The World Reputation Ranking is based on an extensive, invitation-only opinion poll among academics. The survey asks scholars from different disciplines to nominate no more than 15 universities that they consider to be the best for research and teaching in their field.
The 2021 ranking, published on October 31, 2020, places Sapienza first in Italy, in the 101-125 bracket, followed by Bocconi (in the 126-150 bracket), Bologna and Politecnico di Milano (both in the 151-175 bracket). The 2021 ranking has been expanded to include the top 200 universities, compared to the 100 ranked in previous years.

On October 28, 2020, Times Higher Education also published the World University Rankings by Subject 2020-21. Just like last year, Sapienza ranks first for the Arts and Humanities area, (61st position, 66th position last year). It also improved its position in Physical Sciences (in the 101-125 bracket compared to 126-150 last year) and Psychology (in the 151-175 bracket compared to 176-200 last year).