Located in Italy’s beautiful capital city, the Sapienza University of Rome is one of the oldest universities in the world. Founded in 1303 by Pope Boniface VIII, this institution has been teaching a range of quality programmes and courses to tomorrow’s leaders for more than 700 years.
The Sapienza vision? To make the world a better place with research, hard work and teamwork. The Sapienza promise? Lots of great educational opportunities and experiences for every student who attends, whether international or domestic.
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About to Sapienza University of Rome
There are over 110,000 students enrolled at this university, making it the largest in Europe. Nearly 10,000 of these students are international, about ten per cent of the student population. The culture on campus is welcoming and full of variety, perfect for students who want to expand their horizons and learn more about the world in and out of their classrooms.
The Sapienza University of Rome was originally called the Studium Urbis (until about 1660). The Sapienza motto is, ‘Il future è passato di qui,’ which roughly translates to, ‘Here, the future is the past’. This is a way of thinking that has always inspired Sapienza students and staff to discover and try new things, never afraid to look ahead.
Research at this university is focused on helping humanity, making steps towards understanding more about the world. Lecturers, students and expert researchers discover new findings and contribute to the scientific community every academic year across lots of exciting fields. To give some examples, current research includes prostate cancer treatment, COVID-19 severity and cystic fibrosis therapy.
Excellent standards of teaching combine with important research at the university. Sapienza is rated highly worldwide for a range of subjects, even leading in some, so its reputation as a top institution is no surprise.
Students at this university are supported completely. There are multiple scholarship options, promising employment prospects and outstanding standards of teaching across all programmes. Overall, the university is aiming to make the student experience a great one, and it’s succeeding. The large campus in the famous city waits to welcome new students from across the globe and quickly makes them feel at home.
Admission
There are different procedures at the Sapienza University of Rome for EU passport holders, non-EU passport holders and international students who need a visa. The university understands that the student application and admission process can be confusing and stressful, so help is offered every step of the way — especially to international students who have a more complex admission journey.
Students can find out more about the details of the process through the website’s international admissions section, but generally speaking, the university admission process will begin when an applicant goes online and completes a pre-selection application, this may not be available for all programmes. If it’s not available for a programme that an applicant is interested in, they’re encouraged to contact the programme coordinator instead.
What is a pre-selection application? It’s a way for international students to be assessed before the call for true applications. It’s especially useful for people applying for a student visa. The pre-selection application will ask for:
- A passport
- A high school/university diploma
- A transcript of academic records
- A language certificate
- Reference letters
- Any additional supporting documents that are relevant
Pre-selection will be followed by an actual application, and when every document has been shared by an applicant they’ll wait to hear from the university about a final decision. They can then accept or reject an offer if they’re given one or learn about their rejection if they haven’t been given one.
Standard tuition fees (paid in three instalments) for BA and MA programmes are only EUR 1,000 per year, or EUR 500 per year for students coming over from developing countries. Sapienza is proud of the affordability of its fees, and thanks the Italian Ministry of Higher Education for providing public funding.
Once a student’s application is complete and submitted, and all requested documents have been sent, the decision will then be made by the university’s admissions team. Applicants will be notified of the institution’s decision as soon as possible.
