Established in 1998, Milano-Bicocca is a public university located in a redeveloped industrial area of Milan. It has a strong focus on research and offers programs in sciences, ICT, medicine, and social sciences.
The University of Milano-Bicocca was established in 1998 as a spin-off of the University of Milan, to relieve the older institution and to create a new centre of research in the north of the city. Its name comes from Bicocca degli Arcimboldi, a fifteenth-century villa that stands in the district. The campus occupies the area of former Pirelli factories, redeveloped from the 1980s with a master plan by the architect Vittorio Gregotti, so the university is housed in a mix of renovated industrial halls and modern buildings. It has about 35,000 students and 1,500 staff.
The university is organised in departments that cover sciences, economics, statistics, sociology, psychology, education, law, medicine and surgery, and computer science. The School of Medicine is based at the San Gerardo hospital in Monza, and the students of sciences benefit from laboratories for materials science, environmental science, physics, chemistry and biotechnology. It has become well known in Italy for psychology, statistics, materials science and for its attention to students in the first years.
The area around the campus has been transformed from an industrial district to a district for business, culture and research. The Teatro degli Arcimboldi, the Hangar Bicocca art space and several research centres and technology companies are close. Cooperation with companies in electronics, pharmaceuticals and materials gives students internships. The university takes part in European research projects, and international exchanges are possible through the Erasmus programme.
Admission varies by course. Some degrees have limited places and an entrance test, while others are open. Teaching is mostly in Italian, with a number of master’s programmes in English. Italian public universities set fees according to family income, using a system based on the ISEE indicator, so the amount differs among students. Check the current tariff.
The campus is well connected to the city. Metro line 5 and the Greco Pirelli railway station link Bicocca with the centre of Milan, and the area has student housing, shops and cafés. Milan is expensive, but the university offers support for housing and scholarships.
Domains taught:
AI and Machine Learning, Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Computer Vision, Data Analytics, Ecology and Sustainability, Engineering, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Materials, Mathematics, Microbiology and Genetics, Nanotechnologies, Optics, Physics, Process Control, Software Engineering, Statistics, Telecommunications
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
EUA. Various international research collaborations.
Research:
Nanomaterials and nanotechnology, Data science and AI, Environmental sustainability, Neurosciences and psychology, Health sciences.
Famous Alumnis:
N/A
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
1500
Current students***:
35000
Foreign students***:
N/A%
Cumulative former students***:
100000
Pros
Modern campus, strong research in specific areas like materials science and environmental science, growing reputation.
Cons
Located in a peripheral area of Milan, less historic than UniMi, still building international brand.
Best For
Modern university in Milan strong in materials science, computer science, and environmental research.
Università degli Studi di Salerno works in much the same fields, chiefly bioinformatics, microbiology and genetics and bioengineering, and it covers food science and geotechnics as well, and has almost the same size, at about 35,000 students.
Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro offers a comparable education in bioinformatics, nanotechnologies and microbiology and genetics: it is slightly larger, at about 45,000 students against roughly 35,000 here, and is also a public institution.
Think of Università degli Studi di Roma "Tor Vergata" when bioinformatics, nanotechnologies and microbiology and genetics is the priority: it is also a public institution, and runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes.
Università degli Studi del Salento takes a similar route through bioinformatics, nanotechnologies and microbiology and genetics, and it covers marine science and civil engineering as well, and is smaller, enrolling about 18,000 students against roughly 35,000 here.
Both schools build their programmes around bioinformatics, microbiology and genetics and bioengineering, and Università degli Studi di Verona is the one to compare first within the country, since it runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes, and covers food science as well.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
Fudan, in China, takes a similar route through bioinformatics, nanotechnologies and microbiology and genetics; it teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral, and covers astroscience and electrical and electronics as well.
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań in Poland pursues a similar profile in bioinformatics, nanotechnologies and microbiology and genetics, and it teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral, and covers astroscience and geotechnics as well.
Jagiellonian University, in Poland, takes a similar route through bioinformatics, nanotechnologies and microbiology and genetics; it covers astroscience and signal processing as well, and is slightly larger, at about 40,000 students against roughly 35,000 here.
Freie Universität Berlin brings a Germany setting to the same core fields, bioinformatics, nanotechnologies and microbiology and genetics, and it has almost the same size, at about 33,000 students, and is also a public institution.
Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main (Germany) works on the same fields as this university, chiefly bioinformatics, nanotechnologies and microbiology and genetics; it is slightly larger, at about 46,000 students against roughly 35,000 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 Milano-Bicocca?
In the Bicocca district in the north of Milan, Lombardy, Italy.
When was it established?
In 1998, as a spin-off of the University of Milan.
Where does the name come from?
From Bicocca degli Arcimboldi, a fifteenth-century villa in the district.
How large is it?
About 35,000 students and 1,500 staff.
What was the area before?
A district of Pirelli factories, redeveloped from the 1980s with a master plan by Vittorio Gregotti.
What departments does it have?
Sciences, economics, statistics, sociology, psychology, education, law, medicine and surgery, and computer science.
Where is the School of Medicine?
At the San Gerardo hospital in Monza.
What is nearby?
The Teatro degli Arcimboldi and the Hangar Bicocca art space.
What language are courses in?
Mostly Italian, with a number of master's programmes in English.
What does it cost?
Fees are set according to family income, using the ISEE indicator. Check the current tariff.
*: 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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