Foreign students in Italy

Abstract

The paper presents an analysis of the trends in and links between policies, practices and foreign student enrolment in Italian universities. While the number of foreign students has increased in Italy over the post-war period, the trend and composition of the flow have been affected by changes in government policies and institutional practices regarding foreign students as well as developments in countries sending large numbers of foreign students to Italy. Greek students continue to account for a large proportion of the foreign student population in Italy, but there has been a marked trend toward a reduction in the share of students from developing countries. Over time, foreign student enrolments have become more evenly distributed among faculties and institutions and by gender. Preliminary analyses of degree completion suggest that foreign students progress in their studies at rates slightly lower than Italian students.