Address: Piazza di San Marco 4, 50121 Firenze, Toscana, Italy
Engineering, Agriculture, Physics & Astronomy
The University of Florence has origins in the Studium Generale of 1321. It is a major comprehensive university in Italy with significant engineering and science departments.
The Università degli Studi di Firenze traces its origins to the Studium Generale created by the Florentine Republic in 1321. It has about 55,000 students and 3,000 staff. The rectorate is in the Piazza San Marco, near the convent of San Marco and the Accademia Gallery, and the university has grown into a comprehensive institution spread over the historic centre, the Novoli district, the Careggi hospital and the science campus of Sesto Fiorentino.
The university took its modern shape in 1924, when the Istituto di Studi Superiori, which had been founded in 1859, became the University of Florence. It is strong in architecture, art history, the humanities, agriculture, medicine and the natural sciences. The natural history museum La Specola, with its collections of wax anatomical models and its zoology galleries, is one of the oldest in Europe and is run by the university, along with the botanical garden.
Research at Sesto Fiorentino includes physics, chemistry, mathematics, materials and the European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy, LENS, which works on quantum physics and optics. The medical school works with the Careggi teaching hospital, and the architecture faculty is one of the leading ones in Italy. Florence’s museums, archives and libraries offer unusual research resources for art historians and archivists.
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. Many courses are open, but medicine and some other degrees use tests and limited places. Bachelor’s programmes are mostly in Italian, and a number of master’s programmes are in English.
Florence is a compact and expensive city for renters, especially in the historic centre, and many students live in the suburbs or neighbouring towns. The city draws large numbers of foreign students for semester programmes.
Domains taught:
Aerospace, Agriculture, AI and Machine Learning, Astroscience, Automation, Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Computer Vision, Data Analytics, Ecology and Sustainability, Electrical and Electronics, Engineering, Food Science, Geotechnics, Industrial Design, Life Sciences, Materials, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Microbiology and Genetics, Nanotechnologies, Optics, Physics, Process Control, Robotics, Software Engineering, Statistics, Structural Engineering, Telecommunications, Thermodynamics
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Coimbra Group (observer), UNIMED, EUniWell. International partnerships across disciplines.
Research:
Optics and photonics, Agricultural sciences and food technology, Earth sciences, ICT for cultural heritage, Sustainable architecture.
Famous Alumnis:
Enrico Fermi (taught), Matteo Renzi
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
3000
Current students***:
55000
Foreign students***:
N/A%
Cumulative former students***:
250000
Pros
Located in the historically rich and beautiful city of Florence, comprehensive range of studies, strong in specific research areas like optics.
Cons
Cost of living in Florence is high, facilities can be spread across the city, can be crowded.
Best For
Comprehensive university in Florence with strong engineering and agricultural sciences.
Another national school that puts astroscience, aerospace and agriculture at the centre is Università degli Studi di Padova, and it is also a public institution, and runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes.
Another national school that puts astroscience, aerospace and agriculture at the centre is Università degli Studi di Bologna, and it is larger, enrolling about 90,000 students against roughly 55,000 here, and is also a public institution.
Where this university leans on astroscience, aerospace and bioinformatics, Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza does the same, and it covers fluid dynamics as well, and is larger, enrolling about 120,000 students against roughly 55,000 here.
Università degli Studi di Roma Tre shares the core fields of this institution, namely aerospace, bioinformatics and geotechnics; it covers fluid dynamics as well, and is smaller, enrolling about 33,000 students against roughly 55,000 here.
Both schools build their programmes around agriculture, food science and geotechnics, and Università degli Studi di Palermo is the one to compare first within the country, since it covers marine science and manufacturing as well, and is slightly smaller, at about 40,000 students against roughly 55,000 here.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
Students considering a move abroad can look at Sorbonne Université in France, where astroscience, aerospace and bioinformatics also form the core, and it covers sound engineering and marine science as well, and has almost the same size, at about 55,000 students.
On content, Zhejiang University in China and this university are close, as both teach astroscience, aerospace and agriculture; it runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes, and covers marine science and transportations as well.
Abroad, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Germany) covers astroscience, bioinformatics and geotechnics in a comparable way, and it covers marine science and signal processing as well, and has almost the same size, at about 52,000 students.
Seen from abroad, Université de Strasbourg (France) is a close relative on subject matter, since astroscience, food science and bioinformatics are central to both, and it is also a public institution, and runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes.
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn offers an international parallel to this institution, with astroscience, agriculture and food science as common ground; it covers signal processing and fluid dynamics as well, and is slightly smaller, at about 38,000 students against roughly 55,000 here.
*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 Florence?
The rectorate is at Piazza di San Marco 4 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.
When was it founded?
Its origins go back to the Studium Generale of 1321, and it took its modern form in 1924.
How large is it?
About 55,000 students and 3,000 staff.
What is it best known for?
Architecture, art history, humanities, agriculture, medicine and natural sciences.
What is La Specola?
A natural history museum run by the university, known for its wax anatomical models.
What is LENS?
The European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy at Sesto Fiorentino, which works on quantum physics and optics.
Where are the science departments?
Mostly on the campus of Sesto Fiorentino.
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.
In which language are courses taught?
Mostly Italian at bachelor level, with a number of master's programmes in English.
Is Florence expensive?
Rents are high in the historic centre, so many students live in the suburbs.
Agriculture, Architecture, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Optics, Photovoltaic, 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.
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