The Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies () is a special-statute, highly selective public research university located in Pisa, Italy. Together with the University of Pisa and Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, it is part of the Pisa University System.
The rector is Nicola Vitiello, who took office on 8 May 2025, succeeding Sabina Nuti (rector from 7 May 2019). Before her, the rector of the school was Pierdomenico Perata, elected on 8 May 2013 after the resignation of Maria Chiara Carrozza, due to her election as Member of Parliament and appointment as Minister of Education, University and Research.
Since January 2014, the school has been presided over by Yves Mény, until the School joined the first Federation of Universities in Italy, together with two among the other twenty Scuole Superiori Universitarie (Grandes Écoles): Scuola Normale Superiore and Scuola Superiore Studi Pavia IUSS. Before him, the president was Giuliano Amato, a former prime minister of Italy and currently judge of the Constitutional Court.
The undergraduate Allievi Ordinari of the School are selected through a public examination. They are all awarded a full government-funded scholarship which includes accommodation, canteen, research and travel grants. In exchange, they are expected to hold the highest standards in their studies at both the School and at the partner Universities.
History The present-day Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies is the descendant of several institutions modelled on the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, also known in Italian as Scuola Normale, which is a higher learning institution in Pisa. It was founded in 1810, by Napoleonic decree, as a branch of the École normale supérieure of Paris.
The school, whose origins, in the context of the Pisa university reality, are rooted in the Collegio Medico-Giuridico already attached to the Scuola Normale Superiore and the Collegio Antonio Pacinotti, and was formally established by the Law of 14 February 1987, No. 41, which marked the unification of the Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e di Perfezionamento Law (7 March 1967), No. 117, and the Conservatorio di Sant'Anna, the Royal Decree of 13 February 1908 No. LXXVIII.
Origins of Sant'Anna
Sant'Anna Church and Convent The present-day site is acquired from a very ancient religious educational establishment. The Sant'Anna Church and Convent was established in 1406, while the church was finished in 1426, by the Order of the Benedictine Nuns (OSB). Conservatorio di Sant'Anna In 1785, the Conservatorio di Sant'Anna was initiated by the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor as a consequence of abolition of the religious orders due to Leopold's reforms; the convent was suppressed in 1786. Conservatorio di Sant'Anna, an educational institution; later under the tutelage of the Ministry of Education of the Kingdom of Italy and the Italian Republic. Sant'Anna replaced Antonio Pacinotti in 1987, when the School gained its current headquarters. In 1987 the Benedictine Nuns dedicated the Sant'Anna Church and Convent to the Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e Perfezionamento (previously the Collegio Medico-Giuridico of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa), provided the School carried the name of Sant'Anna. The origins of Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies within Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa: the Scuola Normale Superiore was founded in 1810 by Napoleonic decree, as twin institution of the École normale supérieure in Paris, itself dating back to the French Revolution jurisdiction. The term "École normale" ("Scuola Normale") was coined by Joseph Lakanal who, in submitting a report to the National Convention of 1794 on behalf of the Committee of Public Instruction, explained it thus: "Normales: du latin norma, règle. Ces écoles doivent être en effet le type et la règle de toutes les autres." The Decree of Foundation - Napoleon I rethought the project of an École normale in 1808, by establishing a Normale Hall of Residence in Paris to house young students and train them in the art of teaching the humanities and sciences. The project was replicated in Tuscany by a decree dated 18 October 1810, with the foundation in Pisa, seat of one of the Imperial University academies, of a branch of the Paris-based École normale supérieure, "Scuola Normale Superiore". The Grand-Duchy Period: 1847–1859 - on 28 November 1846, a grand-ducal motu proprio founded a Tuscan Scuola Normale in Pisa (also referred to as the Imperial Royal Scuola Normale, as it was linked to the Austrian system), with both theoretical and practical aims, under the patronage of the Order of Saint Stephen, but depending on the University of Pisa.Nicola Bellini, Nadio Delai (a cura di), Merito, Ambizione, Collegialità: il contributo della Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna alla formazione della classe dirigente , ETS, Pisa (2009) The Scuola Normale during the Kingdom of Italy: 1859–1862 - on 17 October 1862 the Minister of Education of the Kingdom of Italy Carlo Matteucci implemented new regulations in a decree that transformed the institution to the Normal School of the Kingdom of Italy, which was to have an organic division between the faculties of Arts and Sciences. The Scuola Normale under Gentile: 1928–1943 - philosopher Giovanni Gentile, was placed at the head of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa as commissioner in 1928 and as director in 1932. He reformed the Scuola, gave it formal autonomy and sought an expansion to other disciplines, with the creation of the Collegio Mussolini per le Scienze Corporative (1931), and the Collegio Nazionale Medico (1932). The new colleges were later merged to form the Collegio Medico-Giuridico, which continued to operate (in the fields of Law and Medicine) under the jurisdiction of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa.Nicola Bellini, Nadio Delai (a cura di), Merito, Ambizione, Collegialità: il contributo della Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna alla formazione della classe dirigente, ETS, Pisa, 2009 Post-war Period - Scuola Normale Superiore in 1951, established the Antonio Pacinotti boarding school i.e. Collegio ‘Antonio Pacinotti, reserved to students of the faculties of Agriculture, Economics and Engineering, with plans to be further opened to other faculties. The origins of present-day structure of Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies: the present structure of Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies was established in 1967 as Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e Perfezionamento, by a merger of the Collegio Antonio Pacinotti (Scuola per le Scienze Applicate A. Pacinotti; founded 1951), and the Collegio Medico-Giuridico of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. The new institution, committed to the model established by the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, was administered by the University of Pisa. Establishment of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies; Law of 14 February 1987 No. 41 - Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e di Perfezionamento Sant'Anna. In 1987 Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies acquired complete independence (Law of 14 February 1987, No.41) and maintains strong ties with both the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and the University of Pisa, creating the Pisa University System.
The present-day structure
Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and the University of Pisa create the Pisa University System. The Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies has been given separate university status by the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (Italy) and together with Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa is leading the model of Scuole di Eccellenza, i.e. Superior Graduate School in Italy (Grandes écoles)
Organization Students are admitted after passing public national and international competitions. Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies offers to those who decide to take excellence, a multi-disciplinary approach to learning, research, and internationalization.
Academics and research Students are admitted after passing public national and international competitions. The fields of study and research are: +ClassSubjectsSocial Sciences ClassBusiness Sciences, Economic Sciences, Legal Sciences, Political SciencesExperimental Sciences ClassAgricultural Sciences, Medical Sciences, Industrial Engineering, Information Engineering
Undergraduate programs Prospective undergraduates undergo a rigorous public examination, and only the very best are creamed off to combine their Pisa University studies with the extra options available at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, thus these students are called Honors College Students (). Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna is also integrated with the Scuola Normale Superiore and Honors College Students are free to attend courses provided by departments other than their own, as well as those provided by the Scuola Normale Superiore.
, 50 freshmen are admitted per year, equally divided between the Class of Social Sciences and the Class of Experimental Sciences. The School offers all of its services free of charge (accommodation, canteen, internet connection, library); students also receive a small yearly income for their maintenance. While attending the Pisa University courses, the Honors College Students (allievi) live in the school's college. Students have to achieve a high average grade in university exams (at least 27/30) and attend internal courses (including foreign language classes offered in French, Spanish, German and Chinese) taught by professors and researchers working at the School, both as an integration and as an extension to the regular academic schedule.
Graduate programs The School also offers graduate courses such as master and doctoral programmes, provided by its research laboratories and joint ventures with foreign universities, leading enterprises and international organizations.
Doctoral programs (PhD) The first institution in Italy to create a doctoral program (PhD) was Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa in 1927 under the historic name "Diploma di Perfezionamento". Research doctorates or PhD (Italian: Dottorato di ricerca) in Italy were introduced with law and Presidential Decree in 1980 (Law of 21 February 1980, No. 28 and the Presidential Decree No. 382 of 11 July 1980), referring to the reform of academic teaching, training and experimentation in organisation and teaching methods.
Hence, the Superior Graduate Schools in Italy (Grandes écoles) (Italian: Scuola Superiore Universitaria), also called Schools of Excellence (Italian: Scuole di Eccellenza) such as Scuola Normale Superiore and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies still keep their reputed historical "Diploma di Perfezionamento" PhD title by law and MIUR Decree.
The Doctoral Programmes at Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies grant Diploma di Perfezionamento, a degree fully equivalent to a PhD and are recognized International Doctoral Programmes involving various forms of collaboration and joint ventures with foreign universities.
Post-doctoral education and research There are also worldwide important international corporations and industrial partners that are closely linked to Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, such as: the nearby Piaggio where there are special Sant'Anna Laboratories at the Polo Sant'Anna Valdera (PSAV), which contributes to the industrial process, Leonardo, Fiat (Centro Ricerche Fiat), Telecom Italia, Marconi Communications, Ericsson Research, Deutsche Telekom, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd, etc.