The medicine in English course in Sapienza University of Rome ended up being one of my top choices for studying medicine in Italy in English. Sapienza is one of two public Italian Medical Schools (the other being Tor Vergata) that offers medicine in English in Rome.
When I first decided to study medicine in Italy, I had a lot of trouble trying to choose the best medical school for me, as is the experience for a lot of other prospective students preparing for the IMAT Exam.
At first, I felt that I didn’t have all the information I needed about each university to be able to make a good choice, so I asked medical students in different faculties to get a bigger picture of every university. We don’t want anybody to feel as confused as we were picking the order of our universities, so we have presented all of this information in “A Quick Overview of Italian Medical Schools” series.
Academic Calendar and Structure
October-December: First Semester Classes
- End of December: Beginning of Christmas holidays up until early January (when classes will restart for a brief period of time)
- Rest of January: Study break
February: Study break; Winter Exam Session
March-May: Second Semester Classes
- Early April: Lessons are interrupted at Easter for one week
June-July: Study break; Summer Exam Session
August: University is closed (no classes and no exams)
September: Study break; Fall Exam Session
1st Year Subjects in the International Medical Course
1st Semester
- Medical Physics
- Chemistry and Introduction to Biochemistry
- Biology and Genetics (I)
- Human Anatomy I
- Basic Medical Scientific Methods (BMSM)
2nd Semester
- Biochemistry I
- Biochemistry II
- Biology and Genetics II
- Histology and Embryology
- BMSM II :
- General Psychology
- General and Applied Hygiene
- Legal Medicine
- Forensic Medicine
Class Timetables
In the class timetables above, classes start at 11am and end around 8pm, but timetables change every year. There are optional and additional Anatomy labs and Histology labs on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
Are the professors fluent in English?
I’ve never had any problems following lectures. While the professors speak with accents (obviously) and have very small pronunciation errors (such as “muscle” as “mus-kel”), their coherence is never hindered by it. During an oral exam, their comprehension of answers would never be doubted. Overall, I’m very confident in the English level of the professors and have no complaints.
What are Exams like at Sapienza IMS?
The exams at Sapienza University are pretty much up to standard with other medical schools in Italy. Yes, some subjects have a written part, but it’s usually only a means to gain access to the oral exam portion which will determine your final grade. This is the standard practice in almost every public medical school in Italy.
Sapienza Tuition Fees and Rome Living Expenses
Living expenses in Rome are hard to estimate as they vary greatly from person to person, depending on their lifestyle choices. The tuition fees for international students range from a minimum of €300 EUR to a maximum of €1500 EUR per year, depending on your country of origin. These fees apply if you do not receive any deductions via a scholarship. For more detailed information about fees based on your country, you can visit Sapienza’s Tuition Fees Section.
Accommodation
I pay €380 EUR a month for a private double bedroom, a 35 minute walk from university (no bills included), close to all amenities that I can need, including a central bus and train station. However, a lot of students prefer to live closer to the university (10/15 minute walk) which can increase the rent up to €500 EUR a month for a private room in shared house. Bills usually cost around €50 EUR a month.
Like most other universities, Sapienza doesn’t have private dorms (LazioDisco, the Regional Agency for the Right to Education Promotion, however, can provide free housing to students who qualify for a scholarship), but works with companies (such as Sturent.it) to help students find accommodation. In general, most students opt for finding housing privately on Facebook, or via sites such as Easystanza or Spotahome.
Does La Sapienza offer free Italian courses to its medical students?
Yes, the course secretary organises Italian classes which are usually held twice a week completely free of charge for students enrolled in the programme.
Clinical Experience in La Sapienza IMS
From the third year, students start to officially spend time in the hospital as part of their learning experience. However, in first year students are given badges to access the hospital and are more than welcome to follow around doctors if they request to do so.
32 thoughts on “Sapienza University Medicine in English – A Quick Overview”
thank you so much for the wonderful detailed work. spot on . keep up the good work. I am very curious to find out what the student syiu interviewed ended up in which countries.
Also what are your plans after graduation?
The most popular options are staying in Italy or going to the UK. I’m currently working for Sapienza university, and considering a PhD.
Hello, please I have a question
So in my country students get paid when they start making clinical rotations in 3rd year and so on until 6th year….
Is it same in Italy?
No you do not get paid
Hey serra , so as per the indian NMC (national medical council) rule , if you study MBBS (bachelor in medicine bachelor in surgery) from abroad the academic duration should be at least 4.5 years + 1year internship to do PG back in India. ( NMC will not accept the internship included within 6 years as a clinical internship or a clinical training ). So does La Sapienza provides 1 year additional internship or is internship include within them 6 years ? Or do any of the italian IMS follow these guidelines ?
Please do reply thank you .
No there is no 1 year of internship you can do for any of the universities post-graduation. You can do 1 year of specialty training, but I’m not sure if the NMC will accept that.
Hi
I have few questions for you .
As a forgnier , I’m studying in italian High school but my italian is not too good so after passing the High school,
Which documents would I need for applying into Sapienza University?
Do I need any English language certificate??
As you should be considered EU, you just need to pay for the exam on the 2nd of September, no other documents are needed 🙂
Hello,
My son is planning to study medicine in Italy. When should he apply for the academic year of Sep 2024 considering that the imat exam is in sep- Oct 2024?
Thank you and kind regards,
Hi, he should apply this summer. The IMAT registration hasn’t opened yet, but you always apply the same year you want to enroll for. We’ve written an in-depth overview about applying to medicine in Italy.
Hi, i saw that we need to first apply to sapienza’s web site before pre enrollment. Can you give information about this process?
Please read through the instructions with the medicine bando of Sapienza. It is quite comprehensive.
Hey there Serra, sorry to bother you but I do have a few questions for you.
I’m a high school graduate seeking admission to study medicine in Italy, I would like to know what level of education is required to gain admission into Sapienza University of Rome, because I’ve seen several websites where it’s been said you need a bachelor’s as a minimum requirement to get into Sapienza, but I would like to confirm from a student if this is actually true.
Secondly, I went on the school’s website to make sure I had all information committed to memory but I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that medicine isn’t offered as a bachelor’s neither is it offered as a master’s on the pre-application website
Lastly, there isn’t a call for application for 2024/2025 English speakers on the website. Only, 2023/2024 is available, is this because application for medicine hasn’t started yet or is there another reason?
Furthermore, is the pre-application date for other courses different from the pre-application date for medicine?
You basically just need a high school certificate. Depending on what country you’re applying from/did your high school in, you might need some AP level credits, but other than that it’s just a high school degree.
It’s a special type of programme called a “single cycle” degree.
There isn’t a call to applicants yet, because the Italian ministry of education hasn’t released all the details yet, so sapienza hasn’t been able to release theirs based on the MURs.
I don’t know about other courses I’m afraid.
After 6 years , can I directly go to UK to work ? Or I have to give Plab 1 & 2, which usually takes 1-2 years ?
Hi 🙂
you should be able to apply directly to the foundation year program without the Plab, but keep in mind the UK is introducing the UKMLA.
Hi! Does the university offer clinical rotation in the United States?
Hi 🙂 no!
Hi ! I was wondering if the multiple dates within an exam session (for example for chemistry under june-july) means that we can choose when to sit the exam?
Exactly, we’ve also written an exam that explains the concept of flexible exams in Italian medical school a lot better!
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Hi, I am pureum preparing for Imat as foreigner. I really enjoyed your accounts about medical school in Italy. I really appreciate about it.
Can I ask If I want to move to Canada after graduation, which university would be a better choice between Sapienza and Bicocca? Can I ask for your opinion on which one to choose?
Thank you for your time and assistance.
Both schools would be the same, however please be aware that you need to be a Canadian citizen, or be a permanent resident of Canada in order to register with CARMS. So neither school would be helpful!
Hey Serra, from what I understand generally you get 1 month of summer break, is it so?And by summer break I mean the period of time when you really don’t have to spend on studying for the exams at all. Now of course it depends on each person’s own pace but what would you say about the total amount of “pure holiday” a med student gets?
It REALLY depends on the student. If a student finishes all their exams in June, they’ll have 3 full months of Summer holidays (July, August, and September).
Hi are fall exams in sapienza required? Or you can take them only if you want ?
They’re all required
At the end when u go work does it matter if the uni u went to is private or public ? And is it recognized in the uk ? Like could I go work there ?
It doesn’t matter whether it’s private or public. The UK is going to change the pathways for post graduate training in the next few years. It might be best to wait and see how the modifications are.
Hello Serra,
I’m a third year medical student
in Novi Sad serbia(English), and Im searching for better university to transfer to, do you think italian universities(sapienza) are the best choice for transfer? And what are the processes for transferring to italian universities ? And which italian universities accept transfer?
And the last question is does the university require IMAT for the transfer students?
Hello, since Serbia is not in the EU you would struggle massively to get your credits recognised. You should email each of the universities that you’re interested in, to see if they would even accept your credits!