The Scuola Normale Superiore is a university institution of higher education based in Pisa and Florence, currently attended by about 600 undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Since 2018 the Scuola Normale Superiore has been federated with the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa and with the Institute for Advanced Studies of Pavia, the only other two university institutions with special status that, in the Italian panorama, offer, in accordance with standards of excellence, both undergraduate and postgraduate educational activities.

It ranks first in Italy in the Per Capita Performance parameter of the "Academic Ranking of World Universities" second among Italian universities in the "Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019", and first in Italy in the Teaching parameter.