| # | University | City | World rank | In-country | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Politecnico di Milano | #87 (2027) | #1 | 5,947,998 | |
| 2 | Sapienza University of Rome | #128 (2026) | #3 | 21,065,656 | |
| 3 | University of Roma "La Sapienza" | #128 (2026) | #3 | 21,065,656 | |
| 4 | University of Bologna | #138 (2026) | #5 | 19,254,731 | |
| 5 | University of Padua | #233 (2026) | #6 | 20,328,589 | |
| 6 | Politecnico di Torino | #242 (2026) | #7 | 3,741,361 | |
| 7 | University of Milan | Milan | #285 (2025) | #9 | 20,768,363 |
| 8 | University of Pisa | #343 (2026) | #10 | 12,954,509 | |
| 9 | University of Roma "Tor Vergata" | #355 (2026) | #11 | 8,068,240 | |
| 10 | University of Naples Federico II | #379 (2026) | #12 | 12,659,448 | |
| 11 | University of Florence | #404 (2026) | #13 | 10,928,838 | |
| 12 | University of Turin | #408 (2026) | #14 | 11,967,948 | |
| 13 | Catholic University of the Sacred Heart | #409 (2026) | #15 | 6,203,613 | |
| 14 | University of Pavia | #423 (2026) | #16 | 8,066,586 | |
| 15 | University of Trento | #485 (2026) | #17 | 4,209,025 | |
| 16 | University of Milan - Bicocca | #513 (2025) | #18 | 5,658,116 | |
| 17 | University of Genoa | #547 (2025) | #19 | 7,863,443 | |
| 18 | Polytechnic Institute of Bari | #580 (2025) | #20 | 2,181,588 | |
| 19 | University of Perugia | not ranked | #21 | 6,846,112 | |
| 20 | University of Trieste | Milan | not ranked | #23 | 5,419,847 |
| 21 | University of Catania | not ranked | #27 | 4,979,924 | |
| 22 | University of Salerno | not ranked | #30 | 4,153,856 | |
| 23 | University of Udine | not ranked | #31 | 3,913,841 | |
| 24 | University of Calabria | not ranked | #35 | 3,452,883 | |
| 25 | School of Education Pisa | not ranked | #37 | 3,136,782 | |
| 26 | University of Urbino | not ranked | #43 | 1,914,035 | |
| 27 | University of Camerino | not ranked | #45 | 1,385,117 | |
| 28 | Viterbo State University | not ranked | #48 | 1,097,195 | |
| 29 | University of Sannio | not ranked | #49 | 959,736 | |
| 30 | Basilicata University Potenza | not ranked | #50 | 850,984 | |
| 31 | Bocconi University | not ranked | #51 | 850,514 | |
| 32 | University of Venice | not ranked | #52 | 815,068 | |
| 33 | Free University of Bozen | not ranked | #57 | 551,692 | |
| 34 | Luiss Guido Carli University | not ranked | — | 126,227 | |
| 35 | Free University "Maria Santissima Assunta" | not ranked | #65 | 72,369 | |
| 36 | Free University Institute "Carlo Cattaneo" | not ranked | #67 | 57,138 | |
| 37 | University Institute of Modern Languages | not ranked | #66 | 47,821 | |
| 38 | University of Gastronomic Sciences | not ranked | #68 | 39,375 | |
| 39 | Link Campus University of Malta | not ranked | #69 | 36,648 | |
| 40 | University of Italian Studies for Foreigners of Perugia | not ranked | #70 | 30,741 | |
| 41 | University Institute of Teacher Training "Suor Orsola Benincasa" | not ranked | #73 | 14,077 | |
| 42 | John Cabot University | not ranked | #74 | 13,084 | |
| 43 | American University of Rome | not ranked | #72 | 11,083 | |
| 44 | Pontificia Università della Santa Croce | not ranked | #78 | 4,580 | |
| 45 | Università Pontificia Salesiana | not ranked | #79 | 4,167 | |
| 46 | University of Bari | not ranked | #22 | 6,686,730 | |
| 47 | University of Verona | not ranked | #24 | 5,363,792 | |
| 48 | University of Siena | not ranked | #29 | 5,062,144 | |
| 49 | University of Palermo | not ranked | #25 | 5,037,304 | |
| 50 | University of Parma | not ranked | #28 | 4,966,776 |
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2
What the two columns mean
In-country is the position the ranking record gives the university among those in its own country, and it is often the more useful number: a university ranked 480th in the world may still be third at home. It is carried over as published, so it does not always follow the order of the other two columns. World rank is the university's QS World University Rankings position. Citations are the number of times work published by the university has been cited, as recorded in OpenAlex; it is the measure used to order universities that QS does not rank at all.
The two do not always agree. A large research university can out-cite a smaller one that sits above it in QS, because QS weighs reputation surveys and staff ratios as well as research.