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On June 4, 2025, the Minister of Universities and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, signed the decree changing the entrance system to the faculties of Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine.
The change will be in effect as early as September 2025: the old admission test for medical school will be replaced by an open semester. At the end of this, students will be required to take three tests that will determine their actual entry and continuation of the degree program.
Let's look in detail at what the new medical entrance test rules entail .
Is the medicine entrance test abolished? Not quite, but with Minister Bernini's reform, the way people enter the degree program is changing quite a bit.
The traditional test is not eliminated, but replaced by three new exams that take place at the end of a filter semester open to all (Sept. 1 to Nov. 30).
In anticipation of the new open semester, rules related to registration and faculty enrollment are also changing for medical students.
In September, in order to attend the first semester of medical school, it will be necessary to enroll in the degree program, but not matriculate.
In fact, matriculation will be done only after passing the three end-of-semester exams and getting a good ranking.
By the end of July 2025, aspiring medical students can register for the open semester for the 2025-2026 academic year. At the time of registration, each student must indicate:
Registration must be done online at the Universitaly website.
The open semester is compulsory attendance; it is freely arranged by each university, but the subjects to be studied are the same for everyone:
In fact, it is on these subjects that the three final exams for the actual admission to the chosen degree program will focus.
Each of these exams is worth 6 CFUs (University Educational Credits), for a total of 18 CFUs.
Around the beginning of December (exact dates will be announced by the Ministry of University and Research), students will be required to take 3 tests, which will be held simultaneously across the nation.
The exams will be the same throughout Italy, and students will have two appeals for each of the three tests.
Each exam will consist of:
for a total of 31 questions to be completed in 45 minutes.
The score will be awarded in this way:
The minimum score to be obtained in each test to be eligible for the national ranking is 18/30.
What happens in the case of non-admission to the ranking? Not everything is lost: it is possible to matriculate in the second semester of a related course of study, obtaining recognition of all CFUs.
Some related courses are for example:
The reform of entry modes to the medical and surgical degree does not affect courses delivered in English for now.
English-language medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine continue with the classic entrance tests, which were held between February and March 2025.
Exact test dates vary by university; Sacred Heart Catholic University, for example, has already held its two exam sessions from Feb. 28 to March 1 and
April 11-12.
To recap, to enter medical school in Italy in 2025 at a public university, the process is as follows:
If you are a non-EU international student you will also need to apply for a student visa and obtain a residence permit. If you need help simplifying the paperwork you can request support from Welcome Association Italy.
