Politecnico di Milano, located in Milan, Italy, is the first Italian university ever to enter the QS World Top 100. It now sits inside the global Top 90 in the latest edition. The university ranks #87 in QS World University Rankings 2027 and #6 globally in Architecture and Built Environment, the strongest current QS subject position any Italian institution occupies.

  • QS World 2027: #87 globally, #1 in Italy
  • Collegedunia Study Abroad 2026: #106 out of 824 universities tracked for Indian students
  • QS Subject 2026: #6 Architecture, #7 Design, #20 Engineering and Technology
  • THE World 2026: #201-250 globally

Note for Indian applicants: Politecnico has gained 52 positions in QS since 2023, a five-year climb no other Italian university matches. THE keeps the school in the #201-250 band, a sign that QS values its academic reputation and employer scores more than THE values its research output. For an Indian student picking a master’s in Architecture, Design or Engineering, the QS subject reading is the more relevant signal.

Read More: Politecnico di Milano Admissions 2026: Deadlines, Eligibility & Acceptance Rate for Indian Students

Politecnico di Milano Overall Rankings 2026 and 2027

Politecnico di Milano scores its strongest reading on QS at #87 globally and its weakest on ARWU at the #301-400 band. The 250-position spread depends on whether the body counts academic reputation or weighted research citations.

Ranking Body and EditionPolitecnico di Milano Rank
Collegedunia Study Abroad 2026#106 out of 824
QS World University Rankings 2027#87 globally
QS World University Rankings 2026#98 globally
Times Higher Education 2026#201-250 globally
U.S. News Best Global Universities 2025-2026#338 globally
ARWU (Shanghai) 2025#301-400 globally
CWUR 2025#336 globally

QS, THE and ARWU weigh different things: QS leans on academic reputation and employer surveys, ARWU is built largely on Nobel laureates and highly cited researchers, and Politecnico’s pull is teaching and applied design rather than pure research volume. For an Indian applicant comparing offers, the QS reading is the closer signal to graduate hiring strength.

Politecnico di Milano Rankings: Bottom Line for Indian Students

Three rank-derived signals decide whether Politecnico is the right pick for an Indian applicant: where it sits against the top IITs in QS, the size of its subject lead, and the stability of that position over five editions.

SignalPolitecnico di MilanoWhat it means for Indian applicants
QS World Rank vs. IIT Delhi 2027#87 vs. IIT Delhi #118Politecnico edges India’s top IIT by 31 positions in the same QS pool, so the global brand value of the degree compares favourably with an IIT alumni network.
QS Engineering and Technology Subject 2026#20 vs. IIT Bombay #42Politecnico ranks 22 positions ahead of IIT Bombay in the broad engineering subject, the single most relevant signal for Indian engineering applicants.
QS World 5-Year Movement (2023 to 2027)+52 positionsThe largest five-year gain by any Italian university, so the degree is appreciating in market value year by year.
Italy National Rank in QS 2027#1 in ItalyIf the offer is to a top-ranked Italian school, this is it; no other Italian university clears the QS Top 100.

Key insight

  • QS vs. THE divergence: QS reads #87 while THE places the school in the #201-250 band, a gap that shows Politecnico scores higher on academic reputation than on research output.
  • Subject anchor strength: Architecture sits inside the QS Top 10 while overall is #87, so the subject reading runs far ahead of the global reading for design and built-environment applicants.
  • Trend stability: Five straight QS editions show a rise, never a fall, while THE stayed flat and ARWU dipped one band, a sign that QS movement is the only reading reflecting upward growth.

Politecnico di Milano QS World University Rankings 2027

QS, which scores universities on academic reputation, employer opinion, research citations and employment outcomes, is the body where Politecnico di Milano has gained the most ground over five years.

The Politecnico di Milano QS ranking now reads #87 globally in QS World University Rankings 2027, up from #98 last year and #139 in 2023. Italy national rank is #1, ahead of Bologna, La Sapienza and Padova.

YearPolitecnico di Milano QS Rank
2027#87
2026#98
2025#111
2024#123
2023#139

The five-year delta is +52 positions, averaging a 10.4-position improvement every edition. The largest single-year jump came between 2025 and 2026, when the university crossed the symbolic Top 100 line to land at #98. The 2027 edition adds another 11 positions, keeping the upward direction unbroken across five releases.

Key insight: Politecnico’s QS Employer Reputation score of 90.1 out of 100 is the strongest indicator behind this climb. Hiring managers globally rate the school higher than its research-citation score (53.9) suggests, which matters most for Indian master’s graduates entering the EU job market.

For an Indian student, the practical reading is that the Politecnico QS rank now sits ahead of every IIT except IIT Delhi (#118), and the gap to IIT Bombay (#134) widens to 47 positions in QS 2027.

Read More: Politecnico di Milano Courses and Fees 2026 for Indian Students

Collegedunia Study Abroad Rankings of Politecnico di Milano

The Collegedunia Study Abroad ranking of Politecnico di Milano places the university at #106 globally in a pool of 824 international universities tracked for Indian students in 2026.

CategoryCollegedunia Study Abroad Rank 2026
Global Universities Ranking#106 out of 824
Specialist Universities Ranking#35 out of 370

The Collegedunia rank sits 19 positions below its QS rank of #87, one of the narrower CD-vs-QS gaps among Italian universities on the list. The specialist position of #35 reflects the school’s focused engineering, architecture and design portfolio rather than a broad multi-faculty model, which matches the profile most Indian engineering applicants are looking for.

What it signals: The Collegedunia score weighs course quality, India outreach and admission accessibility alongside global reputation. A specialist position of #35 places Politecnico inside the top 10% of focused technical universities open to Indian applicants.

Politecnico di Milano Times Higher Education Rankings 2026

The Politecnico di Milano THE ranking reads #201-250 globally in Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026, a band the university has occupied for several editions. THE uses teaching, research, citations and international outlook, with the largest weight on research output.

THE Ranking CategoryPolitecnico di Milano 2026 Rank
World University Rankings (overall)#201-250
Engineering subject#=63
Arts and Humanities subject#=69
Computer Science subject#101-125
Business and Economics subject#101-125
Physical Sciences subject#201-250

Engineering at #=63 sits well above the overall band, a signal that THE’s research metrics treat the engineering school more favourably than the multidisciplinary aggregate. The Computer Science position at #101-125 is the softer signal, telling an Indian master’s applicant in CS that QS is the more flattering body to cite for that subject.

India-relevance: THE Impact Rankings 2025 place Politecnico at #=19 globally for Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, the strongest position any Italian university holds in any THE table. The reading is useful for Indian applicants targeting sustainability-linked or industrial research roles in the EU.

Politecnico di Milano ARWU (Shanghai) Rankings

The Politecnico di Milano ARWU rank shifted to #301-400 in ARWU 2025, one band lower than the #201-300 position it had occupied for four straight editions from 2021 to 2024. ARWU, also called the Shanghai Ranking, weighs Nobel and Fields Medal counts, highly cited researchers and Nature or Science publications.

YearPolitecnico di Milano ARWU Rank
2025#301-400
2024#201-300
2023#201-300
2022#201-300
2021#201-300

The drop is one band over five editions, a signal of slower growth in highly cited research output relative to peer schools rather than an absolute decline. ARWU’s subject lists tell a contrary story: Aerospace Engineering sits at #15 globally and Mechanical Engineering at #46 in ARWU 2025, both inside the Top 50. An Indian applicant in those fields can effectively ignore the overall band drop.

Key insight: The 2024-to-2025 band shift in ARWU is the only negative movement Politecnico has logged on any major body in five years. Even that move is offset by the ARWU Aerospace #15 reading, which independently confirms the QS Mechanical-Aeronautical #14 subject placement.

Politecnico di Milano Other Global Rankings

The Politecnico di Milano U.S. News ranking and the Financial Times MBA ranking round out the global picture. The FT MBA cut shows the strongest single signal for management applicants.

RankingPolitecnico di Milano Rank
U.S. News Best Global Universities 2025-2026#338 globally
U.S. News Best Global Universities 2024-2025#317 globally
Financial Times Global MBA 2026 (POLIMI GSoM)#90 globally, #29 in Europe
CWUR 2025#336 globally

The 21-position drop in U.S. News between editions is the second-largest single-edition movement on the school’s rank sheet after the QS Top-100 entry. The FT MBA rank of #90 for POLIMI Graduate School of Management, the affiliated business school, is the only major business school table where any Italian school crosses into the global Top 100. The reading is useful for Indian applicants weighing one-year MBA options outside the IIM circuit.

Politecnico di Milano Subject Rankings

Politecnico di Milano subject rankings carry three Top 10 positions globally, all in the design and built-environment cluster. The Top 20 list adds Engineering and Technology as the headline cross-disciplinary placement.

Key insight

  • Architecture #6: One of only three universities outside the United States and the United Kingdom inside the QS 2026 Top 10 for this subject.
  • Design #7: Strongest Italian position in any QS subject ranking for five years; the next Italian school sits more than 80 positions below.
  • Engineering and Technology #20: 22 positions ahead of IIT Bombay (#42) and 16 ahead of IIT Delhi (#36) in the same subject pool, the strongest QS subject signal for Indian engineering applicants.

Politecnico di Milano QS Subject Rankings 2026

Two years of QS subject data show the architecture and design programmes holding the Top 10, while the core engineering disciplines have softened by 1 to 2 positions.

QS Subject20262025
Architecture and Built Environment#6#7
Art and Design#7#6
Civil and Structural Engineering#14#13
Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering#14#12
Engineering and Technology (broad area)#20Top 25

Architecture gained one position year-on-year while Mechanical Engineering slipped two. Both moves are within QS’s normal year-to-year range and do not change the practical takeaway: every flagship Politecnico programme except Computer Science sits in the global Top 20.

Politecnico di Milano QS Top 50 Subjects 2026

Five additional Politecnico subjects sit inside the QS global Top 50, covering most of the master’s portfolio Indian applicants choose:

  • Data Science and Artificial Intelligence: Top 50 globally
  • Chemical Engineering: Top 50 globally
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering: Top 50 globally
  • Materials Science: Top 50 globally
  • Mathematics: Top 50 globally

Politecnico di Milano ARWU Subject Rankings 2025

ARWU 2025 places Politecnico in four engineering subjects inside the global Top 50, with Aerospace Engineering at #15 the standout cross-body confirmation of its applied engineering strength.

ARWU Subject 2025Politecnico di Milano Rank
Aerospace Engineering#15
Automation and Control#35
Mechanical Engineering#46
Civil Engineering#49
Management#51-75
Mathematics#76-100

ARWU’s Aerospace #15 sits in the same Top 15 zone as QS’s Mechanical-Aeronautical-Manufacturing #14, so both bodies independently confirm the same applied engineering strength. For Indian applicants targeting an MS in Aerospace or Aeronautical Engineering, the cross-body signal makes this the highest-confidence subject pick at the school.

Politecnico di Milano Regional Rankings

The Politecnico di Milano regional ranking position is #1 in Southern Europe. It is the only Italian institution to occupy the top slot in the QS regional cut covering Italy, Spain and Portugal.

Regional RankingPolitecnico di Milano Rank
QS Southern Europe University Rankings 2026#1 in Southern Europe
THE Impact Rankings 2025 (Overall)#101-200 globally
THE Impact 2025: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure#=19 globally
THE Impact 2025: Reduced Inequalities#=42 globally
U.S. News Best Global Universities in Europe 2025-2026#124 in Europe
U.S. News Best Global Universities in Italy 2025-2026#12 in Italy

The QS Southern Europe #1 puts Politecnico ahead of every Spanish, Italian and Portuguese university in the same regional survey, a useful proxy for applicants weighing offers across the EU south. THE Impact #=19 in Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure is the strongest position any Italian university holds across any THE indicator.

Politecnico di Milano Rankings: Indian Student Outlook

An Indian applicant reading the Politecnico di Milano ranking for Indian students should focus on three numbers: the QS World #87, the QS Architecture and Engineering subject Top 20s, and the Collegedunia Study Abroad #106 in the India-tracked list.

The programmes Indian students most commonly pick at Politecnico di Milano cluster around its strongest subject rankings:

  • MS Computer Science and Engineering: Backed by the QS Computer Science Top 60 reading and Milan’s tech employer base.
  • MS Mechanical Engineering: Sits at QS #14 worldwide and aligns with India’s automotive and manufacturing recruitment pipeline.
  • MS Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering: ARWU #15 Aerospace is the strongest cross-body signal in the subject portfolio.
  • MS Architecture and Built Environment: QS #6 makes it the highest-ranked architecture programme an Indian student can apply to outside the Top 5 US schools.
  • MS Design (Product, Communication, Interior): Backed by the QS Design #7 placement, the only sub-Top-10 design school in mainland Europe.
India-Focused SignalReading
QS World Rank vs. Closest IIT#87 vs. IIT Delhi #118: 31-position lead
QS Engineering and Technology vs. IIT Bombay#20 vs. #42: 22-position lead
Five-Year QS Trajectory+52 positions; never moved backward
Collegedunia Study Abroad Rank#106 out of 824 India-tracked universities
Subject Anchors for Indian ApplicantsArchitecture #6, Design #7, Engineering and Technology #20

Key insight

  • CD vs. QS narrowness: Only 19 positions separate the CD #106 from the QS #87, so India-focused metrics line up closely with global perception, a sign the degree is recognised both at home and abroad.
  • Two-front lead over IITs: A 31-position lead in QS World plus a 22-position lead in QS Engineering and Technology subject means Politecnico sits above every IIT on both the world and the subject readings.
  • Stability signal: Zero negative QS movements across five editions, against an ARWU slip of one band, means the degree’s perceived value to Indian recruiters has been rising every year.

Indian applicants can cross-check rank readings against student-reported experience on the Politecnico di Milano student reviews page.

Across QS, THE, ARWU, U.S. News, FT and Collegedunia, Politecnico di Milano sits inside the global Top 100 on the QS reading, the Top 10 on three QS subjects, and #1 in Italy on QS World 2027. The 52-position QS gain across five editions plus the cross-body confirmation in Aerospace (QS Mechanical-Aeronautical-Manufacturing #14 and ARWU Aerospace #15) gives an Indian applicant high confidence that the degree’s market value will hold through a two-year master’s.

Politecnico di Milano Ranking FAQs

Ques. What is the Politecnico di Milano QS ranking in 2027?

Ans. Politecnico di Milano is ranked #87 in QS World University Rankings 2027 and #1 in Italy. The position is up from #98 in QS 2026 and #139 in QS 2023, a 52-position gain in five years.

Ques. Is Politecnico di Milano in the global Top 100?

Ans. Yes. Politecnico di Milano crossed the QS Top 100 in 2026 at #98 and now sits at #87 in QS 2027. It is the only Italian university inside the QS global Top 100.

Ques. What is the Politecnico di Milano THE ranking?

Ans. The Politecnico di Milano THE ranking is #201-250 globally in Times Higher Education 2026. The university scores higher on THE subject lists, where Engineering is ranked #=63 and Arts and Humanities is ranked #=69.

Ques. Which subject is Politecnico di Milano best known for in the rankings?

Ans. Architecture and Built Environment is the standout subject, ranked #6 globally in QS 2026. Design follows at #7, Engineering and Technology at #20, and Aerospace Engineering at #15 in ARWU 2025.

Ques. How does the Politecnico di Milano ranking compare to IIT Bombay or IIT Delhi?

Ans. Politecnico is ranked #87 in QS World 2027 against IIT Delhi at #118 and IIT Bombay at #134, leading both. In QS Engineering and Technology Subject 2026, Politecnico stands at #20, IIT Delhi at #36, and IIT Bombay at #42.

Ques. What is the Collegedunia Study Abroad ranking of Politecnico di Milano?

Ans. Politecnico di Milano is ranked #106 out of 824 universities in the Collegedunia Study Abroad Global Ranking 2026. It also occupies #35 out of 370 in the Collegedunia Study Abroad specialist universities list.

Ques. Has Politecnico di Milano’s ranking been rising or falling?

Ans. Rising on QS, flat on THE, and one band lower on ARWU. The QS rank has gained 52 positions across five editions from 2023 (#139) to 2027 (#87) with no negative movements. THE has stayed in the #201-250 band and ARWU shifted from #201-300 to #301-400 in 2025.