University Profile
Founded in 1997, the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano combines the strengths of a small university with a high degree of internationality and a culture of multilingualism. Courses are taught in German, Italian, English and Ladin. Students and academic staff from all over the world contribute to a diverse and vibrant university community.
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The university has five faculties and a strong international profile, with 28% of its lecturers and 16% of its students coming from abroad. They study, teach, and conduct research in the fields of Economics, Natural Sciences, Engineering, Social Sciences, Education, and Design.
More than 4,500 students are enrolled in over 40 bachelor, master, PhD, and lifelong-learning programmes.
Our teaching and research are embedded in international and interregional networks. For example, through the Euregio University project, we work closely with the universities of Innsbruck and Trento with the aim of ensuring the highest quality standards..
Faculties
We are a niche university. Our programmes and our research are the result of a tight link with our territory. At the same time, our university also has a strong international outlook.
Competence Centres
The aim of finding answers to the most urgent problems of the 21st century is a common denominator of the diverse research fields at our competence centres. The focus is on innovation and sustainability - at social, economic, technological and ecological levels.
Competence Centre for International Business and Tax Law
Competence Centre for Sustainability
International Competence Centre on Food Fermentations
Competence Centre for the Management of Cooperatives
Competence Centre for Mountain Innovation Ecosystems
Competence Centre for Plant Health
Competence Centre for School Inclusion
Competence Centre for Social Work, Social Pedagogy and Social Policy
Languages? An asset!
Languages? An asset!
What makes unibz stand out among all universities, in Italy and in Europe, is the multilingualism of its courses and research. The three official languages - Italian, German and English - are used during classes, meetings, conferences and in all events. Thus, the university offers an ideal environment not only to acquire specific knowledge in the disciplines at the basis of each one's degree course, but also to master the communication skills required by employment and by an increasingly globalised society.
unibz in Rankings
In national rankings, our university reaches top positions every year. In 2026, for the tenth consecutive year, the Italian research centre for social studies Censis has ranked our university as number one among smaller private universities (less than 5,000 students). We rank high in international rankings too, especially under the categories 'internationalisation', 'student satisfaction' and 'citations'.
THE World University Rankings
In the 2026Times Higher Education World University Rankings unibz ranked in the band of 401— 500 this year out of 2,191 institutions worldwide. Our strongest pillars are "Research quality" (with a score of 83,7 among the top 250) and "International outlook" (with a score of 78,2 among the top 300). In Italy we are on the 20th position out of 57 universities ranked and on the first for "International outlook".
In the Small University Rankings 2024 we are on position 14 worldwide.
QS World University Rankings
In 2026 unibz for the fifth time has entered the QS World University Rankings at rank position 608 from over 8,000 universities surveyed. It ranks among the top 250 in the metrics for “Citations per faculty”.
Censis
In 2026, for the tenth time in a row, we placed first among the small non-state universities in Italy.
Quality Management
unibz adheres to the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG) in the areas of teaching, research, third mission and societal impact, as well as in its administrative activities. These standards are implemented at national level by ANVUR – the National Agency for the Evaluation of the University and Research System.
In this context, the University Quality Committee plays a central role in ensuring compliance with quality standards across all areas of activity. It oversees the systematic monitoring of processes and fosters continuous improvement acrossthe institution.
Three-Year Plan and Other Strategic Projects
unibz is a public-law non-state university. In addition to the third-party funds, it acquires independently for teaching and research, its core funding is largely ensured by the Autonomous Province of Bozen-Bolzano. The University’s strategic development is guided by the its Strategic Plan, which sets out its objectives, priorities and key areas of action. This framework is complemented by the Accordo programmatico-Programmabkommen between the Autonomous Province of Bozen-Bolzano and the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, thereby ensuring alignment between the University’s planning and the region’s development strategies. With respect to the quality standards of its degree and doctoral programmes, as well as the procedures for appointing academic staff, unibz complies with the regulations of the Italian Ministry of Universities and Research (MUR). As a non-state university, it may directly appoint up to 70% of its academic staff from abroad, thereby enhancing its international profile.