Address: Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Lombardia, Italy
Engineering, Architecture, Design
Founded in 1863, Politecnico di Milano is one of the leading science and technology universities in Europe, with a strong focus on engineering, architecture, and design.
The Politecnico di Milano is the largest technical university in Italy, with about 47,000 students and 4,500 staff, and around 20 percent of students from abroad. It was founded in 1863 as the Istituto Tecnico Superiore by the economist Francesco Brioschi, and it has taught engineering, architecture and design for more than 150 years. The main site is the Leonardo campus in the Città Studi area of Milan, with the Bovisa campus focused on design and mechanical engineering, and further sites in Lecco, Cremona, Mantua and Piacenza.
Giulio Natta, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963 for his work on polymers, taught at the school and developed polypropylene in its laboratories. The architect Renzo Piano is among its graduates, and Gio Ponti and Aldo Rossi taught here. The design school is one of the largest in the world, and Milan’s design industry, from furniture to fashion, provides internships and projects.
The university is organised in schools of architecture, civil and environmental engineering, industrial and information engineering, design and management. Research is carried out in aerospace, energy, electronics, robotics, materials, building technology and digital systems, with many contracts from industry. The MIP Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Business offers management degrees, and technology transfer is handled through a network of laboratories and an incubator.
Italian public universities charge fees that depend on family income, with special rules for students from outside the EU. Amounts range from a few hundred euros to a few thousand a year. Check the current tariff. Admission uses an entrance test, and international students often apply earlier through a separate route. Bachelor’s programmes are in Italian or English, and most master’s programmes are in English.
Milan is the most expensive Italian city for students, and housing is scarce. The campuses are connected by metro, tram and suburban rail.
Domains taught:
Aerospace, AI and Machine Learning, Automation, Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Computer Vision, Data Analytics, Electrical and Electronics, Engineering, Fluid Dynamics, Industrial Design, Manufacturing, Materials, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Nanotechnologies, Physics, Process Control, Project Management, Robotics, Software Engineering, Structural Engineering, Telecommunications, Thermodynamics
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Graduate Certificate, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
IDEA League, Alliance4Tech, UNITECH. Numerous international exchange programs and research collaborations with industry.
Anyone who wants a second school in the same country with a similar spread of aerospace, nanotechnologies and fluid dynamics can consider Politecnico di Torino, and it is also a public institution and does not run the graduate certificate programmes found here.
Where this institution leans on aerospace, bioinformatics and nanotechnologies, Università di Pisa does the same, and it does not run the graduate certificate programmes found here and covers astroscience and marine science as well.
Think of Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza when aerospace, bioinformatics and nanotechnologies is the priority: it is larger, enrolling about 120,000 students against roughly 47,000 here, and is also a public institution.
Think of Università degli Studi di Firenze when aerospace, bioinformatics and nanotechnologies is the priority: it does not run the graduate certificate programmes found here and covers astroscience and agriculture as well.
A good alternative in the same country is Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, which likewise covers aerospace, bioinformatics and nanotechnologies; it covers astroscience and marine science as well, and is larger, enrolling about 80,000 students against roughly 47,000 here.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
Warsaw University of Technology, in Poland, takes a similar route through aerospace, bioinformatics and nanotechnologies; it covers metrology and transportations as well, and is slightly smaller, at about 32,000 students against roughly 47,000 here.
For aerospace, nanotechnologies and fluid dynamics outside the home country, Harbin Institute of Technology in China is a natural reference; it does not run the graduate certificate programmes found here and covers transportations and quality as well.
In China, Huazhong University of Science and Technology teaches much the same core subjects, aerospace, bioinformatics and nanotechnologies, and it covers transportations and microbiology and genetics as well, and is slightly larger, at about 58,000 students against roughly 47,000 here.
On content, Technische Universiteit Delft in the Netherlands and this institution are close, as both teach aerospace, bioinformatics and nanotechnologies; it is also a public institution and does not run the graduate certificate programmes found here.
Technische Universität München (Germany) works on the same fields as this institution, chiefly aerospace, bioinformatics and nanotechnologies; it does not run the graduate certificate programmes found here and covers food science and transportations as well.
*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 Politecnico di Milano?
The main campus is at Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32 in Milan, Italy. Other campuses are in Bovisa, Lecco, Cremona, Mantua and Piacenza.
When was it founded?
In 1863, by Francesco Brioschi.
How large is it?
About 47,000 students and 4,500 staff, with around 20 percent of students from abroad.
What does it teach?
Architecture, engineering and design.
Which Nobel laureate is linked to it?
Giulio Natta, who received the 1963 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on polymers.
Who studied there?
The architect Renzo Piano is among its graduates.
What is MIP?
The business school of the Politecnico di Milano, which offers management degrees.
What does it cost to study there?
Fees depend on family income, with special rules for students from outside the EU. Check the current tariff.
How do you apply?
Admission uses an entrance test, and international students often apply earlier through a separate route.
In which language are courses taught?
Italian or English at bachelor level, and mostly English at master's level.
Aerospace, Architecture, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Engineering, Robotics, Sustainable 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.
Innovation.world is not affiliated with this school/university. We recommend to contact them directly on their website for any special request.
To complete or correct any information here or share your opinion, please comment below or > send us a direct message <.
