The "La Sapienza" University of Rome is the best in the world, surpassed even Oxford

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March 03, 2021 La Sapienza University of Rome was named the best university in the world for 'Classical Studies & Ancient History' in the eleventh edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject, surpassing the University of Oxford (now in second place).

The university had already achieved the record in 2018, confirmed it in 2019, then falling to second position in 2020 behind the University of Oxford. La Sapienza thus confirms itself as the world leader in classical studies and the only Italian university to boast an absolute first place at an international level.

The university ranks in tenth place internationally with Archeology (in first place in Italy) and grows in the "Arts & Humanities" MacroArea, placing itself in 65 / o place (+ 16 positions compared to 2020).

"This brilliant result, the result of commitment and passion - explains the director

Antonella Polimeni

- fits into the tradition of excellence in the field of classical studies of our university, with innovative courses entirely in English, spaces for studying between statues and decorative friezes in the reading areas of the Museum of Classical Art, but also cultural operations such as those linked to the Theatron Project in which students adapt and stage Greek and Latin texts ".

"We are talking about a disciplinary area that is the founding value base of our society and as such must be preserved and transmitted to the new generations, also because it offers analysis tools and transversal skills, which make the difference in a labor market and in a social context. culture that evolves extremely rapidly ".

In the ranking by subjects, Sapienza obtains a total of 21 placements among the best 100 universities worldwide, ranking 41 / o in the world (1 / o in Italy) in Physics & Astronomy and 71 / o in the world (1 / o place in Italy) for the Macroarea Natural Sciences.

For the first time Sapienza, also in the Dentistry discipline among the top 100, in the 51-60 range.

As for the other disciplines, there are also Anthropology, Development Studies, Nursing and Psychology, all subjects in which Sapienza is in first place in Italy;

always among the top 100 universities also the following subjects: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Dentistry, History, Law, Mathematics, Modern Languages, Mechanical Engineering, Pharmacy & Pharmacology, Statistics, Theology.

The ranking

To fine-tune the QS Ranking by Subject 2021, made public on March 3, 2021, the parameters used by QS are: academic reputation and that among companies based on the opinion of recruiters around the world, citations per paper and the use of the "H-Index" on the prolificacy and impact of publications.

The subjects are divided into 5 Macro-areas: Arts & Humanities;

Engineering & Technology;

Life Sciences & Medicine;

Natural Sciences;

Social Sciences & Management.

Satisfaction also for research on Covid-19

Italian universities have achieved excellent results in the field of research on Covid-19 this year;

Italy is in fact recognized as one of the 5 best states in the world for the production of scientific research relating to Covid.

The eleventh edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject gives excellent satisfaction to the Italian university system even if there is no lack of 'dark' sides: the universities of the Peninsula have not achieved the same results in the technological or scientific disciplines.

Two Italian universities are among the top 100 for medical studies, while only one Italian institution is among the top 50 for 'information technology' (Politecnico di Milano, in 44th place).

No Italian university appears in the top 50 for Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Environmental Sciences and Mathematics. 

"The rankings highlighted areas - especially the" scientific output "and" reputation "indicators for Environmental Sciences, Informatics and other subjects of growing international importance - that Italian higher education leaders need to improve to ensure that universities are prepare to lead students - and society - into the future, ”comments

Ben Sowter

, Vice President of the Professional Services division at QS.

In the 51 rankings by subject drawn up by QS, the leading university in Italy is the Politecnico di Milano, with seven of its programs ranked among the top 50 in the world.

The spearheads of the Politecnico di Milano are 'Art and Design' (where the university wins 5th place), and 'Architecture' (10th place).

In total, six Italian departments reach the global top 10, two less than last year.

On the humanities front as a whole, eight of the 50 best institutions in the world for the study of classics and ancient history are Italian.

Only the United States has more universities (12) in the top-50 in this matter.

And Luiss is among the top 50 in the world for political science, gaining 90 positions in the rankings.

"The results achieved by Italy this year show that, in addition to offering world-class education in subjects historically present in university curricula - there is no better destination in continental Europe for students who are passionate about Classical Studies - the Italian universities have been able to masterfully face even the urgent contemporary challenges ", continues Ben Sowter.

Based on the number of programs that rank among the top twenty in their respective disciplines, Italy ranks 12th as the best 'higher education' system in the world.

In Continental Europe it is only surpassed by Germany (with 17 programs in the top-20), the Netherlands (with 27 programs), and Switzerland (with 40 programs).

The rankings, compiled by global QS higher education analysts, provide a comparative analysis of the performance of 13,883 undergraduate programs from 1440 universities across 51 academic disciplines and 5 Faculty Areas.