Admission tests

There is no single entrance exam for Italian universities. The test you need depends on three things: the program, the language it is taught in, and whether the university is public or private. This page explains the most common tests. The call for applications (bando) of your program always has the final word, so read it first.

1. How admission works

• Programs with national limited places (medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, health professions, architecture): the Ministry sets the number of places and the test is the same everywhere.
• Programs with local limited places: each university chooses its own test, very often a TOLC.
• Open-access programs: there is no competition for places, but many ask for a test to check your level. If your score is low, you get extra learning requirements (OFA) to complete in your first year.
• Master’s degrees (laurea magistrale): usually no entrance exam. The university assesses your file.
• Private universities: their own tests and calendars, often months earlier than public universities.

2. Medicine in English at public universities: IMAT

IMAT (International Medical Admissions Test) is the national test for Medicine and Surgery, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine taught in English at public universities. Italian, EU and non-EU candidates can take it, in Italy or at some authorised centres abroad. The filter semester does not apply to these programs: if you pass, you enrol directly in October.

• Format: 60 multiple-choice questions with 5 options, in 100 minutes, all in English. No calculator.
• Scoring: +1.5 for a correct answer, −0.4 for a wrong one, 0 if blank. Maximum 90 points.
• Minimum score: EU candidates and those treated as EU need at least 20 points to enter the ranking. Non-EU candidates living abroad only need a score above zero.
• The real cut-off is higher: in 2025 the first allocation for medicine closed at 54.8 points, and the most requested universities were above 60.
• Places: in 2026, 1,207 places in medicine in English for EU candidates (up from 952), plus dentistry, 45 places in veterinary medicine and separate places for non-EU candidates living abroad.
• Registration: on Universitaly only, within the dates of the yearly decree. You list your universities in order of preference, and you cannot change them after registration closes.
• 2026 dates: registration 26 August – 9 September, test on 29 September, national ranking on 26 October.
• 2027: the decree is expected in July or August 2027 and the test at the end of September 2027. These are estimates, not official dates.
• English certificate: not needed to sit the test, but some universities ask for one when you enrol.

3. Medicine in Italian at public universities: the filter semester

Since 2025/2026 there is no entrance test for medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine taught in Italian at public universities. Instead, anyone with a secondary school diploma enrols in an open first semester (semestre filtro), studies three subjects and takes three national exams. A national ranking then decides who continues. Places are still limited: 18,889 places in medicine for 2026/2027.

• Who can enrol: Italian, EU and non-EU students with a secondary school diploma, with no age limit and a maximum of three attempts.
• Registration: on Universitaly (in 2026: 13 July – 3 August), fee €250. You choose at least 10 universities for medicine and at least 5 for a related back-up program.
• Attendance is compulsory. If you do not meet it, you cannot take the exams.
• Exams: Biology, Chemistry and introductory biochemistry, and Physics. Each exam has 31 questions (21 multiple-choice and 10 fill-in) in 50 minutes, on paper, without a periodic table. +1 for a correct answer, −0.10 for a wrong one. You need at least 18/30 in each subject.
• Ranking in three groups: three exams passed (+300), two (+200), one (+100). A student who passes all three always ranks ahead of one who passes two.
• 2026/2027 dates: exams on 10 December 2026 and 11 January 2027 (the better grade counts), ranking on 22 January 2027. Registration for 2027/2028 usually opens in July.
• If you are not admitted: you can move to the related program you chose (for example biotechnology, biological sciences, pharmacy or nursing) with your credits recognised, enrol in another program until 12 March 2027, or try again next year.
• Non-EU candidates living abroad have a separate ranking.

Free official practice: semestreaperto-medodovet.it.

4. Most bachelor’s programs taught in Italian: TOLC

TOLC (Test OnLine CISIA) is the most common test for bachelor’s programs at public universities. CISIA is a consortium of more than 60 universities. The university decides which TOLC you need, and the same subject can use different TOLCs at different universities.

• Every TOLC ends with an English section: 30 questions in 15 minutes.
• Scoring: +1 for a correct answer, −0.25 for a wrong one, 0 if blank (no penalty in the English section). No calculator.
• Cost: €35 in 2026, not refundable.
• Retakes: the same TOLC once per calendar month. The university decides whether your best or your latest score counts.
• Where: at a university (TOLC@UNI) or from home with online supervision (TOLC@CASA). Not every program accepts TOLC@CASA.
• Validity: your result counts for every program that uses the same TOLC, at least for the calendar year you took it.
• Taking the test does not enrol you. You must still apply to the university.
• Book on testcisia.it. The 2027 dates were not published yet on 29 October 2026.

5. Programs taught in English: CEnT-S

Since November 2025, CISIA has replaced the English TOLCs with one test, CEnT-S, for English-taught programs in engineering, economics, pharmacy and other sciences.

• 65 questions in 6 sections, 140 minutes.
• Cost €55.
• One attempt per period. From 2026/2027 there are five periods, from November to September. Tests run in the afternoon only.
• Scores are normalised at the end of each period.
• You can take it at a university (CEnT@UNI) or from home (CEnT@casa).

6. Medicine at private universities

Private universities do not use IMAT or the filter semester. Each one has its own test and ranking, usually between February and April. You can apply to several in the same year. Figures below are from the 2026/2027 calls, as a guide until the new calls come out.

• Expected for 2027/2028: Campus Bio-Medico call at the end of October 2026 with the test in mid-February; Humanitas call between October and November; Cattolica and San Raffaele calls at the end of January.
• The first instalment after admission is usually not refundable (between €2,500 and €7,500). Compare all your dates before you pay.
• Other private universities with medicine: LUM (Bari), Link Campus, Università Europea di Roma, Kore (Enna).

7. Bocconi University (Milan)

• Accepted tests for bachelor’s programs: the Bocconi online test, the SAT or the ACT. For law programs only, also the LSAT or the Bocconi online test – Law.
• Selection: your test score counts for 55% and your grades in the last years of secondary school for 45%.
• Attempts: up to 4 attempts at the Bocconi test for 2027/2028.
• 2027/2028 dates for international applicants: book the online test by 19 January 2027; the winter application round runs from 25 November 2026 to 26 January 2027.
• Up to 50–55% of places in English-taught programs may be reserved for international applicants.

8. Master’s degrees

Most master’s programs at public universities have no national test. The university checks your file and whether you meet the course requirements.

• Usual documents: bachelor’s diploma and transcript, CV, motivation letter, language certificate, sometimes recommendation letters.
• Pre-assessment: many universities have their own portal for applicants with foreign qualifications, with deadlines that are often months earlier than for Italian students.
• Interviews: some programs add an online interview.
• GMAT or GRE: mainly asked by competitive economics and management programs. Check the program page.

Where to practise

All of these are free. Some need a free account.

• IMAT: past papers are public. This guide lists where to find them and other simulators: TestBuddy: where to practise for IMAT (a private preparation site, not an official page).
• TOLC: simulations with the real structure and timing, and past tests with explained solutions, in the CISIA practice area (free registration).
• CEnT-S: CISIA added simulations of the new test to the same practice area (CISIA announcement, CEnT-S page).
• Filter semester: the official free platform by CRUI and MUR, with basic exercises and simulations in the exam format: semestreaperto-medodovet.it.
• Private universities and Bocconi: each university publishes its own sample questions or practice tests on its admissions page. Check the page of the university you want.

Summary: which test for which program?

For language certificates, read language requirements. For documents, Universitaly pre-enrolment and the visa, read how to apply.

This site gives general information only. Rules change often, so always check the official sources.