Sapienza is among the top four universities in Italy in the Academic Ranking of World Universities, published on August 15, 2021 by the independent organisation Shanghai Ranking Consultancy, with an international placement in the 151-200 bracket. The universities of Padua, Pisa and Milan are also in the same range.

There are 45 Italian universities in the ranking. Arwu considers the best 1,000 universities in the world out of an estimated 2,000 worldwide. There are six assessment parameters: Nobel prizes and Fields medals awarded to former students (10%) or researchers at the single University (20%), the number of highly cited researchers according to Clarivate Analytics (20%), publications in "Nature & Science" (20%), and technological-social publications quoted (20%). These parameters are then correlated with academic staff, giving an additional parameter of productivity per capita (10%).

2021 was a great year for Sapienza in terms of international rankings: again in June, our University was first in Italy in the international rankings of the Centre for World University Rankings (Cwur), and among the top 200 universities in the world in the QS (Quacquarelli Simonds) World University Rankings 2021.

The 2021 rankings by subject of the QS agency, published on March 3, 2021, again placed Sapienza in 1st place worldwide in Classics & Ancient History. Sapienza is the only Italian University to boast first place at the international level.