Address: Via Festa del Perdono 7, 20122 Milan, Italy
Medicine, Sciences, Law, Humanities, Agriculture and Food Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, Political Science
The University of Milan, often called UniMi or La Statale, is a public research university founded in 1924. It was formed by merging the Accademia Scientifico-Letteraria, active since 1861, with the Istituti Clinici di Perfezionamento, established in 1906. Its headquarters and the seat of the rectorate is the Ca’ Granda, a fifteenth-century building in the historic centre of Milan that was designed by Filarete.
In 2025 it enrolled 64,878 students: 48,880 undergraduates, 14,578 postgraduates and 1,420 doctoral students. It had 2,566 permanent academic staff, or 4,653 counting all researchers, and 2,189 administrative staff in 2024. The university is organised in ten schools and 33 research departments, with 53 research centres.
The historic buildings in the centre include the Ca’ Granda, the Sant’Alessandro College, the Palazzo Greppi and the Palazzo Resta Pallavicino. Città Studi, in the east of the city, is home to most of the scientific schools and departments. Medical students train at hospital sites across Lombardy, including the Policlinico, San Paolo and Sacco hospitals. Veterinary Medicine is based in Lodi, and Language Mediation in Sesto San Giovanni. A new campus, MIND, is planned in the former Expo 2015 area for the science schools.
Giulio Natta, who taught here, received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963, and Riccardo Giacconi, an alumnus, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2002. Enrico Bombieri, a Fields medallist in 1974, and Fabiola Gianotti, a former Director-General of CERN, are among the graduates. The physician Alberto Mantovani also studied here.
Alumni outside science include the politicians Silvio Berlusconi and Bettino Craxi, the former Greek president Karolos Papoulias, the fashion designers Giorgio Armani and Miuccia Prada, Claudio Descalzi, chief executive of Eni, and the composer Nino Rota. Tuition for most degrees depends on family income. Check the current tariff. Teaching is mainly in Italian, with some programmes in English.
About three quarters of its students are undergraduates. Patrizia Caraveo, an astrophysicist, and Alberto Mantovani, a researcher in immunology, are among the other scientists who studied there.
Domains taught:
Agriculture, Chemistry, Data Analytics, Food Science, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Microbiology and Genetics, Physics, Statistics
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Ca’ Granda as headquarters, hospital teaching sites in Lombardy including Policlinico, San Paolo and Sacco, and the MIND campus in the former Expo 2015 area.
Research:
Life sciences, medicine, physics, chemistry, mathematics, agriculture and food, law and humanities, organised in 33 research departments and 53 research centres.
Largest public university in Lombardy, wide range of degrees in the centre of Milan, strong biomedical research, Città Studi scientific campus.
Cons
Very large and sometimes crowded, campuses spread across the city, most courses taught in Italian.
Best For
Students who want a large public comprehensive university in Milan with strong science and medicine.
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Most Similar Schools Locally
University of Turin overlaps with this institution on agriculture, microbiology and genetics and chemistry, so the two are easy to compare, and it covers finance as well, and is slightly larger, at about 81,200 students against roughly 64,878 here.
On content, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and this university are close, as both teach agriculture, food science and statistics; it also offers mba programmes and covers finance as well.
Anyone who wants a second school in the same country with a similar spread of agriculture, food science and microbiology and genetics can consider Università degli Studi di Padova, and it covers astroscience and aerospace as well, and has almost the same size, at about 65,000 students.
For students who like the agriculture, food science and microbiology and genetics focus of this institution but want another option nearby, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro fits well: it is also a public institution, and runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes.
Also strong in agriculture, food science and microbiology and genetics, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II makes a sensible second look at home; it is also a public institution, and teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
The closest overseas parallel on microbiology and genetics, chemistry and statistics is Université Paris Cité, located in France; it has almost the same size, at about 64,100 students, and is also a public institution.
A foreign alternative with a similar emphasis on microbiology and genetics, chemistry and statistics is University of Vienna in Austria, and it is also a public institution, and runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes.
On content, Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and this institution are close, as both teach agriculture, microbiology and genetics and chemistry; it is smaller, enrolling about 23,000 students against roughly 64,878 here, and is also a public institution.
If this institution is on your list for microbiology and genetics, chemistry and statistics, University of Valencia in Spain deserves a comparison, because it teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral, and covers finance and engineering as well.
Complutense University of Madrid in Spain is the nearest foreign match on microbiology and genetics, chemistry and physics; it is slightly larger, at about 86,159 students against roughly 64,878 here, and is also a public institution.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
Where is the University of Milan?
Its headquarters is the Ca' Granda in the historic centre of Milan, with scientific schools at Città Studi.
When was it founded?
In 1924, by merging the Accademia Scientifico-Letteraria and the Istituti Clinici di Perfezionamento.
What is it called in Italian?
Università degli Studi di Milano, also known as UniMi or La Statale.
How many students does it have?
64,878 in 2025, including 48,880 undergraduates and 1,420 doctoral students.
How is it organised?
In ten schools, 33 research departments and 53 research centres.
What is the MIND campus?
A campus planned in the former Expo 2015 area for the science schools.
Where is Veterinary Medicine taught?
In Lodi.
Which Nobel laureates are linked to it?
Giulio Natta in Chemistry in 1963 and the alumnus Riccardo Giacconi in Physics in 2002.
Which well-known people studied there?
Among others Enrico Bombieri, Fabiola Gianotti, Giorgio Armani and Miuccia Prada.
What does it cost?
Tuition for most degrees depends on family income. Check the current tariff.
Biology, Chemistry, Innovation, Physics, Research and Development
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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