The Universita degli Studi dell'Insubria is located in Como and Varese with other campuses in Busto Arszizio and Saronno in Italy. It was founded in 1998 and was named after its regional location of Insubria.
The university can trace its origins back to 1972 when a university centre had been established in Varese following an extension of the University of Pavia. Following a number of extensions from various universities in the area, the Universita degli Studi dell'Insubria was given university status in July 1998.
There are seven departments at the university which include biotechnology and life sciences; law, economics and culture; economics; medicine and surgery; science and high technology; theoretical and applied sciences and human sciences and innovation.
The university provides 22 undergraduate degree programmes, 12 master's courses, 26 specialisation schools in the medical and dental area and eight PhD courses.
There are four libraries affiliated with the university with over 100,000 volumes of books and magazines and approximately 50,000 subscriptions to electronic magazines. The library system includes the library of economics, the law library, the Varese library of medicine and sciences and the Como library of sciences. There are two university colleges and two sports facilities.
The institution provides up to 40 scholarships for students as well as over 150 international mobility agreements with universities around the world including in France, Germany, Iceland, Lithuania, Poland and Greece.
The university focuses on four core values which are freedom, respect, excellence and motivation and merit.
There are a number of activities that the university holds to highlight the work it does to students, families, schools and future students. These include The Researchers' Night, Concert Season, The Scientific Degrees Plan and various exhibitions throughout the year.