LUM Bari: Italy's best medium-sized private university by CENSIS, economics and law in the Mezzogiorno
LUM Jean Monnet is Italy's best medium-sized private university according to CENSIS (87/100) with an 84% employment rate. Modern campus in Casamassima (Bari), 6,000 students in economics, law, management engineering and psychology: the excellence choice for those wanting to study in the South with northern quality.
LUM: quality economics, law and psychology in the Mezzogiorno's most modern campus
The LUM — Libera Università Mediterranea «Jean Monnet» of Casamassima (Bari) is the best medium-sized private university in Italy according to CENSIS 2025-2026 (87/100), with an employment rate of 84% — exceptional for a Mezzogiorno institution. With approximately 6,000 enrolled students and programmes in economics and management, law, management engineering, psychology and communication sciences, LUM offers high-quality training at a modern, well-equipped campus a few kilometres from Bari.
The name 'Jean Monnet' honours the founding father of the European Union, reflecting the university's pro-European and international vocation. LUM distinguishes itself in the Apulian university landscape for student service quality, connections with local and national productive sectors, and a Career Service boasting one of southern Italy's best placement rates. The Apulian agri-food district — mozzarella, olive oil, Primitivo wine, pasta — and the Grottaglie aeronautical hub offer high-level internship and career opportunities.
The Casamassima campus is modern and self-sufficient, with innovative classrooms, university residences, canteen, gyms and a vibrant atmosphere. Bari — Apulia's capital — is 20 minutes away. The 84% employment rate is one of the highest among Mezzogiorno universities, confirming the quality of the training pathway and the strength of the alumni network.
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LUM by the numbers
From 1995 to the CENSIS summit: LUM and the quality private university model in the Mezzogiorno
LUM Jean Monnet was founded in 1995 with the aim of creating in the Mezzogiorno a high-quality private university capable of competing with the best universities in northern Italy. The choice to dedicate the university to Jean Monnet — the founding father of united Europe — was a clear signal of its pro-European vocation and orientation towards international academic standards.
During the 2000s and 2010s, LUM built a solid reputation based on teaching quality, Career Service effectiveness and connections with local and national companies. The strategy of focusing on economics, law and psychology — disciplines with high employment demand — proved successful in the Mezzogiorno context.
Today LUM is recognised as the reference model for private universities in southern Italy, with the highest CENSIS score in its category and an employment rate that challenges the great state universities of the north. The modern Casamassima campus, built with significant investment, is one of Apulia's best equipped.
FAQ — LUM – Libera Università Mediterranea "Jean Monnet", Bari
Study in Apulia: useful resources
LUM Jean Monnet is the excellence choice among Italian universities in the Mezzogiorno for those wishing to study economics and law with northern quality. Discover everything about living and studying in Italy.
