Private medical schools in Italy: their own admission tests

Italy's private medical schools teach Medicine in English too, and they do not choose their students with the IMAT. Each runs its own admission test under its own call, with its own format, fee and dates. Most of them test in the first months of the year, long before the IMAT in September. A family that plans only around the IMAT can miss all of them. This guide sets out how each school's test worked, and the 2027/28 dates already out.

The details below are from each school's 2026/27 call unless marked 2027/28. Expect changes in the new calls, and read them before you prepare.

The tests side by side

Humanitas University

Humanitas uses one test, the HUMAT, for both Medicine and Surgery and the MEDTEC School. You choose which to compete for, or both, and each scores the sections differently. The test has 60 questions in 120 minutes in three timed blocks: scientific thinking and academic literacy; biology and chemistry; mathematics and physics. Each section has a pass threshold, and a candidate below it is not ranked. It is sat from home, in two rounds a year. You may sit once per round, and your best score counts. In 2026 the rounds were on 5 and 6 March and in mid to late March. EU and non-EU applicants have separate calls but sit the same test.

Vita-Salute San Raffaele

San Raffaele's International MD Program tests entirely in English: 60 questions in 80 minutes, 36 on logic, problem solving and reading comprehension and 24 on biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics. A correct answer scores 1, a wrong one minus 0.25. It is sat from home on your own device, recorded and reviewed. Non-EU applicants had two sessions, on 11 February and 4 March 2026, with registration from 17 December 2025 to 5 February 2026, and 64 places. EU applicants had their own sessions and 86 places. The fee covers both sessions; in the EU call, the best of your sessions counts.

Notice the balance: more than half of San Raffaele's test is logic and reading, where the IMAT and most of the tests on this page weight the sciences. Preparation that works for the IMAT is not enough on its own.

Università Cattolica, Rome

For 2027/28 Cattolica's call is out. The test has 65 questions in 65 minutes: 20 on logical reasoning, 18 biology, 12 chemistry, 4 physics, 4 mathematics, 2 general culture and 5 on ethical and religious culture, a section none of the other schools here sets. It scores 1 for a correct answer and minus 0.25 for a wrong one, and you need at least 20 out of 65 to be ranked. It is sat at home, on your own computer with webcam and microphone, under remote supervision.

For 2026/27 Cattolica reserved 70 places for non-EU applicants living abroad. Applicants with a school diploma from outside Italy register through Cattolica's international portal.

Campus Bio-Medico

Campus Bio-Medico's test is the most science-heavy: 60 questions in 100 minutes, 20 each of biology, chemistry and physics, with no logic or mathematics section. A correct answer scores 1, a wrong one minus 0.2, and you need at least 12 to be eligible. It is the only test here sat in person, in Rome. For 2026/27 there was a single session on 19 February 2026, with registration closing on 6 February.

UniCamillus

UniCamillus, Saint Camillus International University in Rome, tests EU and non-EU applicants differently:

• Non-EU applicants living abroad (2026/27): a computer-based reasoning test of 51 questions (verbal, numerical and abstract), then an online interview in English on general culture and basic biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics; 120 points in all. The first non-EU call closed on 4 March 2026 and a second on 4 June 2026.
• EU applicants: 60 questions in English in 60 minutes, mostly science, sat online from home. A 2026/27 call is still open, with registration until 16 November 2026 and the test on 19 November 2026.

Planning around private and state schools

• Most private tests come first. Most of their 2026/27 tests ran between February and June; the IMAT came in September. You can sit both; the calendars do not clash.
• Each test needs its own preparation. San Raffaele weights logic and reading; Campus Bio-Medico tests only sciences; Cattolica adds ethics. Look at the section split before you plan your study.
• Budget for the fees. Test fees vary by school. Tuition differs widely from school to school, so check each school's own fee page before you decide.
• Read the non-EU route. Most schools have separate places, and sometimes separate calls, for non-EU applicants living abroad.

For the state universities, read our IMAT guide; for how the two routes fit together, see Medicine in Italy, taught in English.

Questions families ask

Rules change every year: always confirm dates in the official call for your year.