Bologna 32nd in the world for Law, Sapienza 33rd for Arts and Humanities

The World Ranking of Universities by Subject 2026 uses the same general methodology as the World University Ranking 2026, with 18 performance indicators for teaching, research, knowledge transfer and internationalisation, but adjustments have been made to the weightings of the metrics and the publication and personnel thresholds for each subject area to more accurately assess performance at the subject level.

In the Arts and Humanities category, there are only three Italians in the top 100: Roma Sapienza, 33rd in the world, and Bologna, 39th. Behind them, in 69th place, is the Milan Polytechnic. With another trio in the 126-150 bracket: Venezia Ca' Foscari, Scuola Normale di Pisa and the University of Padua.

The University of Bologna also appears in the top for studies in Economics and Business, in 76th place, and to find another university from our home town we have to go down to the 101-125 group where PoliMi is housed, which together with the Scuola Sant'anna di Pisa (151-175) is the only name in the top 200.

Zero tricolour presences instead among the top 100 for Computer science. To find the first Italian, or rather the first two, we have to go to the 101-125 group that hosts the Politecnico di Milano and Bologna, followed in the 126-150 bracket by the Sapienza University of Rome.

At an even lower level we are in theEducation category. Here the top two Italian universities are Bologna and Padua in position 176-200.

Some more satisfaction comes from Engineering, in general, and from the Polytechnics, in particular. With Milan 63rd in the world and Turin in the 176-200 group.

Fortunately, then comes Jurisprudence to lift our country's fortunes with seven presences in the top 200 positions. Two of these (Bologna 32nd and Roma Sapienza 61st) even in the top 100. Behind them are Trento (126-150), the tandem Scuola Sant'anna di Pisa-University of Turin 151-175 and that formed by Florence and Genoa in the 176-200 bracket.

The picture offered by the Sciences of Life is completely different, with Bologna alone in the 176-250 bracket. To find another Italian, namely Padua, one has to go down to the 201-250 rank.

It goes better at Medicine and Health where our country counts seven names among the top 200. Starting with Bologna, 95th. And continuing with the pairing of Milano Statale and San Raffaele in the 126-150 platoon, the trio Humanitas-Cattolica-Padova in the 151-175 bracket and Roma Sapienza in 176-200th place.

To find another tricolour reality among the top 100 we have to move to the Physical Sciences where the Scuola Normale di Pisa occupies the 77th place. It is followed, at a fair distance, by Roma Sapienza in the 101-125 bracket and by Bologna and Padua again in the 176-200 bracket.

The same subjects also return, in a different order, in the ranking for Psychology. Here Padua is 95th in the world, Roma Sapienza is in the 101-125 group, Bologna in the 151-175 group.

Bologna's Alma Mater also returns in the eleventh and final ranking with its position among the top 126-150 universities for Social Sciences. Thus preceding the Normale di Pisa in the 176-200 rank.