Studying at the University of Messina

The story

The University of Messina was formally established by Pope Paul III in November 1548. The university also points to older teaching in the city: a law school in the late 13th century and a Greek school in the 15th century.

Its history has breaks. The Athenaeum began regular activity in 1596 and was closed in 1678 after the anti-Spanish insurrection. It was refinanced in 1838. The earthquake of 1908 killed fourteen of the forty-nine lecturers and destroyed most libraries and scientific facilities. Teaching restarted quickly, and by 1919 and 1920 all courses of the Faculty of Medicine were running again.

Today the university is spread over four campuses inside Messina. The central building in the city centre hosts the Rectorate and the departments of Law and Economics. The University Hospital sits in the southern part of the city and hosts the medical departments. Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Sciences, Physics and Earth Sciences are on the Papardo campus in the north.

Who studies here

The university has more than 25,000 enrolled students, 12 departments and 1,075 professors.

It offers 108 degree programs. The departments cover Law, Economics, Political and Juridical Sciences, Engineering, Veterinary Medicine, and Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, among others.

The single-cycle degree in Medicine and Surgery is taught in English, lasts 6 years and carries 360 credits. It belongs to the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Dental Sciences and Morpho-functional Imaging.

Programs taught in English

We list 7 Bachelor's, 9 Master's and 1 single-cycle degree at Messina taught entirely in English.

A selection of them:

• Business Management
• Civil Engineering
• Data Analysis
• Political Sciences and International Relations
• Data Science
• Engineering in Computer Science

The city

Messina sits on the northeastern tip of Sicily, where the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas meet and the Peloritan Mountains rise in between. The university calls it the gateway to Sicily and notes that it is one of the country's leading cruise ship ports. Cape Pelorus, at the extreme northern tip of Sicily, is the point where you can watch ships pass through the Strait of Messina. The summer beach season runs to November.

Messina has no airport of its own. The university lists Catania, Palermo and Reggio Calabria airports as the way in. From Catania there is a direct bus; from Palermo no direct connection (take a train or bus from its central station); from Reggio Calabria a ferry or hydrofoil across the strait. Inside the city, the university runs free shuttle buses to the Annunziata and Papardo campuses, and students pay a discounted price on city buses and trams. The Duomo is the evening meeting point for university students.

How admission works for international students

For Bachelor's and Master's programs, applicants from outside the EU who live abroad first send a pre-evaluation application on the UniME Application Portal. If the application is evaluated positively, the university sends an admission letter with the instructions to register on the Universitaly portal and continue with the visa procedure. The university confirms the acceptance on Universitaly, and that starts the visa application. A student may send two pre-evaluation applications, for two different programs.

Non-EU applicants abroad can apply in several calls a year, numbered 1 to 3 for Bachelor's and Master's degrees taught in English or Italian, and Italian-taught single-cycle degrees. The first, the Early Bird call, is for applicants who already hold final academic documents, a language certificate and a DoV or CIMEA statement. The university may close a call early. The same page lists a separate call for EU and EU-equivalent applicants, and a Foundation Course call for applicants with fewer than 12 years of schooling.

For Bachelor's programs the university asks for a high school diploma obtained after 12 years of education, a transcript of records and a passport valid for at least 18 months. Where the national education system requires it, a university entrance exam certificate is added. Country-by-country minimum entry criteria are published in a PDF. For English-taught programs, an English language certificate is required unless the applicant belongs to an exempt category.

For Master's programs, the university asks for a Bachelor's degree diploma and at least 15 years of education in total. A Departmental Commission assesses the candidate's previous qualifications against the entry requirements of the chosen program.

Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine in English are covered on our Medicine in Italy page.

Fees

From the 2025/26 academic year, Messina sets yearly tuition for international students by country of origin, in four groups, from 156 to 506 euros a year. For students from the particularly poor countries (group A, for example Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan) the cost is 156 euros, the regional tax only. India, Pakistan and Nigeria are in the 256 euro group. Tuition can be paid in one payment or in three instalments.

How we help

Messina's Early Bird call wants the final documents, a language certificate and a DoV or CIMEA statement already in hand. We tell you which of its calls you can make, keep the UniME portal, Universitaly and visa steps in one plan, and prepare the documents Messina asks for. If Messina is one of several options, we compare them with you.

Questions students ask about Messina

Rules, dates and fees change every year. Confirm them in the official call for your own year before you act on them.