Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
The Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna holds a unique position within the Italian university system. It is both a university in its own right, offering Masters and PhD courses, while for undergraduates it works as the Honors College of the University of Pisa. Potential undergraduates undergo a rigorous public examination, and only the very best are creamed off to combine their Pisa University studies with the extra options available at our University. Students live at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna and study totally free of charge but have to get top marks in all their exams and show proficiency in two foreign languages.
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna is also integrated with the Scuola Normale Superiore, another specialized university of excellence offering different courses. Together, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, the Normale, and the University of Pisa make up the Pisa University System. This is a unique education and research model, which attracts students and researchers from all over Italy and from abroad, giving Pisa a internationally important role as a city of study, research and innovation.
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna is also a renowned research centre in the fields of Experimental Sciences (Agricultural Sciences, Engineering, Medical Sciences) and Social Sciences (Economics and Management, Law, Political Sciences). Masters and PhD courses are offered, but again only to highly proficient students from all over the world (30% of the PhD students are not Italian).
To ensure standards of excellence, admission to courses is subject to a public competitive examination. The Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna publishes calls for applications (www.sssup.it) for competitive examinations, stating the number of students that will be admitted and the selection methods for admission to the specific course or programme.
The Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna offers the following advanced courses, taught in English, for university students, graduates and professionals in the areas of Agricultural Sciences, Engineering, Medical Sciences, Economics and Management, Law, Political Sciences.