The University of Bologna continues to stand out as a highly attractive, open, inclusive, and internationally competitive public university. The enrolment figures for the 2025/2026 academic year show an increase compared to last year, with particularly significant growth in international students and second-cycle degree programmes.
Specifically, 26,818 new students have enrolled at the University of Bologna for the 2025/2026 academic year, compared to 26,784 at the same point last year.
Enrolments in second-cycle degree programmes increased by 2.3%, exceeding 9,900 students. New enrolments also rose in single-cycle degree programmes (+5.8%), while a slight decrease was recorded in first-cycle degree programmes (-2.3%).
Looking at the distribution across campuses, the Bologna campus remains stable, while increases were recorded at the Cesena (+3.5%), Ravenna (+2.2%) and Forlì (+3.2%) campuses. The slight decrease at the Rimini campus (-6.9%) is linked to a reorganisation of the academic offer; once this factor is taken into account, new enrolments show an overall increase.
As in the previous year, the number of new students coming from Southern Italy declined (-13.8%), reflecting territorial trends observed in recent years. At the same time, the number of new students from Bologna and the Emilia-Romagna region has risen, reflecting similar dynamics.
The University of Bologna continues to lead in attracting international students, with a 10.4% increase (compared to 53.4% last year). Notable growth has been recorded from China (+121%), Turkey (+49%), Russia (+24.1%), Pakistan (+14.9%), and Turkey (+11.6%), as well as from European countries: Poland (+52.3%), Bulgaria (+43.2%), France (+37.8%) and Albania (+17.6%). In absolute numbers, the largest international communities among new students are from China (443 enrolments), Iran (334), Cameroon (221), Romania (218) and Türkiye (206). The proportion of female students among those with international citizenship also increased (58.2%, compared with 54.7% last year).
Looking at overall data, it is also worth noting the continued decrease in student drop-out rates (-2.6% over the last four academic years) and the growth in students progressing regularly in their studies (+0.6% compared with last year). Moreover, 58.6% of graduates come from families without a higher education background (first-generation graduates), highlighting the University’s continued role as a driver of social mobility within the public higher education system.
In terms of student financial support—a longstanding priority for our University—the percentage of students granted full exemption from tuition fees remains significant, covering 23,877 students. While this is slightly lower than last year (over 26,000),
Finally, the University’s commitment to student accommodation is evident in the expansion of available housing: compared to last year, an additional +159 beds have been made available through ER.GO, bringing the total to over 2,400 places.
