The University of Palermo (UNIPA) is a consolidated cultural, scientific and teaching presence in central-western Sicily. Its 5 Schools and 20 Departments cover the most important domains of contemporary scientific and technological knowledge.

About 122 courses (first and second cycle) are yearly offered as well as 44 master and specialization and 23 PhD courses, targeted to the training of specific professional figures, often in cooperation with external institutions and companies - a galaxy which attracted 11,085 first-year students in 2013/2014 academic year. The University General Hospital is a local health corporation that works in synergy with the Faculty of Medicine. It provides beds, day-hospital beds, and a first-aid service.

UNIPA is also present in Agrigento, Caltanissetta e Trapani.

There is a closed link between UNIPA and the labor market: 3^rd students of 1^st cycle degree courses and 2^nd year students of the 2^nd cycle experience practice periods within public or private companies and agencies.

Research activities

Palermo University has 20 Departments, where researchers study every day to find new solutions to the questions posed by nature, science, and society. From Information Technology to Biology, from Mathematics to Medicine, to Social Sciences and Preservation of Cultural Heritage, the University works to make its contribution of innovation and progress to the international scientific community and the world of production.

In the laboratories – many of which are open to the local community – the first step of collaboration between researchers in the academic world and in the business world are taken, basic and applied research is carried out, and young brains are given the chance to turn their intuitions to good account. Here scientific research finds its application in robotics, pharmaceutical industry, ecology, and medical diagnostics. Successful technological transfer implies the full synergy of innovative technologies, scientific expertise, production systems, and processes. Actually, it is necessary to implement a full-fledged system including the “know-how”, production processes, goods, services, and organizational and operational skills.

In order to contribute to achieving this goal, the University of Palermo has set up a network of University labs (UniNetLab) for testing and transferring new technologies to SMEs.

UniNetLab is the natural evolution of single consolidation actions of some University labs. It aims at the technological innovation of enterprises for the economic recovery of Southern Italy. The University labs integrated system has been conceived to create synergies among the different types of expertise available. It is also meant to be a centre of reference for other activities of technological transfer of the Universities and research entities operating in our region, in view of using financial resources better and reaching the necessary critical mass of operators in the sector.

In operational terms, UniNetLab ensures the scientific and administrative coordination among the various research units. Nevertheless, each unit is autonomous as to the relations with enterprises which, therefore, can directly apply to the single facilities whose expertise they are interested in.

BSc (Honours) Nursing

Graduates are health professionals in nursing sciences, who carry out activities for the prevention, treatment, and protection of individual and collective health in a very broad territorial context. The degree course has a duration of 3 years. Alongside the frontal teaching activity, there is a parallel guided internship path, in which the student learns and applies interventions aimed at planning the work in the nursing field.

MS Business & Economic Sciences - Curriculum Entrepreneurship and Management

The Master Course in “Business & Economic Sciences”, curriculum Entrepreneurship and Management, provides students with a solid knowledge of business, management, economic, mathematics, and statistics. The course enables students to work in the different areas of business of private and public companies. By learning how to develop and apply qualitative and quantitative knowledge, graduates acquire the qualifications for future challenges in business and management.

MS Complex Administrations and Organizations Science - Curriculum Public Management

The Master’s Degree in Public Management aims to teach how to support coordination
in policy design, implementation, and performance management, between the different components of the public sector. The Master program provides the possibility to obtain a double degree with the Corvinus University of Budapest (Hungary)
or with the University of Hanoi (Vietnam).

MS Economic and Financial Sciences - Curriculum Economic and Financial Analysis

The Master Degree program in Economic and Financial Analysis provides a solid background into advanced knowledge of macro and microeconomics, the functioning of financial markets, of the banking sector, and into quantitative methods aiming to train economists working for the private, public sector and for international organizations, as well as consultants for the financial services sector.

MS Electronics Engineering

The Master Degree program in Electronics Engineering provides the answer to the need for transversal applications, including photonics, nanoelectronics, smart cities, Internet of Things, automotive, telemedicine and e-health. Four curricula are offered: Modern Electronics; Telecommunications; Bioelectronics; Robotics and Mechatronics.

MS International Relations - Curricula International Trade & International Studies

In a stimulating multicultural environment, the Master’s Degree in International Relations, with its two curricula in International Trade and International Studies, offers students the opportunity to study from a multidisciplinary perspective the complexities of the international
context and the fundamental dynamics of doing business globally. The Master program provides also an international mobility agreement with the Foreign Trade University in Hanoi (Vietnam).

MS Mediterranean Food Science and Technology 

The course aims to provide detailed knowledge on food processes of the Mediterranean area. Food chemistry, technology and microbiology are mainly represented.
Several laboratory sessions on sensory analysis of foods and meeting with national food-beverage companies are provided during lessons. Activity based on Agro-industry sustainability and food marketing are also included.

MS Neurosciences

The Master of Science in Neurosciences trains an expert in Neuroscience and Neurobiology, a manager in research divisions aimed at creating new drugs, new bio-engineering technologies for the management, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the central and peripheral
nervous system.

MS Tourism Systems and Hospitality Management 

The Master of Tourism Systems and Hospitality Management, stemming from an agreement between the University of Palermo and the Chaplin School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Florida International University (FIU), helps graduates prepare for the next
step in their career in the global tourism and hospitality industry. Skills for managerial-
level positions and high level of internationalization are two of main distinctive characteristics of this Master degree.

MS Transnational German Studies

The Joint Degree ‘Transnational German Studies’ has been developed by the four universities of Porto, Luxemburg, Mainz and Palermo. The Master degree program, almost entirely taught in German, provides a high level of training in both the linguistic historical-literary fields, together with work experience in internships and laboratories to be held in the Countries of the proposing Universities.

MS Cooperation, Development and Migrations

The Master Degree program provides the students with knowledge and skills required to understand development issues, adopting a fair and sustainable approach, both on a local and an international level. Teaching and traineeships, both in English and in Italian, follow a multidisciplinary approach, and the students are involved in many international teaching programs and postgraduate placement around the World.

1. Architecture, arts and planning (Int.)
2. Biomedicine, neuroscience and advanced diagnostics (Int.)
3. Civil, environmental and materials engineering
4. System dynamics (Int.)
5. Human rights: evolution, protection and limits (Int.)
6. Energy and information technologies
7. Health promotion and cognitive sciences (Int.)
8. Information and communication technologies (Int.)
9. Technological innovation engineering
10. Mathematics and computational sciences
11. Molecular and clinic medicine
12. Experimental oncology and surgery
13. Legal pluralisms. Old and contemporary perspectives (Int.)
14. Agricultural, food and forest sciences
15. Culture sciences
16. Earth and sea sciences
17. Economics and statistics sciences (Int.)
18. Physical and chemical sciences (Int.)
19. Molecular and biomolecular sciences
20. Humanistic studies (Int.)
21. Technology and science for human health

For each of the PhD courses at least one scholarship is reserved for foreign students!