Scholarships, eleven international degree programs, and programs that provide market-required training are just a few of the things that attract international students to the University of Verona. Enrollment for the 2023–2024 academic year closes in a month, but courses at the Verona-based university have already experienced a large increase in applications.
International students in Verona: where are they coming from?
Romania and Albania are the most common countries, accounting for 24% of the global student body. But there is also another sizable presence: 11% of the students are Iranian. They are joined by 9% from India and Pakistan, 13% from Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine, and 14% from various African countries ranging from the Maghreb to Somalia and Ethiopia.
Leading the way are two bachelor’s degrees, both in English.
Artificial intelligence has increased by 800% among master’s degrees. Indeed, the degree provides a targeted preparation that includes courses in machine learning and automatic reasoning, as well as classes in law and finance, HCI, computational game theory, and even cybercrime.
Following the AI degree, another master’s degree with substantial growth in enrollments (+96%) is Data Science, which trains in business organization and management, ethics, programming, and data protection in business organizations. In addition, market analysis of agrifood and natural resources, network science and econophysics, and data security and privacy are also offered.
Last year’s numbers and the scholarships boom
For the academic year 2022-2023, Verona University had 1,293 non-Italians enrolled, accounting for 5% of the total number of students (26,026). Thus, the results show growth relative to the pre-pandemic period, with more growth projected this year. There are now 1,230 foreign students registered, but it should be noted that students of non-Italian nationality often register last. Enrollment in master’s degrees, however, has already increased by 8.4 percent, while enrollment in single-cycle degrees has risen by 2 percent.
Scholarships are one of the elements that attract foreign students to Verona. The request for applications to sponsor non-EU students attending Verona University expired in July of this year. Over 7,500 young people auditioned for the 20 vacant positions. More than 90 countries applied, largely from Africa and South Asia, and the winners will be able to live and study in Verona for two years at no cost. Pakistan (2786), India (1238), and Iran (1074) dominated the podium, but there were also notable rises in Afghan nationalities (580 compared to 67 last year).
