Part 1 - All about the University
Timestamps
What Are the Timetables like?
Let’s start with the fact that there isn’t a fixed program from this course. The time table may vary from week to week. There are days where you have six to eight hours of lessons and days where you have none. It really depends on the way the professors are able to organise lectures and resources. You have class from October to December and then from March to June, alternated with exams sessions
How is the course structured?
How is the clinical experience?
The internships actually start from the second year. It’s a way to make you start embodying life as a dentist. They introduce you to dentistry and you start practicing with instruments to see how they work. From third year you do specific internships, like nephrology, oral surgery, orthodontics, and so on. Fifth and sixth year students also work a little bit in the clinic during the day helping professors. As an underlying learning practice though we usually divide in groups of three, where one is the dentist, the other is the assistant, and the third is the patient. So we make progress practicing on each other as students.
How do the exams work?
There’s an exam session in the winter in January and February and then another one in the summer in the last two weeks of July, then August and September. There are two different dates for each exam a month. It’s usually 50 50 with oral and written exams, it really varies on the professor or the subject you’re taking. The system is subject based, so for example for Anatomy there are histology, embryology, anatomy and special anatomy that you need to give in order to get the anatomy grade. Lots of smaller exams, for one final big exam grade.
What are the Average Tuition Fees?
The standard tuition fee is 5000 euros a year for an Italian student, but as for any Italian university it depends on your financial situation. If you’re able to provide the documents stating your or your family income to calculate the ISEE, the Italian system is usually very generous.
What are the Scholarship Options?
The scholarship options are either needs or merit based. The continuation of your scholarship though ultimately stands on achieving a certain amount of credits per year.
How much does Accommodation Cost?
Accommodation costs are a little lower than ones in bigger cities like Rome and Milan. The cost of a room in Siena ends up being between 300 to 400 euros with all expenses included. Expect older houses compared to other bigger cities. Start the search early because it’s hard to get one. It is recommended to take a house in the centre, and not near the hospital, the hospital is only 20 minutes away from the city centre by bus. For the first two years, classes are held in St. Minato, but 3rd year onwards it’s in the hospital.
Class Dynamics & Quality of Professors
There are few people in the class because very few people know about Dentistry in Sienna. Generally there is a very enthusiastic atmosphere around helping each other, as students across all years to know how to best approach subjects and specific exams. It’s a very friendly environment, there are great group chats to get help. The standards of teaching are really high and the professors are very strict and demanding. The class is half EU versus non-EU, with most students being Italians. They are trying to make it more international so they are increasing non-EU numbers. The average age is slightly older due to having pursued other studies before deciding to start dentistry.
Sports & Canteen Facilities
There’s the canteen that you can access for very cheap, especially presenting your ISEE for tuition reductions, and you can end up paying 4.50 euros for a full meal consisting of pasta, meat and vegetables. There’s not a specific university department for sports but they’re making an active effort to offer different sport courses. There are chemistry and biochemistry labs. There’s a very big library in St. Minato in the university where you can even be provided with a laptop during the time you’re there. In case you don’t have your own, you are provided with tech things so you can get work done.
Part 2 - All about the City
Timestamps
Why Study in Sienna?
In Siena you can really choose what your student life is gonna be. There’s a lot of us, the city is pretty young so it really depends on your scene, you can find events and go out to bars and clubs in the picturesque city or take a step back and enjoy the beauty of Tuscany in a city that can be very quiet if that’s what you’re into.
Do You Need to Know Italian?
For the clinical experience you need to know Italian to communicate with patients, the university offers Italian courses that also give you credits for your degree. You are also going to need it for your everyday life in Italy. In general English is not very incentivised, and in smaller cities like Sienna you’re gonna struggle quite a bit if you don’t learn the language.
What is the Weather like in Siena?
The weather is nice, it can snow during the winter and it’s absolutely beautiful but not too cold. The summer is chilly because there’s always wind, but it never gets unbearable or particularly uncomfortable.
Different Activities for Students
The center of the social life is in Il Palio di Siena. It is a historical monument around where there are countless bars and clubs, and there’s always a very diverse crowd of people. There’s not so much to do but the atmosphere is super nice. If you have a car you can drive half an hour to explore the gorgeous mountains in Tuscany.
Getting around Siena
There are many buses and you can even rent bikes to go around since the distances aren’t really challenging, but walking is really the best way to move around the city.
What are the Costs of Living in Siena?
The cost of living is pretty average, you can find a very big range of different places from fancy restaurants to street food so it really depends. In comparison it’s pretty much the same of Rome so around 400 euros for a room, a meal out is gonna be between 10-25 euros, and you can go out for drinks or an aperitivo for around 10-15.
How well connected is Sienna?
The main city for tourism near Sienna is Florence, which is about one and a half hours by train. Furthermore, Sienna has an airport, making greater ranges of travel more viable.
What should a person know before choosing Sienna?
The IMAT can be a really stressful experience, asking questions and getting in touch with people is always a great way to get ahead of the game. So go ahead, feel free to use the links in the videos to get in contact and ask away!