The IMAT: Studying Medicine in Italy

The IMAT (International Medical Admissions Test) is the entrance exam used for English-taught Medicine and Surgery places at Italian public universities. It is a multiple-choice test covering reading and general knowledge, logical reasoning, biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics, sat once a year — so the calendar, not your grades, is usually the binding constraint. The sitting is now in September, close to the start of the academic year, rather than in the spring.

Crucially, it is not the MCAT. Italy admits straight from high school into a six-year Medicine and Surgery degree, so there is no requirement for a prior bachelor's degree. See do you need the MCAT? for how this compares across Europe.

EuroMedGuide verifies 22 English-taught medicine programs in Italy, of which 15 admit through the IMAT or an IMAT-style national admission procedure — including Sapienza University of Rome, Milan, Bologna, Padua, Pavia, Turin, Naples Federico II, and Bari. Browse them all on the Italy country profile.

A few private universities run their own entrance test instead of the IMAT — notably Humanitas University and Campus Bio-Medico in Rome. Always confirm which test a specific program uses on its official admissions page; each publishes its own annual call.

Italy splits sharply into two cost models, and this is where most cost guides mislead you.

At public universities, tuition is not a single flat figure: it is calculated from the ISEE family-economic index (or the ISEE-parificato for international families), plus a fixed regional right-to-study tax. Non-EU students without an ISEE assessment usually pay a published country-band flat contribution. Because the amount genuinely depends on your household income, EuroMedGuide shows each university's published basis rather than inventing an average.

Private universities publish fixed tuition. Verified 2026-2027 figures:

Add Rome, Milan, or Bologna living costs with the cost calculator.

Because the test runs annually, work backwards from the test date. For 2026-2027 the Ministry of University and Research fixed the sitting for Wednesday 30 September 2026 in its notice of 3 July 2026, and stated that the format, content, places and registration window would be set by later decrees — so the registration window opens in the weeks before the test, not in the spring. Register through the official portal as soon as the call publishes, sit the test, then complete Universitaly pre-enrollment and your visa steps. Ranking is national and competitive, so most successful applicants prepare specifically for the IMAT syllabus rather than relying on school coursework.

Track every published date on the deadline board, and compare Italy against other IMAT-free options with the entrance exams guide.

Italian medical universities are listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools. For the U.S. route the school must be listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools with an applicable ECFMG Sponsor Note covering your graduation year, then ECFMG certification and the USMLE; for Canada, the MCC route (MCCQE Part I and the NAC Examination) plus your provincial regulator. See the Canada & USA pathways hub. This is not licensing advice.