The University of Trento has been ranked in top positions by national rankings, and it is well positioned in international ones. This result is due, in particular, to the University’s success in research and to its ability to look towards Europe and the world.

The University gained recognition at international level, as confirmed by independent sources such as THE-Times Higher Education Rankings and QS-Quacquarelli Sysmonds.

Trento earned a good position in the World University Rankings 2024 by the Times Higher Education magazine, which ranks the best universities on the planet and examined 2,673 universities worldwide. The University ranked in the 351-400 group,  and is the twelfth among 57 Italian universities.

The University of Trento is now ranked 429th among the 1,500 universities ranked overall in  QS World University Rankings 2024. Of the 42 Italian universities included in the ranking, UniTrento is 11th, once again thanks to its scientific output. In the QS Graduate Employability Ranking, the graduates from UniTrento are in the 251-300 group.

The University of Trento ranks first in the Censis ranking 2023-2024 in the category of medium sized universities (those with 10,000 to 20,000 students) with a final score of 96,2/110. The ranking is determined by the score awarded in a number of areas, and UniTrento achieved the best result in the area of "internationalisation" (110 points). Very good results for "communication and digital services", the score awarded for the functionality and content of university websites (100 points), and for "facilities", which is based on the seating capacity of classrooms, libraries and computer rooms and the degree of satisfaction expressed by students (103).

In the latest Research Quality Assessment (VQR) conducted by Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes (ANVUR) in the 2015-2019 term and released on April 2022, the University of Trento ranks first for the quality of scientific outputs in its category (universities have been placed in one of four groups based on the number of publications). The assessment covered the publications and third mission case studies – projects that have had a significant impact on society – in the five-year period 2015-2019. The survey examined 134 research institutions, including 98 state and non-state universities. UniTrento participated with 666 accredited professors and researchers who submitted 1,808 research outputs and 7 third mission study cases. State universities were divided into four quartiles based on the number of submitted outputs. With regard to the outputs submitted by permanent and new researchers, the University of Trento was grouped together with 14 other universities and ranked first in its quartile for the quality of research outputs by both permanent researchers and new researchers or researchers who have achieved a career advancement. The 7 third mission study cases presented, received an average evaluation in the excellent class. The result is a confirmation of the previous VQR 2011-2014, in which the University of Trento was in top position among State universities.