Sapienza Università di Roma
Sapienza University of Rome, one of Italy's public universities.
Sapienza University of Rome is a public research university in Rome, Lazio, founded in 1303 and known for its size, its history and its strength in Classics. With more than 100,000 students, it is one of the largest universities in Europe. Its main campus, the Città Universitaria, sits in the San Lorenzo district near Roma Termini station, with further sites across the city and in Latina. Its best-known subjects include Classics and Ancient History, archaeology, physics, engineering, medicine and architecture.
Yes, Sapienza University of Rome teaches 8 bachelor's and 45 master's degree programmes fully in English, alongside more than 240 programmes in Italian. English-taught options cover engineering (including aerospace, electrical, and artificial intelligence and robotics), computer science and data science, physics, economics and management, international relations, archaeology, architecture and life sciences. Sapienza also runs English-taught Medicine and Surgery, which selects students through the IMAT.
Sapienza University of Rome asks for 12 years of schooling for a bachelor's degree, or a related bachelor's degree for a master's, plus English at B2 level (IELTS 6.0 or equivalent is common). Each English-taught programme runs an online pre-selection that weighs your academic record, the relevance of your degree and your English. Some master's degrees also ask for core-subject credits, a motivation letter or references. Sapienza does not publish an acceptance rate, and popular programmes have limited non-EU places.
You apply to Sapienza University of Rome through its online pre-selection first, then complete Universitaly pre-enrolment for your visa. Pre-selection runs online in the months before the Universitaly deadline, and for 2026/27 non-EU visa applicants had to finish Universitaly by 30 June 2026. Sapienza validates that application, which you then use for your type D study visa. The DiSCo Lazio scholarship call usually closes in the summer, so plan it alongside the visa rather than after it.
Sapienza University of Rome has no single price: tuition is set by your family's income, measured by ISEE. Students below Italy's no-tax threshold (at least €22,000 ISEE, and many universities go higher) pay little or nothing beyond the regional tax and stamp duty, and contributions rise with income above it. If your family income is outside Italy, you present an ISEE parificato, prepared through a CAF office from translated and legalised documents. Without one, you pay the maximum for your programme.
You can study at Sapienza University of Rome with little or no tuition only if your family income qualifies and you complete the paperwork on time. Tuition is set by family income (ISEE); students from lower-income families can pay little or nothing beyond the regional tax, and a DSU scholarship winner also gets a tuition waiver. In your control: your ISEE parificato, your DiSCo Lazio application and its deadline. Not in your control: your family's income and the regional ranking. Skip the income step and you pay the maximum.
The main scholarship for Sapienza University of Rome students is the DiSCo Lazio regional right-to-study grant. For 2026/27 the national ISEE cap is €28,339.88, and the national minimum grant for off-site students is €7,171.11 a year. Winners also receive a tuition waiver, canteen meals and priority for residence places. Sapienza adds merit awards for excellent international students on English-taught programmes, and MAECI scholarships and Invest Your Talent in Italy are open to many nationalities.
Sapienza University of Rome is joint 111th in the QS World University Rankings 2027, its best result ever and first among Italy's generalist universities. It has climbed more than 100 places in QS since 2017 and has long led the QS subject tables for Classics and Ancient History. Treat rankings as one signal: QS, THE and ARWU mostly measure research and reputation across a whole university, while Censis weighs services, scholarships and employability. Your programme and its entry rules matter more.
Student life at Sapienza University of Rome centres on the Città Universitaria in San Lorenzo, the city's classic student neighbourhood, a short walk from Termini. Rome is one of Italy's more expensive cities: most students budget about €900 to €1,300 a month, including a private room at €450 to €700. DiSCo Lazio residences cost much less but go first to scholarship winners. Public transport passes are discounted for students under 26. Visit or video-call before you pay any housing deposit.
Sapienza University of Rome is the largest and highest-ranked of Rome's three big public universities, with the widest subject range. Tor Vergata is a modern campus university in the east of the city with many English-taught programmes and strong economics and medicine. Roma Tre is younger and mid-sized, popular for economics, engineering, law and the humanities. Foro Italico is Italy's public university for sport and movement sciences. Private universities such as LUISS charge fixed fees of many thousands of euros a year.
Sapienza University of Rome suits independent students who want a famous public university, a wide choice of English-taught degrees and life in Rome. It suits you less if you need close guidance. First-year courses in popular subjects can be very large, and the administration rewards students who read every notice. Graduate students in smaller English-taught master's programmes usually get a more personal experience. Budget honestly too: Rome costs more than most Italian university cities.
ApplyAZ helps you apply to Sapienza University of Rome as part of a shortlist of 20 to 30 English-taught programmes at Italian public universities. We write your CV and a tailored SOP for each, submit every application and your Universitaly pre-enrolment, file your DiSCo Lazio scholarship and prepare your visa file, with a named person owning each stage. We take no university commissions, and strong, organised students can use our roadmap to apply alone. See how ApplyAZ works or check your eligibility.
Open a programme for its entry requirements, entrance tests, fees and intake dates.
