Ca' Foscari University of Venice

Venice, Italy — www.unive.it

QS Ranking
#601
Founded
1868
Type
Public Research University
Students
22,000+
Acceptance Rate
~50%
Founded
1868 in the Ca' Foscari palace (1452) — the world's most spectacular university building on the Grand Canal
QS Rank
#601–700 (2025)
Asian Studies
Italy's leading Japanese, Chinese, Korean studies — Marco Polo's city maintains its Asia connection
Venice UNESCO
The entire city is the campus — 118 islands, 177 canals, 391 bridges, all UNESCO World Heritage

Overview

Ca' Foscari University of Venice (Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, UniVe), founded in 1868 in the Ca' Foscari palace on the Grand Canal — the most magnificent university building in the world, a 15th-century Gothic palace overlooking the Grand Canal's greatest bend (the volta del Canal Grande) in the Dorsoduro sestiere of Venice — is one of Italy's most internationally distinctive universities, ranked #601–700 in QS 2025. The university takes its name and its location from the Ca' Foscari palace, built in 1452 for Doge Francesco Foscari (who ruled Venice for 34 years and expanded its mainland territory in the Lombard wars — his life was dramatised by Byron in his tragedy The Two Foscari and made into an opera by Verdi), and one of Venice's most recognisable landmarks, visible in countless paintings of the Grand Canal from Canaletto onwards. Studying in Venice is one of the world's most extraordinary academic experiences: the entire city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, every building is a work of art, and Ca' Foscari's classrooms and seminar rooms are located in medieval and Renaissance palaces on the Grand Canal and in the city's six sestieri (districts). Ca' Foscari is particularly strong in Asian languages and cultures (one of Italy's and Europe's leading centres for Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Southeast Asian studies), economics, and chemistry (with a strong focus on environmental chemistry in connection with the Venice Lagoon).

Admission Process

Apply via unive.it or Universitaly. TOLC for economics. Non-EU: Universitaly. English-medium master's: IELTS 6.5+. Asian languages: specific aptitude tests. Deadlines: April–July.

Programs at Ca' Foscari University of Venice

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