Academies and conservatoires see (yet another) rise in student numbers

In our country, institutions of higher education in the arts and music (AFAM) are increasingly recognised as the third pillar of tertiary education, alongside universities and ITS Academies. This is thanks to the figures, which show a steady increase in student numbers (reaching 96,292 in the 2025/26 academic year according to provisional estimates by the Ministry of University and Research) and, above all, the international component, which now accounts for over 17 per cent of total enrolments. Just to give an idea, at universities, the international student proportion stands at 5.45 per cent. First-year student numbers, on the other hand, remain largely stable, showing a slight decrease compared with the last two academic years. However, this figure may also be affected by the provisional nature of the statistics for the current year.

Looking ahead, a further boost could come from the latest PA decree, which has placed their qualifications on a par with academic ones. Article 6 of the draft decree examined last Tuesday by the Council of Ministers amends Article 2, paragraph 5, of Law 508/1999 establishing AFAM institutions, stipulating that the reference to first- and second-level diplomas be changed to ‘degrees’ and ‘three-year degrees’. This is a turning point that is not merely a matter of terminology, as it forms part – as we explain in the other article on this page – of a process of convergence and equivalence that has seen its greatest progress during this very parliamentary term.

On 16 July, the Ministry of Universities provided an up-to-date snapshot of a sector which – comprising academies, conservatoires and design institutes – now comprises 165 institutions (of which 107 are state-funded and 58 are non-state-funded). In examining the key figures, let us start with enrolment numbers. In 2025/26, there were 34,390 students, compared with 34,555 in 2024/25 and 34,445 in 2023/24. This represents a decrease of 0.48 per cent and 0.16 per cent respectively. However, this does not apply to all institutions, as shown by the charts published on this page. If we look solely at the Academies of Fine Arts, for instance, the trend continues to be one of growth: 11,640 students in 2025/26, compared with 11,115 and 11,332 in the two previous academic years. Meanwhile, state music conservatoires (11,945) show a slight decline compared with 2024/25, when there were 11,994, but a recovery when compared with the 11,489 recorded in 2023/24.

Total enrolment figures, on the other hand, appear to be rising steadily: the 96,292 students recorded by the MUR represent a 1 per cent increase compared with the 95,307 from the previous year and a 5.6 per cent rise compared with two years ago. This positive trend is evident this time around for both the Academies of Fine Arts (35,038 compared with 34,288 in 2024/25 and 32,073 in 2023/24) and the state conservatoires, which, over the same period, first rose from 29,385 to 30,604 and then reached 31,391 students.

Meanwhile, the rate of internationalisation has also risen – which is doubly good news given the demographic decline we are facing. The number of international students, which stood at 14,401 in 2023/24, rose to 15,455 in 2024/25 and 16,525 in 2025/26. Their share of the total rose from 15.8 per cent to 17.1 per cent over the course of two academic years.