University of Sassari (Sardinia) (92.8), which falls to third place, tied with the University of Udine (Friuli Venezia Giulia), which moves up three positions, thanks to the 18 points gained for the communication and digital services indicator. The fourth position is held by the other Friulian university, the University of Trieste (92.0). Stable, in fifth position, the Polytechnic University of the Marche (91.3). The University of Salento (Apulia), on the other hand, climbs three places (87.7) and, thanks to growth in the indicators of services, internationalization and employability, is sixth in the ranking. The University of Naples L'Orientale (Campania) (77.8), the Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro (Calabria) (78.7) and the University of L'Aquila (Abruzzo) (80.7) close the ranking, in last, penultimate and third-last place.

Polytechnics. The ranking of polytechnics is led, once again this year, by the Milan Polytechnic (Lombardy) with 93.3 points, with the IUAV of Venice (Veneto) in second place (90.3) and the Turin Polytechnic (Piedmont) (90.2) in third place (but almost equal), followed by the Bari Polytechnic (Apulia) (86.0), which closes the ranking.

Non-state universities. Among the large non-state universities (over 10,000 students), Bocconi University (Lombardy) (96.2) is again in first place this year, followed by the Catholic University (Lombardy) (80.2). Among medium-sized universities (from 5,000 to 10,000 students), Luiss (Lazio) is in first place, with a score of 94.2, followed by Lumsa (Lazio) (85.8). Among the smaller universities (up to 5,000 enrolled students), the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano (Trentino Alto Adige) continues to occupy the top position (with a score of 101.0), followed in second place by the European University of Rome (Lazio) (91.2). Lum Jean Monnet University (Apulia) closes the ranking (75.0), in last position, preceded by the University of Enna Kore (Sicily) (76.2).