Politecnico di Milano

Milan's own identity as a design and industrial capital feeds directly into the university's reputation — its architecture and design programmes in particular draw students from across the world specifically because of that connection to the city's design industry. Engineering spans the usual range (mechanical, civil, electronic, computer, aerospace, and more), taught across several specialised campuses rather than one single site.

A large share of Politecnico's Master's-level programmes are taught entirely in English, which makes it one of the more accessible Italian universities for students who want to study in English at graduate level while still earning a recognised Italian and EU qualification. Admission to several programmes involves a dedicated entrance test (TOLC-I for engineering, a separate test for architecture and design) — exactly the kind of exam our entrance-exam preparation course is built around.

Its scale means a genuinely large international student body and an active exchange network, but also a more competitive admissions process than a comprehensive university with broader intake — places on the more sought-after design and architecture tracks in particular are limited, so a well-prepared application and, where relevant, a strong entrance-test score both matter more here than at many other Italian universities.

See the Milan city guide for what studying here actually costs and looks like day to day — rent by neighbourhood, getting around, and settling in.