University of Ferrara: medicine, architecture and sciences in the UNESCO Renaissance city since 1391
With CENSIS 84.5/100 (9th among medium state universities) and a 78% employment rate, the University of Ferrara is a quality institution in one of Italy's most beautiful cities. 14,000 students, 55 programmes in medicine, pharmacy, engineering, architecture and sciences. Ferrara: UNESCO heritage, city of the Po, capital of the Este Renaissance.
UniFE: medicine, architecture and physics in one of Europe's most beautiful Renaissance cities
The University of Ferrara is a medium-sized state university with approximately 14,000 enrolled students and 55 degree programmes in medicine and surgery, pharmacy, law, economics, engineering, architecture, mathematics and physics, humanities and communication sciences. Founded in 1391, it is one of Italy's oldest universities. The CENSIS 2025-2026 score is 84.5/100 (9th among medium state universities), with an employment rate of 78%.
Key areas of excellence include the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery — with the Sant'Anna Arcispedale as the main university clinical facility — the Faculty of Architecture, valued for its approach to architectural heritage conservation, and Physics, with European-recognised research in particle physics and materials science. 10% of students are international, a significant proportion linked to agreements with Eastern European and Maghreb universities.
Ferrara is one of Italy's most beautiful and best-preserved cities: a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its Este historic centre, castle, Renaissance walls and Po Delta plain. Italy's cycling city par excellence — with over 120,000 bicycles for 130,000 inhabitants — it offers an authentic and intimate university life experience, halfway between Bologna and Venice.
Academic Areas
University of Ferrara by the numbers
From 1391 to the digital Renaissance: six centuries of knowledge in the city of Ariosto and the d'Este
The University of Ferrara was founded in 1391 on the initiative of Marquis Alberto V d'Este, at a time when Ferrara was one of Europe's most brilliant Renaissance courts — patron of Ariosto, Tasso and some of the greatest fifteenth-century artists. The university's founding was an integral part of the Este court's cultural project.
Over the centuries the Ferrara university trained physicians, jurists and scholars who contributed to Italian and European culture. Nicolaus Copernicus's presence as a student at Ferrara — where he graduated in canon law in 1503 — is one of the most celebrated links between the university and the history of science.
Today the University of Ferrara is a comprehensive and international institution, with advanced research laboratories in particle physics, materials and biomedical sciences. Ferrara — with its UNESCO heritage, cycling culture and Po Delta — offers one of Italy's most captivating and authentic university settings.
FAQ — Università degli Studi di Ferrara
Study in Ferrara: useful resources for your journey
The University of Ferrara is the most captivating choice among medium-sized Italian universities for those wishing to study medicine, architecture and physics in the Este Renaissance city. Discover everything about living and studying in Italy.
