Politecnico di Milano: #1 in Italy QS 2026 (Top 100 worldwide), 97% employment, world excellence in engineering and design
Ranked #98 in the QS World University Rankings 2026 — the first Italian university in the global Top 100 — and 98.8/100 CENSIS (#1 among Italian Polytechnics), Polimi trains engineers, architects and designers with a 97% employment rate. 47,000 students, 21% international, ~81 master's programmes in English.
Polimi: Italy's first university in the QS Top 100, with 97% employment and 21% international students
The Politecnico di Milano is Italy's top-ranked university in the QS World University Rankings 2026, at the historic position of #98 worldwide — the first Italian university to enter the QS Top 100 — and #1 in the CENSIS 2025-2026 ranking for Italian Polytechnics (98.8/100). With approximately 47,000 enrolled students and 100 degree programmes in architecture, design and engineering, it is Italy's leading technical school and one of the most recognised in the world.
Polimi excels globally in specific disciplines: in the QS by Subject 2026 it ranks among the world's best in Architecture & Built Environment, Engineering & Technology, Design and Computer Science. 21% of students are international — nearly 10,000 students from over 100 countries — with ~81 master's programmes taught entirely in English. The employment rate for master's graduates is 97%, with 90% finding relevant work within a year of graduation.
The main campus is in central Milan; additional teaching and research hubs are located in Como, Cremona, Lecco, Mantua and Piacenza. The link with Milan's industrial and creative ecosystem — fashion, design, automotive, fintech, advanced manufacturing — creates a unique professional opportunity environment in Italy.
Academic Areas
Architecture, Design, Engineering — 100 programmes with ~81 English-taught master's
Politecnico di Milano by the numbers
From 1863 to the global Top 100: 160 years of Italian engineering, design and architecture
The Politecnico di Milano was founded in 1863, shortly after the Unification of Italy, with the aim of training the engineers and architects urgently needed by the new state. Its first director, Francesco Brioschi, gave the university from the outset a rigorous and international approach, inspired by the French and German Polytechnics.
During the post-war economic boom, Polimi consolidated its leadership in applied industrial research, becoming the partner of choice for major Italian companies: Ferrari, Pirelli, Fiat, Olivetti and the fashion industry relied on Polimi for the training of their technical leaders. The great architects of Italian Rationalism — Gio Ponti, Piero Portaluppi — were linked to Polimi as students or lecturers.
Over six decades of international growth, Polimi climbed 89 positions in the QS rankings (from 187th in 2016 to 98th in 2026), becoming the symbol of Italy's academic revival on the global stage and the first Italian university to enter the elite of the world's top 100.
FAQ — Politecnico di Milano
Study at Polimi: useful resources for your journey
The Politecnico di Milano is the most ambitious choice among Italian universities for those aiming for a career in engineering, design or architecture with global recognition. Explore the guide to master's degrees in Italy and discover everything about living and studying in Italy.
