University of Florence: CENSIS 6th large state, 80% employment and 12% international students in the Renaissance cradle
With CENSIS 88.0/100 (6th among large state universities) and an 80% employment rate, the University of Florence is one of Italy's best large universities. 52,000 students, 12% international, 100 programmes in architecture, medicine, economics, sciences and humanities. Distributed campus at the heart of UNESCO-listed Florence.
UniFI: architecture, medicine and humanities at the heart of the Florentine Renaissance
The University of Florence is one of Italy's largest and most prestigious universities, with approximately 52,000 enrolled students and 100 degree programmes spread across a distributed campus in the heart of Florence. Ranked 6th in the CENSIS 2025-2026 large state university ranking (88.0/100) with an employment rate of 80%, it is one of Italy's best universities for training quality and graduate employment.
Key areas of excellence include architecture — with one of Italy's most renowned Schools of Architecture, enriched by constant dialogue with Florence's unique architectural heritage — medicine with the Careggi University Hospital, European-level physics and chemistry, agricultural sciences and a wide offering in economics, political science and humanities.
12% of students are international — over 6,000 students from around the world — with Erasmus+ agreements with hundreds of European universities and double degree programmes with North American, Asian and Latin American institutions. The employment rate is among the highest at Italy's large universities. Studying in Florence means having the world's greatest open-air museum as a permanent study environment.
Academic Areas
University of Florence by the numbers
From 1321 to the digital Renaissance: seven centuries of excellence in the cradle of art and science
The University of Florence has its roots in the Studium Generale founded in 1321 by the Republic of Florence — one of the first medieval city-states to establish a university institution. This centuries-old tradition interweaves with the Florentine Renaissance: Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo are part of the cultural DNA of the city in which the university is immersed.
During the nineteenth century, after Italian Unification, the university was reorganised and expanded, becoming one of the peninsula's main academic hubs. Florence's School of Architecture — set among the hills — is considered one of Italy's best for design training quality and its ongoing dialogue with the city's architectural heritage.
Today the University of Florence is a comprehensive and international university, with advanced research laboratories, an outstanding library system and a community of over 6,000 international students. The distributed campus allows students to experience university life immersed in the world's most beautiful city of art.
FAQ — Università degli Studi di Firenze
Study in Florence: useful resources for your journey
The University of Florence is among the most ambitious choices among Italian universities for those wishing to study architecture, medicine and economics in the global cradle of the Renaissance. Discover everything about living and studying in Italy.
