Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca

About Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca

Milano-Bicocca became an independent university on 10 June 1998, when a ministerial decree established the Second University of Milan. It received the Milano-Bicocca name in 1999. Its creation formed part of a plan to reduce pressure on the much larger University of Milan and develop a new academic centre in the former Pirelli and Breda industrial district. The Italian Ministry of Universities and Research now maintains a separate institution-level record for Milano-Bicocca, confirming that it is an autonomous state university rather than a branch of the University of Milan. The university is organised around two principal locations. The Milan campus contains most teaching, research, and central student services in the Bicocca district. The biomedical campus in Monza places the Department of Medicine and Surgery near San Gerardo Hospital and other healthcare facilities used for clinical education. The university also operates the MaRHE marine research and higher-education centre on Magoodhoo in the Maldives, where some students can undertake study or research mobility. The official study portal reported more than 38,000 enrolled students and, as of its 2026 update, 84 bachelor’s and master’s programmes and 22 doctoral programmes. Those figures describe a large, multidisciplinary institution, but applicants should evaluate the specific department and campus attached to their intended course. Milano-Bicocca’s relatively recent foundation and purpose-built urban setting distinguish it from Milan’s older, more dispersed universities.

Admission is programme-specific. For 2026/27, Milano-Bicocca divided bachelor’s and master’s applications into separate rounds for programmes with unlimited and limited places. On the international application portal, the final published round for unlimited-place programmes ran from 7 July to 7 September 2026 and was restricted to EU citizens and non-EU citizens residing in Italy. Limited-place programmes also had a 7 July to 7 September round. Earlier rounds served other applicant categories, including non-EU candidates living abroad. Applicants must consult the individual call because selection methods and available rounds vary. Candidates with international qualifications apply through Apply.UNIMIB and undergo credential evaluation. Undergraduate and single-cycle applicants generally need a final secondary-school qualification based on at least 12 years of schooling, a final-year transcript, and translations into Italian or English. Master’s applicants need a qualifying first degree and transcript. The university may request CIMEA documentation or other evidence. For non-EU applicants requiring a visa, the 2026/27 general deadline page listed 31 July 2026 for the Universitaly application and relevant language certification. It required B2 Italian for Italian-taught courses and B2 English for English-taught courses, subject to programme rules. University admission does not itself guarantee a visa. Because several 2026/27 deadlines had passed by the profile date, prospective students who have not already applied should investigate the next intake rather than assume late applications are possible.

Milano-Bicocca offers study at bachelor’s, master’s, single-cycle, and doctoral levels. Its current official study portal spans a broad set of disciplines and reports 84 bachelor’s and master’s degrees plus 22 doctoral programmes. The academic portfolio includes natural and applied sciences, computing, economics, law, medicine and health professions, psychology, sociology, education, and related interdisciplinary areas. Applicants should use the live programme catalogue because language, access arrangements, campus, and entry requirements differ by course. Italian is the predominant teaching language, consistent with the database record, but it is not universal. The science catalogue, for example, identifies Artificial Intelligence and Physical Sciences for Innovative Technologies as English-taught bachelor’s degrees, alongside numerous Italian-taught options. Programme pages distinguish courses with limited places and an entry examination from open-access courses that still require an assessment test. Consequently, “open” does not necessarily mean that applicants can enrol without completing an academic assessment. Doctoral study is an established part of the institution rather than an external research activity. The university listed 22 active doctoral programmes in June 2026 and published two admission sessions for the XLII cycle. Across degree levels, students have access to libraries, computer facilities, laboratories, study rooms, tutoring, language learning, international mobility, and internship support. Clinical and health-profession students should verify where teaching and placements occur, since the biomedical campus and affiliated Lombardy healthcare facilities are separate from the main Milan site.

Key Highlights

• Independent Italian state university established in 1998
• Main urban campus in Milan and biomedical campus in Monza
• Official study portal reports more than 38,000 enrolled students
• MaRHE centre in the Maldives supports marine research and mobility

Student Life & Environment

Student life is centred on a campus district rather than a closed residential enclave. The Milan site includes equipped classrooms, computer workstations, campus Wi-Fi, libraries, study areas, canteens, bars, residences, and recreation facilities. Sports provision includes basketball and volleyball courts, while agreements with neighbourhood clubs extend access to tennis, athletics, and field facilities. Student associations and an elected Student Council provide routes into activities and university representation. University accommodation is available to eligible students living away from home through Italy’s right-to-education framework. Places are awarded through an application and ranking process and can be offered at reduced rates; they should not be assumed to be guaranteed. The residences include furnished accommodation, study areas, kitchens, and recreation spaces. Students considering university housing should consult the new academic-year call promptly and maintain a separate private-market plan, particularly given Milan’s competitive rental market. Additional support includes disability and specific-learning-difference services, tutoring, wellbeing initiatives, cultural activities, language-learning resources, and opportunities for paid student collaboration. Free campus transport connects Monza railway station with the Monza campus, while bicycle and scooter parking supports movement around the university. The mix of university facilities and surrounding theatres, parks, cultural venues, shops, and businesses makes daily life closely integrated with the Bicocca neighbourhood.

Location & Surroundings

The main campus is in Bicocca, a redeveloped former industrial district in northeastern Milan. University buildings sit within an urban area containing housing, shops, businesses, public spaces, and cultural venues such as Teatro degli Arcimboldi and Pirelli HangarBicocca. This integrated layout gives students access to campus services without separating them from ordinary city life. The campus is reachable by Milan’s urban public-transport network and lies near Milano Greco Pirelli railway station. Cycling infrastructure includes secure bicycle and scooter spaces, with further capacity planned under the university’s 2025–2027 mobility programme. Students should nevertheless check the building assigned to each class because the university occupies multiple sites. Medicine and Surgery is based at the biomedical campus in Monza, close to San Gerardo Hospital. A university shuttle connects that campus with Monza railway station, but living and commuting decisions for medical students may differ substantially from those of students studying in Milan. Some health programmes and placements also use other Lombardy locations, while Nursing has activities connected with Sondrio and Faedo Valtellino. Applicants should verify the actual teaching and placement location before arranging housing.

Costs & Career Outcomes

Milano-Bicocca uses a contribution system rather than one universal tuition price. For 2026/27, the university raised its no-tax-area threshold to an ISEE of €30,000 for students who also satisfy the applicable admission and academic-merit conditions. It retained a 13% merit reduction for qualifying students up to the first year beyond the normal programme duration and an additional 7% reduction, worth at least €150, for continuing students who earn 87% of a standard year’s credits by 30 September. These benefits are conditional, not automatic for every student. Students with non-Italian citizenship, an entry qualification obtained abroad, and residence outside Italy are assigned fixed contributions according to their country of residence and the contribution area of their course. Foreign citizens residing in Italy are assessed under the non-international system. Exact liability can also include the regional right-to-study tax and stamp duty, so applicants should use the 2026/27 contribution guide for their category and programme rather than relying on a headline amount. Housing, food, transport, and personal expenses are separate; residence places require a competitive right-to-education application. Career support includes curricular and extracurricular internships in Italy or abroad with companies, public institutions, universities, and research centres. The central Internship Office serves most students, while Medicine and Surgery programmes use separate arrangements. Guidance, job-placement, entrepreneurship, digital-skills, and soft-skills initiatives supplement degree study, but the university does not guarantee placement, employment, or a particular salary.