University of Padua
The University of Padua (Italian: Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna,[2] who previously settled in Vicenza, thus, it is the second-oldest university in Italy, as well as the world's fifth-oldest surviving university.[3]
The University of Padua was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe, known particularly for the rigor of its Aristotelean logic and science.[4] Together with the University of Bologna, Padua had a central role in the italian renaissance, housing and educating a number of italian renaissance mathemathicians, amongst them Nicolaus Copernicus.
Today, it is made up of 32 departments and eight schools.[5] Padua is part a network of historical research universities known as the Coimbra Group.[6] In 2021, the university had approximately 72,000 students including undergraduates, postgraduates, and doctoral students.[7]
Organization and administration[edit]
Finances[edit]
The university foresaw a budget of €831 million for the 2023 fiscal year. Of this, €545 million were contributions paid by the Ministry of Education, University and Research of Italy, the European Union, local administrations like regions and provinces, and other entities. The remaining €232 million were classified as own revenues, of which €106 million came from tuition fees and €125 million from research-related income.[10]
The amount of tuition students pay depends on their major, the financial situation of their household and if they take more time to graduate compared to the established length of their program. Tuition is also significantly lowered for non-EU citizens of certain developing countries. There are also scholarships and fee-waivers based on merit on other factors. Generally, most students who are graduating in time and are not from low income households will pay around €2,700/year for the 2023/24 academic year. [11]
Rankings[edit]
The university is constantly ranked among the best Italian universities.
For 2023, in U.S. News & World Report's World Best Global Universities Rankings, the University of Padua is ranked as the 1st place institution in Italy, taking 43rd place in Europe and the world's 115th.[12] ARWU ranks the university in the Italian top 4, tied for 2nd place with the University of Milan and the University of Pisa under the Sapienza University of Rome. ARWU ranks the university in the 151st-200th range globally for 2023.[13]
The 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings lists the university at 4th place in Italy and in the 201st-250th range worldwide. QS World University Rankings ranks the university 4th in Italy in 2024 and the best in Italy to study geology and geophysics, earth and sea sciences, biological sciences, psychology, anatomy and physiology. It also places the University of Padua at 219th in the world for 2024.[14] Also, according to QS World University Rankings, the University of Padua is ranked 125th in the field of Medicine.[15]
The NTU ranking, which focuses on productivity and quality of scientific production, places the University of Padua as 82nd worldwide for 2022.[16]
The CWTS Leiden Ranking, based exclusively on bibliometric indicators, places the University of Padua as 2nd place in Italy and 104th worldwide.[17]
The University of Padua offers a wide range of degrees, organized by Departments:
Departments have been united in a limited number of Schools: