Composition of the Italian higher arts education system

01 Composition of the Italian higher art education system

As of June 30, 2022, Italy has:

20 public academies of fine arts (Accademie di Belle Arti Statali, ABA);

18 private academies of fine arts (Accademie Legalmente Riconosciute, ALR) were established in 18 regions;

59 conservatori di Musica Statali (CON), 4 of which have branches;

18 private higher conservatories (Istituti Superiori di Studi Musicali non Statali (ISSM – ex Istituti Musicali Pareggiati);

5 Higher Istituti Superiori per le Industrie Artistiche Statali (ISIA);

1 National Academy of Dance (Accademia Nazionale di Danza Statale, AND);

1 National Higher School of Drama (Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Statale, ANAD);

37 Italian universities and private art institutes recognized by the Ministry of Research (altri soggetti privati autorizzati a rilasciare titoli AFAM con valore legale);

The 159 institutions mentioned above constitute the Italian higher art education system (AFAM).

Beginning with the 2010/2011 academic year, the number of private art academies recognized by the Italian Universities and Research Department has continued to increase over the past 10 years, accounting for 20% of the total number of AFAM institutions.

02 Geographical distribution characteristics of Italian higher art schools

(Must See)

The geographical distribution of AFAM institutions is shown in the figure above, as can be seen from the figure, mainly in lombardy in the north, Lazio in the center and Sicily in the south. In terms of music education, northern Italy has the largest number of colleges and universities, with a total of 42, accounting for 49% of music colleges. Of these, 67 per cent are public conservatories. In terms of art education (including: fashion, design, stage art, etc.), public academies of fine arts are mainly concentrated in southern Italy and islands (accounting for 50% of the total number of public art academies), while in northern Italy, private art schools are more concentrated (accounting for 51% of private colleges). The Higher Institute of Arts and Crafts (ISIA) is mainly concentrated in central Italy.

03The number of courses offered by italian higher art schools

The total number of courses offered by AFAM in the 2020/2021 academic year totaled more than 5,300 (at least one enrolled student), with 80% of the courses offered in public institutions. Among public colleges and universities, 87% of the classes are taught in public music colleges and 13% are in public art schools.

The number of courses offered at the undergraduate level is 2756 (51%), the number of courses offered at the master's level is 2272 (42%), and the number of cultural relics and art restoration courses is 8. In the past 10 years, the number of courses offered by higher art colleges has increased by 20%.

04 Up-to-date data on the number of enrolled students

In the 2020/2021 academic year, the total number of students enrolled in the school was 80,671, of which 73.4% were undergraduates, 25.3% were master's students, and 0.6% were post-diploma students. There are still 0.7% of students enrolled in the school as Vecchio Ordinamento (Vecchio Ordinamento) students (which have been gradually cleared). 37.3% of the students are music (of which 30.4% are students of public conservatories), and the remaining 62.7% of the students are art, design, fashion and stage art (of which 33.9% are students of public academies of fine arts). The number of students enrolled at AFAM institutions continues to grow by 9% per year (undergraduate and master's).

Compared to the 2011/2012 academic year, the number of students enrolled at AFAM institutions in Italy increased by 69% in 10 years. Among them, art students increased by 59%, and music students increased by 98%.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of students enrolled in the 2020/2021 academic year increased by 4% compared to the previous year (2019/2020). Among them, art students increased by 3.7%, and music students increased by 4.5%.

In the 2020/2021 academic year, the total number of enrolled students in public institutions was 66.2%. This represents a 3.2% increase in the number of students enrolled in the previous year (2019/2020). Enrollment at private institutions increased by 1.6 per cent.

In terms of the geographical distribution of students, the largest number of enrolled students is distributed in northern Italy, accounting for 45.3%, especially in the Lombardy region (25 institutions). Another feature is that the number of registered students in northern Italy is mainly in the arts, design and stage arts categories. In southern Italy, 30.1% of students are enrolled. Mainly music (52.3%). The region with the highest concentration is campania. The number of registered students in central Italy accounts for 24.7%, mainly public art academies, with the Lazio region having the highest concentration of students.

In the 2020/2021 academic year, 43% of the enrolled students in private institutions are in art and design, and 18% are in music. In northern Italy, 63 per cent of the students enrolled in private conservatories.

Of the enrolled students, 57 per cent were girls and the proportion was relatively stable. In music colleges, male students account for 60%.

05 "Internationalization" of Italian higher art schools

1. Number of international students, in the 2020/2021 academic year, the number of foreign students enrolled in Italian higher art schools was 12,587 (15.6%). Judging from the dynamics of the past 10 years, the new crown epidemic has caused a certain impact. The number of registrations for foreign students fell by 2.6% compared to the 2019/2020 academic year before the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. Foreign students in art and design colleges account for 74% of the total number of international students; The number of foreign students enrolled in music institutions (26% of the total number of international students) increased by 2.5% compared to the 2019/2020 academic year before the COVID-19 pandemic.

3. Among international students, 64% are girls, and the proportion of fine arts is greater than that of music;

4. Country distribution: Asian students account for 72% of the current students (including 87% in China, 2% in Iran, and 4% in South Korea). Thanks to the "Turandot" program.

5. Geographical distribution of international students, mainly in northern Italy (55.6%), central Italy (33.7%).

6. In the past 10 years, the number of international students has continued to grow (Chinese students should contribute the most - Editor's Note); Art and design students rose from 6.7% to 11.5%; However, there has been a slight decline in the impact of the new crown epidemic. The number of international student registrations in music schools increased by between 3-4%.

7. International students mainly choose public institutions, with the exception of art and design, and about 50% of international students in northern Italy choose private art schools.

8. Exchange program students: In the 2019/2020 academic year, a total of 1074 students (mainly Italian students, editor's note) participated in various exchange programs abroad, of which 62% were art students and 38% were music and dance; The number of international students who went to Italy to participate in the exchange program was 892, 72% were art students, and the remaining 28% were music and dance classes. The overall situation of the exchange project is shown in the figure below.

06 Statistics of graduates of Italian higher art schools

(Must See)

1. In 2020, Italy's higher art academies awarded degrees to 18,294 students, of which 64.7% were bachelors (I Livello), 3.4% were pre-reform institutional students, and 2.7% were advanced refresher courses;

2. In the last 10 years, the number of graduates from italian higher art schools has increased by 66%, and only a slight decrease (0.2%) in the 2019/2020 academic year, mainly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficulty of remote graduation defense;

3. 63% of graduates are concentrated in fine arts academies (especially public academies of fine arts), and the other 37% are in music (mainly public conservatories).

4. Of the graduates, 58.4 per cent were women, of which 68 per cent were art colleges and 42 per cent were music graduates.

5. In terms of the age distribution of graduates, 95% of the undergraduate graduates of art schools (I Livello) are in the age group of 20-24 years old (the total number of graduates is 6500, while the undergraduate and master's degree students in the 25-29 age group account for nearly 47% of the students). As far as music schools are concerned, the distribution of all age groups is roughly balanced, mainly in the two age groups of 20-24 and 25-29 years old.

6. The most important thing is (Editor's note): International students account for 17% of the graduates of Italian higher art schools. Among them, 50% are bachelor's degree (I Livello), 40% are master's degree (II Livello) and 10% are advanced refresher course qualifications. Art graduates accounted for 78% and music for 22%. Of the international students who graduated, 68 per cent were women. Among them, art students accounted for 70%, and music students accounted for 61%.

07 Faculty of Italian higher art schools

As of the 2020/2021 academic year, the total number of teachers at different levels in Italian higher art academies exceeded 19,000, of which 16,292 were teachers and 3,360 were non-teachers.

1. As far as teaching positions are concerned, private institutions are mainly engaged by experts and teachers (accounting for 80% of the number of teaching positions), while public institutions are mainly long-term contract and fixed-term contract positions, and long-term contract positions account for 50% of teachers;

2. Female teachers account for 34% of the total number of teachers (including 39% in fine arts and 29% in music);

3. The number of non-teacher management staff in public institutions remains stable (about 2,000).

Note: The above 159 institutions are all institutions recognized by the Italian and Chinese education authorities. Data on art academies in the Italian higher education system are based on this and will be dynamically updated annually by the Italian Educational Centre in the future.