University of Trento
The University of Trento started in 1962 as the "Istituto Superiore di Scienze Sociali," founded by the Autonomous Province of Trento as Italy's first faculty of sociology. It ran as a private institution for two decades before being converted into a state university in 1982, under the special statute of autonomy that governs Trentino-Alto Adige — an unusual governance path shared with no other university on this site.
- City
- Trento
- Type
- Public university
- Official site
- Visit website
- Admissions
- How to apply
About the university
That social-sciences origin still shapes its character even though it's now a comprehensive university, and it consistently ranks near the top of Italian university league tables (CENSIS, among others) for a mid-sized public institution. The province's broader autonomy generally means better-funded local services than the national average, which shows up in the university's own facilities and student support.
As with our shorter-form cities, our deepest, most detailed on-the-ground support currently stays in Turin and Milan — we don't yet have the same neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood rent data or a vetted-rooms network here, and we'd rather say so plainly than pad this page with figures we haven't checked.
International applicants generally need a B2 English level (C1 recommended) for English-taught programmes, on top of the standard route: Universitaly pre-enrolment, a Declaration of Value or CIMEA comparability statement, and — depending on faculty — an entrance test or Italian-language requirement. The university also runs a scholarship programme specifically for students from conflict zones.
See the Trento city guide for what living and studying in the city looks like beyond the university itself.
Living in Trento
Rent, transport, and settling in
How applying here works
- 1
Universitaly pre-enrolment
Your application to Italy, filed on the government portal.
- 2
Declaration of Value or CIMEA
Your prior qualification, made readable to an Italian university.
- 3
Entrance test or language check
Where the faculty asks for one — this is what preparation is for.
We walk you through each step inside the portal. How the application service works, or see the full 20-step journey.