University of Ferrara
Università degli Studi di Ferrara
A university founded in 1391 inside Ferrara's medieval walls, where Copernicus took his doctorate in canon law.
- Students
- 28,000
- Tuition
- €156
- From · 2026-27
- Founded
- 1391
- QS World Ranking
- 901-950
- 2027 edition
About Unife
The University of Ferrara was founded on 4 March 1391 by Marquis Alberto V d'Este with the permission of Pope Boniface IX, and opened with courses in law, arts and theology. Nicolaus Copernicus received his doctorate in canon law here in 1503, and Paracelsus took his medical doctorate here around 1515. The university describes itself as a campus enclosed by nine kilometres of medieval walls: its departments sit in Renaissance palaces and former convents across Ferrara's UNESCO-listed historic centre, with engineering and physics on a science campus in Via Saragat.
Unife reports about 28,000 enrolled students, including more than 1,000 international students, and almost 70 degree programmes. Teaching and research are organised into 13 departments, from Architecture, Economics and Management, Engineering and Law to Physics and Earth Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science and Humanities, plus a Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Prevention that coordinates the health courses. Its Institute for Advanced Studies, IUSS Ferrara 1391, runs the doctoral programmes.
Bachelor's degrees are taught in Italian. The English-taught options are master's degrees, such as Physics, Green Economy and Sustainable Transitions and Small Business Management in International Markets, plus inter-university automotive engineering master's run with Bologna, Modena and Reggio Emilia and Parma. Ferrara suits students who want a compact, cycle-friendly city, low fees and a mid-sized university with many double-degree partnerships.
Ex labore fructus
“The fruits of labour” — university motto
Why students choose Unife
Fees are income-based: in 2026/27 first-year students with an ISEE up to 27,000 euros pay only 156 euros, and the maximum is 2,248 euros a year.
English-taught master's include Physics (with a double degree option at Paris-Saclay), Green Economy and Sustainable Transitions, and Small Business Management in International Markets.
Many degrees offer double-title routes with partners such as Granada and Strasbourg (Law), Cranfield (Mechanical Engineering) and Southern Denmark (Green Economy).
The historic centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, can be crossed by bike in a few minutes, and most departments are inside the city walls.
Admissions
Entry 2027/28 (academic year starting autumn 2027)
Selectivity
Most bachelor's degrees are open access. Health professions, Medicine and Surgery, Dentistry and Architecture have national limited places, and some courses (for example Industrial Product Design) have local limited places with a selection. Unife publishes no overall admission rate.
Typical entry requirements
| Italian diploma di maturità | Gives access to open-access bachelor's degrees; limited-access courses also require a place in the admission ranking |
|---|---|
| Foreign secondary diploma | At least 12 years of schooling in the same education system, translated into Italian and legalised, plus proof of any national university entrance exam where one exists (e.g. Gaokao, Vestibular, Selectividad); a Declaration of Value or CIMEA statements may be requested |
| Italian language (non-EU students, Italian-taught courses) | Pass Unife's Italian language test, or be exempt with a CEFR B2 Italian certificate or an Italian-language diploma from an Italian school abroad |
| English language | Bachelor's degrees are taught in Italian. Italian embassies ask visa applicants whose mother tongue is not English for an internationally recognised English certificate of at least B2, according to Unife's visa page. English requirements for English-taught master's are set by each course. |
Deadlines
- Apply.Unife and Universitaly, English-taught master's in Physics, Green Economy and Small Business Management (2026/27 cycle, past) Non-binding Passed12 January to 30 April 2026 (Apply.Unife); 30 June 2026 (Universitaly)
Other master's degrees: Apply.Unife from 2 March to 30 June 2026.
- Apply.Unife, bachelor's degrees (2026/27 cycle, past) Non-binding Passed7 April to 31 July 2026
Window for all courses other than master's; for 2026/27, applications from non-EU students needing a visa had already closed by 25 May 2026.
- Universitaly pre-enrolment, bachelor's (2026/27 cycle, past) Non-binding Passed31 July 2026
Required for non-EU citizens living abroad; students must reach Ferrara and enrol within a month of their visa being issued (31 January at the latest for late visas).
- Fee reduction with ISEE or foreign income documents (2026/27) Non-binding Next deadline · In 27 days2 November 2026
From 3 November to 15 December 2026 a 100 euro surcharge applies; after that no reduction is possible.
Unife had not published its 2027/28 windows when checked; the dates shown are the 2026/27 (previous) cycle. Visa-dependent applicants should plan for the spring window, as the 2026/27 non-EU visa route closed early.
How to apply
International applicants upload their documents to apply.unife.it and pay a non-refundable 20 euro fee so Unife can check eligibility. Non-EU applicants living abroad must also submit a pre-enrolment application for Ferrara on Universitaly, which is used to request the study visa. After arrival they apply for a residence permit within 8 working days and hand in original documents at the Incoming Students Office. Medicine and Dentistry admission goes through the national filter semester and national ranking.
What admissions looks for
- A secondary diploma after 12 years of schooling that gives university access in your own country, with any required national entrance exam passed.
- Complete, legalised documents with Italian translations, uploaded to Apply.Unife within the window.
- Italian at the level tested by Unife's Italian language test (or a B2 certificate) for Italian-taught courses.
- For limited-access courses, a place in the admission ranking.
Tips for applying to Unife
- 1 Apply early: in 2026/27 the application route for non-EU students needing a visa closed before the official 31 July deadline because of demand.
- 2 Budget the 20 euro Apply.Unife fee and start translations and legalisation of your diploma well before spring.
- 3 Submit your family's foreign income documents in your personal area by 2 November to get the income-based fee; otherwise you pay the maximum.
- 4 Apply to ER.GO, the regional study-rights agency, for scholarships and housing in July and August.
- 5 If you finished school with the top mark with honours (the equivalent of 100 e lode), you can pay only 156 euros in your first year.
Costs & financial aid
2026-27 · figures in EUR
Fees are set by ISEE (or equivalent foreign income documents), and first-year students with an ISEE up to 27,000 euros pay only 156 euros. Students who finished school with top marks with honours, students enrolling under agreements between Unife and their home country, and students with a disability of 66% or more pay only 156 euros. ER.GO, the Emilia-Romagna study-rights agency, awards scholarships and residence places; applications run in July and August.
- ISEE up to 27,000 euros
- No contribution (first-year students)
- 2,248 euros (2,092 euro contribution plus 156 euros)
- Maximum annual cost (first year)
- 100 euro surcharge
- Late ISEE or income documents (3 Nov to 15 Dec 2026)
Academics
Academic calendar: Two semesters
Physics (MSc, English-taught)
Taught in English, with a double degree option at Université Paris-Saclay.
Green Economy and Sustainable Transitions (MSc, English-taught)
An English-taught economics master's with double-degree options at Southern Denmark, East Anglia and Paderborn.
Electric Vehicle Engineering and Advanced Automotive Engineering (MSc, English-taught)
Inter-university master's run with the universities of Bologna, Parma and Modena and Reggio Emilia.
Law (single-cycle LMG/01)
A five-year open-access law degree taught in Ferrara and Rovigo, with double degrees at Granada or Strasbourg.
Medicine and Surgery
A six-year degree with national limited places, entered through the national filter semester.
Architecture (single-cycle)
A five-year single-cycle degree with national limited places, run by the Department of Architecture in Via Ghiara.
Research
- 38 research centres and 4 laboratories in the Emilia-Romagna Tecnopolo network.
- Two UNESCO Chairs: Urban and Regional Planning for Sustainable Local Development, and Education, Growth and Equality.
- 15 PhD programmes, 6 of them international, coordinated by the Institute for Advanced Studies IUSS Ferrara 1391.
Schools & faculties
- Department of Architecture
- Department of Economics and Management
- Department of Physics and Earth Sciences
- Department of Law
- Department of Engineering
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
- Department of Translational Medicine and for Romagna
- Department of Neurosciences and Rehabilitation
- Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology
- Department of Humanities
Student life
Unife's departments are spread through Ferrara's walled historic centre, in Renaissance palaces and former convents such as Santa Maria delle Grazie, with the science and engineering campus in Via Saragat. The university stresses that the centre can be crossed by bike in a few minutes and that its gardens double as open-air study spaces. About 80% of students come from other Italian regions. ER.GO runs residences and scholarships, and CUS Ferrara organises university sport.
- Departments housed in Renaissance palaces inside a UNESCO World Heritage city.
- More than 300 incoming exchange students each year and more than 500 bilateral mobility agreements.
- CUS Ferrara university sports club.
- ER.GO regional residences with open, ranked and subsidised access.
Housing. ER.GO university residences are available through open access, a ranking or subsidised access; the university also points students to other private housing options.
Location
Ferrara is a mid-sized city in Emilia-Romagna, between Bologna and the Po delta. Its Renaissance historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site ringed by nine kilometres of walls, and it is small and flat enough to cross by bike in a few minutes. Bologna is a short train ride away.
Nearest airport: Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ)
Notable alumni
- NC Nicolaus CopernicusAstronomer who proposed the heliocentric model; Doctor of Canon Law, Ferrara, 1503
- P ParacelsusPhysician and pioneer of chemistry in medicine; medical doctorate around 1515-16
- GF Gabriele FalloppioAnatomist who described the fallopian tubes; studied medicine at Ferrara and received his doctorate there in 1552
- MH Marcella HazanCookery writer who introduced Italian home cooking to English-speaking readers; doctorate in natural sciences and biology
- MP Massimo PigliucciBiologist and philosopher of science; doctorate in genetics, 1990
- DF Dario FranceschiniLawyer, writer and politician, briefly leader of Italy's Democratic Party in 2009; graduated in 1985
Frequently asked questions
How much does the University of Ferrara cost?
In 2026/27 first-year fees run from 156 euros (ISEE up to 27,000 euros) to 2,248 euros a year. International students pay on the same scale using their family's foreign income documents, or the maximum without them.
Does the University of Ferrara teach in English?
Bachelor's degrees are in Italian. English-taught master's include Physics, Green Economy and Sustainable Transitions, Small Business Management in International Markets and inter-university automotive and food-safety programmes.
Do I need Italian to study at Ferrara?
Yes, for Italian-taught courses: non-EU students must pass Unife's Italian language test unless they hold a CEFR B2 Italian certificate or another listed exemption.
What is the application deadline for international students?
For 2026/27 the Apply.Unife window for bachelor's ran from 7 April to 31 July 2026, with Universitaly pre-enrolment by 31 July, but the route for non-EU students needing a visa closed early. Check the 2027/28 dates in spring 2027.
Is the University of Ferrara a good university?
It is in the 901-950 band of the QS World University Rankings 2027, the 501–600 band of THE 2026 and the 601-700 band of ARWU 2026, and it is one of Europe's older universities, founded in 1391.
Sources & methodology
Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.
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