There is no single entrance exam for studying in Italy in English. Which test you sit, and whether you sit one at all, depends on the subject and the university. We went through the 2026/27 admission rules of the Italian public universities that teach degrees in English, program by program, and this guide is what they add up to. Each test has its own guide, linked from the table below.
Which cycle this covers
Everything below comes from the official calls and rules for 2026/27 entry, the latest complete cycle. The 2027/28 calls are starting to appear and several changes are already announced (see the last section). Always read the call for your program and your year.
The short answer, by subject
- Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary MedicineThe IMAT is one national test a year, for state universities
- Nursing, Dental Hygiene, other health professionsNational test, sat in English in Italy
- Engineering, computer science, sciences, pharmacyThe alternatives apply at some universities
- Economics and businessCEnT-S often counts only maths and reasoning; a few universities need no test
- Humanities, law, politicsWhich one depends on the university
- PsychologyPadua uses an English test on the CISIA platformCISIA English testCEnT-S
- ArchitectureSet by ministerial decree, run in English by each university
- DesignUniversity's own test
- Any Master's degreeThe university assesses your Bachelor's degree, sometimes with an interviewUsually no test
Three questions that matter more than the test's name
1. Does the test decide admission, or only place you?
Some programs have a fixed number of places and admit by ranking: your score is what gets you in. Others are open access: you must sit a test, but any score lets you enrol. A low score only adds extra first-year work (called OFA) that you must clear. The same test can play either role, so check which one your program uses.
2. Are you a non-EU applicant living abroad?
If you need a student visa, you usually apply through a separate quota of places, with its own ranking and an earlier timetable. Several universities ran their non-EU calls between January and May 2026, and some required test results before you could even apply. Some universities also accept a different test for you: Pavia's Artificial Intelligence degree takes the SAT for visa applicants and CEnT-S for everyone else.
3. Which parts of the score count?
Economics and business programs that use CEnT-S often count only the mathematics and reasoning sections, and set their own minimum on those. Two universities can read the same CEnT-S result very differently.
CEnT-S: CISIA's English test for Bachelor's degrees
In November 2025 CISIA, the consortium that runs Italy's university admission tests, replaced its English TOLC tests (English TOLC-I, TOLC-E and TOLC-F) with one English test: CEnT-S. CISIA lists 19 universities that use it, including Sapienza, Padua, Pisa, Politecnico di Milano, Milan Statale, Trento, Florence, Pavia and Trieste, and other universities accept it for individual programs. Politecnico di Torino joins from 2027/28, and accepts only the version sat in person. Our CEnT-S guide covers it in full.
| CEnT-S for 2026/27 entry | |
|---|---|
| Sections | Mathematics 15, reasoning on texts and data 15, biology 10, chemistry 10, physics 5 |
| Length | 55 questions in 110 minutes |
| Scoring | 1 point right, 0 blank, minus 0.25 wrong, then normalised by CISIA after each test period |
| Where | At a university, or online from home in the country you declare when booking |
| How often | Once per test period; four periods ran from November 2025 to October 2026 |
| Valid for | 2026/27 enrolment |
Each university sets its own minimum and its own weighting. In 2026/27 Padua asked non-EU applicants for a weighted score of 38 for Information Engineering but 10 for Economics, Governance and Decision-Making.
Old English TOLC results are a grey area. Some 2026/27 calls still accepted them (Sapienza, Pisa); others refused them (Ca' Foscari, Bologna's International Studies).
The SAT, and why its minimum is never the same twice
Many universities accept the SAT, especially for economics and engineering, and some economics degrees at Bologna admit on the SAT alone. But every call sets its own minimum. In 2026/27 that meant 650 in each section at Politecnico di Torino, 1100 for Bologna's EPOS degree, 979 for visa applicants to Pavia's Artificial Intelligence degree, usually 960 at Sapienza and 880 at Ca' Foscari. Some calls set no minimum and simply rank by score. Never assume one university's figure applies to another; our SAT guide lists them program by program.
The university's own test
Several universities write their own test, usually online: Politecnico di Milano for engineering (TOL) and design (TOLD), Trento for its legal studies degree, Florence for Sustainable Business, Ca' Foscari for Philosophy, International and Economic Studies, Genoa and Marche Polytechnic for non-selective placement checks. Medicine at MEDTEC (Politecnico di Milano with Humanitas) also uses its own test rather than the IMAT.
Degrees with no test at all
Some English-taught Bachelor's admit international students on documents alone: your school results, English certificate and sometimes a motivation letter, video or interview. In 2026/27 this included Economics and Management at Siena, Global Studies at Parma, Social Sciences for Global Challenges at Pavia, the economics degrees at Cassino, the economics and engineering degrees at Palermo, Global Governance at Tor Vergata (with an interview) and Global Health at Salerno (with a motivational video). "No test" does not mean "no selection": these programs still rank applicants on their documents.
The national tests: medicine, health professions, architecture
- IMAT for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine taught in English: a paper test of 60 questions in 100 minutes, held on 29 September 2026. Non-EU applicants living abroad are ranked at the one university where they pre-enrolled. Private medical schools choose students with their own tests earlier in the year (guide). Full details in our IMAT guide.
- Health professions (Nursing, Dental Hygiene and similar): a national format of 60 questions in 100 minutes, prepared by each university. The English sitting was on 17 September 2026, in Italy only. English-taught nursing ran at Sapienza, Vanvitelli and Palermo, and Dental Hygiene at Parma (guide).
- Architecture: 50 questions in 100 minutes across five areas, including drawing, set by ministerial decree and run by each university, with an English version required for English-taught courses. The result only counts at the university that ran it. Many universities use CISIA's version, TEST ARCHED. Politecnico di Torino ran its own TIL-A (guide).
Master's degrees
There is no national test for a Master's. By law each university checks that your Bachelor's covers the right subjects and assesses your preparation, often with an interview. Among public universities, GMAT and GRE are rarely required; where they appear they are usually optional or worth extra points. A handful of programs set their own written test, including several business and economics Master's at Ca' Foscari and a few at Milan Statale, Turin, Sapienza, Salerno, Genoa and Parma.
University by university
Italian public universities with an English-taught Bachelor's or single-cycle degree, and how international applicants were admitted in 2026/27. Search by university, city, subject or test.
| University | English-taught Bachelor's and single-cycle degrees, and how international applicants get in |
|---|---|
| Politecnico di Milano Milan |
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| Politecnico di Torino Turin |
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| University of Bologna Bologna and campuses |
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| University of Padua Padua and Venice |
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| University of Milan (Statale) Milan |
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| University of Milano-Bicocca Milan and Bergamo |
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| University of Pavia Pavia |
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| University of Turin Turin |
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| University of Genoa Genoa and Imperia |
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| University of Parma Parma and Piacenza |
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| Sapienza University of Rome Rome |
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| University of Rome Tor Vergata Rome |
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| University of Naples Federico II Naples |
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| University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli Naples and Caserta |
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| University of Cassino Cassino |
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| University of Salerno Salerno |
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| University of Messina Messina |
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| University of Palermo Palermo |
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| University of Catania Catania |
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| University of Bari Bari |
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| Politecnico di Bari Bari |
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| University of Cagliari Cagliari |
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| Ca' Foscari University of Venice Venice |
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| University of Trento Trento |
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| University of Trieste Trieste |
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| University of Udine Udine |
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| University of Siena Siena |
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| University of Pisa Pisa |
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| University of Florence Florence |
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| Marche Polytechnic University Ancona |
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| University of Chieti-Pescara Pescara |
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| University of Macerata Macerata |
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| University of Camerino Camerino |
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| University of Teramo Teramo |
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Public universities that teach in English only at Master's level: Roma Tre, Calabria, Verona, IUAV Venice, L'Aquila, Foggia, Sannio, Eastern Piedmont, Modena and Reggio Emilia, Ferrara and Insubria.
What changes for 2027/28
- CEnT-S: CISIA has announced five test periods from November 2026, and its structure page shows a longer test of 65 questions in 140 minutes, with an English reading section.
- Politecnico di Torino drops the TIL-I and moves to CISIA's tests: CEnT-S for international applicants, and only tests sat in person count. Read our guide.
- Private medical schools: Cattolica's 2027/28 call is out, with applications closing on 17 February 2027 and the online exam on 17 March 2027.
- The IMAT, architecture and health-professions rules for 2027 come in the ministry's decrees, published closer to each test.
- Non-EU calls open early. Messina's early application round runs from 1 to 20 December 2026, with later rounds from 2 February to 19 March and from 8 April to 8 May 2027. Padua's non-EU window for its restricted-access programs runs from 7 January to 7 March 2027. If you are applying from outside the EU, plan your test for the winter, not the summer.
Questions applicants ask
Usually, for a Bachelor's or a single-cycle degree, though not always: some programs admit on documents alone. Master's degrees rarely have a test. The test depends on the subject and the university.
No. In November 2025 CISIA replaced its English TOLC tests with the CEnT-S. Some 2026/27 calls still accepted older English TOLC results and others did not.
The IMAT for the English-taught medicine, dentistry and veterinary degrees at state universities. Private medical schools use their own tests.
The score is the same, but what it is worth is not. Each university sets its own minimum, may count only some sections, and the architecture test counts only at the university that ran it.
Ask which test your call asks for
Tell us your subject and your shortlist. A mentor will tell you in the chat which test each call asks for, and whether it ranks you or only places you.
Sources
- CISIA, CEnT-S: about the test, structure and participating universities
- CISIA, CEnT rules 2026 (Regolamento CEnT 2026)
- CISIA, TOLC rules 2026 (Regolamento TOLC 2026)
- Ministerial Decree 1005 of 6 August 2026 (IMAT)
- Ministerial Decree 1003 of 6 August 2026 (health professions)
- Ministerial Decree 706 of 4 June 2026 (architecture)
- Ministerial Decree 270 of 22 October 2004, art. 6 (admission to degree programs)
- MUR circular on international students, 2026/27 and 2027/28 (English version)
- Politecnico di Torino news, 23 July 2026
- Universitaly, Italy's national university portal (each program's 2026/27 call is on the university's own site)
- Università Cattolica, Medicine and Surgery: application timeline
- University of Messina, application and admission
- University of Padua, Biology of Human and Environmental Health: admission
- Politecnico di Milano, Engineering call 2026/27
- University of Trento, legal studies call 2026/27
- University of Florence, Sustainable Business call 2026/27
- University of Siena, Economics and Management: admission
- University of Pavia, Artificial Intelligence call 2026/27
Rules change every year: always confirm dates in the official call for your year.