MBBS & Medicine Abroad

MBBS in Italy for International Students

Italy's Medicine and Surgery degree is a single six-year cycle, and the University of Bologna runs a well-known English-taught programme. Entry comes down to one exam: the IMAT, sat through the Universitaly portal. Places go by ranking, not open enrolment.Global Admissions tracks 38 verified programmes in Italy, with sourced tuition from EUR 150–23,206 a year.

Quick facts

Degree
Medicine and Surgery (single-cycle, LM-41 class)source
Duration
6 years — based on Bologna's English-taught programmesource
Verified programmes
38
Tuition range
EUR 150–23,206

per year, sourced — 5 more priced in other currencies

Intake months
January, February, September, October
Entrance requirement
IMAT is the official Universitaly admission test for English-taught single-cycle Medicine and Surgery; admission is nationally restricted by ranking.source
Language reality
English-taught tracks exist at named institutions (e.g. Bologna), but B1 Italian is required to access clinical clerkships.source

Tuition, sourced

34 of 38 verified Italy programmes with published tuition, cheapest first
University & programmeCityTuition (sourced)
Università degli Studi di Catania
Medicine and Surgery
Catania150 EUR per year
Università degli Studi di Messina
Medicine and Surgery
Messina331 EUR per year
University of Milano-Bicocca
Medicine and Surgery
Milan482 EUR per year
Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza"
Medicine and Surgery
Roma900 EUR per year
Università degli Studi di Roma "Tor Vergata"
Medicine and Surgery
Roma906 EUR per year
Sapienza University of Rome
Medicine and Surgery
Rome1,500 USD per year
University of Pavia
Medicine and Surgery
Pavia1,520 USD per year
Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca
Medicine and Surgery
Milano2,056 EUR per year
Università degli Studi di Parma
Medicine and Surgery
Parma2,060 EUR per year
University of Messina
Medicine and Surgery (Single-Cycle)
Messina2,100 EUR per year
Università Politecnica delle MARCHE
Medicine and Surgery
Ancona2,202 EUR per year
University of Naples Federico II
Medicine and Surgery
Naples2,417 USD per year
Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro
Medicine and Surgery
Bari2,350 EUR per year
Università degli Studi di Pavia
Medicine and Surgery
Pavia2,470 EUR per year
Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli"
Medicine and Surgery
Caserta2,548 EUR per year
University of Padua
Medicine and Surgery
Padua2,642 EUR per year
Università degli Studi di Torino
Medicine and Surgery
Torino2,800 EUR per year
Università degli Studi di Padova
Medicine and Surgery
Padova2,890 EUR per year
University of Turin
Medicine and Surgery
Turin2,963 EUR per year
Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di BOLOGNA
Medicine and Surgery
Bologna3,000 EUR per year
University of Bologna
Medicine and Surgery
Bologna3,472 EUR per year
University of Bari Aldo Moro
Medicine and Surgery
Bari3,500 EUR per year
Università degli Studi di Milano
Medicine and Surgery
Milano3,843 EUR per year
Università degli Studi di Cagliari
Medicine and Surgery
Cagliari4,581 EUR per year
Università "Campus Bio-Medico" di ROMA
Medicine and Surgery
Roma5,330 EUR per year
Università "Campus Bio-Medico" di ROMA
Medicine and Surgery-MedTech
Roma5,330 EUR per year
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
Medicine and Surgery
Milan16,200 EUR per year
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Medicine and Surgery
Milano18,150 USD per year
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Medicine and Surgery REPLICA - BOLZANO
Milano18,150 USD per year
Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome
Medicine and Surgery
18,000 EUR per year
UniCamillus - Saint Camillus International University of Health Sciences
Medicine and Surgery
Roma19,500 EUR per year
Humanitas University
Medicine and Surgery.
Rozzano20,156 EUR per year
Humanitas University
MD in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering
Rozzano21,450 EUR per year
Humanitas University
Medicine and Surgery
Rozzano23,206 EUR per year

Fees as recorded from university-published data; verify on the university page before budgeting.

Who can apply

IMAT is the official Universitaly admission-test process for English-taught single-cycle Medicine and Surgery in Italy, and for the University of Bologna's named programme, admission is nationally restricted by the resulting ranking, and the ministerial notice, cut-offs, and each university's own eligibility rules are set annually — confirm the current cycle before applying. Two of the largest sending markets add their own pre-departure requirements on top of whatever IMAT and a specific university ask for: Indian citizens intending a primary medical qualification abroad must qualify NEET-UG, which the Indian government treats as their Eligibility Certificate once they otherwise meet MBBS admission criteria, and Pakistani students must verify the institution against PM&DC's own list and obtain a PM&DC Student Registration Certificate before accepting a place.

English-taught tracks exist at named institutions — the University of Bologna states its Medicine and Surgery programme is delivered entirely in English — but the same programme requires Italian at B1 level or higher to access clinical clerkships, so an applicant without Italian needs a realistic plan for reaching B1 well before clinical years start rather than picking it up on arrival.

Scholarships, honestly

Global Admissions' scholarship data lists 2 named medicine scholarships for Italy: the University of Milan Regional Scholarship (DSU) (Lombardy Region / University of Milan — income- and merit-tested; the official page excludes postgraduate medical schools but doesn't name the undergraduate-entry Medicine and Surgery course either way, so confirm in the current DSU call); and the Padua International Excellence Scholarship (University of Padova — up to three years for bachelor's/single-cycle degrees; Medicine isn't named in the eligibility text, so confirm before applying).

Merit-based tuition waiver — attainable with strong academic scores.

Italian universities run income- and merit-tested regional (DSU) and university excellence scholarships that can cover part of the cost — real and recurring, though the official pages don't always confirm Medicine and Surgery by name, so check the current year's call.

Coming home licensed

What a Italy medical degree takes to turn into a practising licence back home — three of Global Admissions' largest origin markets, each with its own regulator and exam chain.

Coming home to India
  1. 1

    Does a Italy medical degree qualify?

    NMC's Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021 set conditions for an Indian licence after a foreign primary medical qualification, including at least 54 months of study, 12 months of internship in the same foreign medical institution, and eligibility for registration to practise in the country of training. This is a regulatory criterion, not confirmation that a named school is recognised.

    source
  2. 2

    Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), also called the Screening Test

    The Government of India identifies FMGE as the screening test for registration to practise in India after obtaining a primary medical qualification overseas. NMC's Screening Test Regulations require a screening test for an Indian citizen seeking provisional or permanent registration after a foreign primary medical qualification.

    source
  3. 3

    National Exit Test (NExT), or another test mandated by NMC for the applicable cohort

    For graduates governed by the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021, NMC lists clearance of NExT or another test mandated by NMC as a condition for permanent registration. This condition should not be read as proof that every foreign-graduate cohort must take both FMGE and NExT.

    source
  4. 4

    No separate named examination

    NMC's registration guidance says that a foreign medical graduate who clears FMGE and fulfils the stated criteria may receive provisional registration from a State Medical Council for a 12-month internship or the balance period, as applicable.

    source
  5. 5

    No separate named examination

    For graduates governed by FMGL Regulations 2021, permanent registration requires a supervised internship in India for at least 12 months. NMC's Screening Test Regulations also describe permanent registration after the required one-year internship for eligible candidates.

    source
  6. 6

    No separate named examination beyond the applicable licensing-test requirement

    Permanent registration is the registration that permits independent practice of modern scientific medicine in India. A foreign medical graduate may not practise in India without permanent registration under FMGL Regulations 2021.

    source
Coming home to Pakistan
  1. 1

    Does a Italy medical degree qualify?

    PM&DC's policy for Pakistani students seeking undergraduate foreign medical admission requires them to verify that the institution is on the PM&DC list, obtain a PM&DC student registration certificate before study, and pass the National Registration Examination for full PM&DC registration after qualification. This is not confirmation that any named school is recognised.

    source
  2. 2

    MDCAT where applicable; no additional named examination for the certificate

    Before accepting study at a foreign undergraduate medical or dental institution, the PM&DC policy requires the student to obtain a PM&DC Student Registration Certificate and verify that the institution is on PM&DC's list.

    source
  3. 3

    No separate named examination

    A Pakistani foreign medical or dental graduate with an undergraduate qualification from a foreign university or institution recognised by PM&DC may be granted provisional registration to undertake a house job after the granting institution verifies the qualification.

    source
  4. 4

    National Registration Examination (NRE)

    Passing NRE is mandatory for full registration for Pakistani foreign graduates. The official NRE medical syllabus states that eligible candidates must pass both its theory and Clinical Skills Examination components separately.

    source
  5. 5

    No separate named examination

    PM&DC requires a minimum one-year, assessed, hands-on clinical internship, foundation year, or house job in an approved hospital or institution for conversion of provisional registration to full registration.

    source
  6. 6

    No separate named examination beyond NRE

    For Pakistani foreign graduates, full registration depends on satisfying the NRE requirement and the mandatory training requirement associated with provisional registration.

    source
Coming home to Nigeria
  1. 1

    Does a Italy medical degree qualify?

    MDCN says it will not recognise graduates who complete unregulated clinical rotations outside the country where their university is domiciled, or who study medicine online. Its notice says graduates are expected to be registrable to practise in the country of training; this is not confirmation of recognition for a named university.

    source
  2. 2

    Primary-source verification (PSV)

    MDCN says foreign-trained Nigerian medical and dental graduates seeking registration in Nigeria, including people sitting the MDCN assessment examination, may apply for primary-source verification of their credentials through DataFlow.

    source
  3. 3

    MDCN Assessment Examination (application route; individual applicability must be confirmed)

    MDCN lists Assessment Examination as an online application service and provides its application route. The cited notice does not say that every foreign-trained graduate must sit or pass it, so the individual requirement must be confirmed with MDCN.

    source
  4. 4

    No separate named examination at this step

    MDCN states that newly graduated medical and dental practitioners must complete 12 uninterrupted months of housemanship at an MDCN-accredited training centre to be eligible for full registration.

    source
  5. 5

    No separate named examination at this step

    MDCN identifies completion of the accredited 12-month housemanship requirement as the condition for eligibility for full registration.

    source
  6. 6

    Annual practising licence

    MDCN says registered practitioners must pay the prescribed annual practising fee and that practising without paying it is an offence under section 14 of the MDCN Act.

    source

What to weigh

The gap between "English-taught" and the lived programme is mostly about timing: coursework runs in English at named institutions like Bologna, but B1 Italian becomes a hard requirement once clinical clerkships start, and Bologna's own clerkship information places its qualifying clinical clerkship in Year 6 — so the language work needs to happen well before then, not after arrival.

Sourced tuition also spans a wide range rather than one "Italy price," so the specific university and programme matter more than the country label — check the fee table above. And whether an Italian medical degree converts into a licence back home depends on your national regulator, not the degree alone: India's NMC sets conditions including years of study and a same-institution internship, Pakistan's PM&DC checks institutional recognition before departure and after return, and Nigeria's MDCN won't recognise graduates whose clinical rotations happened somewhere unregulated or outside the country where the university sits — covered step by step below.

The U.S. Department of State advises travellers to exercise increased caution in Italy because of terrorism. source

Upcoming deadlines

Frequently asked questions

What is the medium of instruction?
English at named institutions running an English-taught track — the University of Bologna states its Medicine and Surgery programme is delivered entirely in English — but the same programme requires Italian at B1 level or higher to access clinical clerkships, so day-to-day study becomes bilingual once clinical years start even where a course markets itself as English-medium.
Is qualifying NEET compulsory?
Yes for Indian citizens, and studying in Italy doesn't change that: the Indian government requires Indian citizens and Overseas Citizens of India intending a primary medical qualification abroad on or after May 2018 to qualify NEET, with the result treated as their Eligibility Certificate once they otherwise meet MBBS admission criteria. That sits alongside, not instead of, IMAT — Italy's own entrance test for English-taught single-cycle Medicine and Surgery places.
Can I practice medicine in India after my graduation?
Only after separately clearing India's licensing chain for foreign medical graduates — an Italian medical degree doesn't do it automatically. The National Medical Commission's Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021 require at least 54 months of study and a 12-month internship completed at the same foreign institution, English as the medium of instruction, eligibility for a licence in the country of training, a further 12-month supervised internship back in India, and clearing the National Exit Test or another NMC-mandated test for that cohort.
What is FMGE?
The Foreign Medical Graduate Examination — also called the Screening Test — is the exam India's National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences runs for citizens who completed a primary medical qualification abroad, Italy included. The National Medical Commission's Screening Test Regulations require it before a foreign-trained graduate can get provisional or permanent registration to practise in India.
Can I practise in Pakistan with a degree from abroad?
Only through PM&DC's own process, and only if the granting institution's qualification is one PM&DC recognises: a Pakistani graduate of a recognised foreign university may be granted provisional registration for a house job once the institution verifies the qualification, then needs to pass the National Registration Examination — both its theory and Clinical Skills Examination components — plus complete a minimum one-year assessed clinical internship or house job at a PM&DC-approved hospital before full registration follows.
CAN A NIGERIAN STUDENT THAT STUDIED MBBS IN FOREIGN COUNTRY DO INTERNSHIP / HOUSEMSNSHIP AND PRACTICE IN NIGERIA ?
Yes, but only after Nigeria's Medical and Dental Council clears the same chain it runs for every foreign-trained graduate: primary-source verification of credentials through DataFlow, MDCN's Assessment Examination on the application route it publishes (individual applicability needs confirming with MDCN directly), 12 uninterrupted months of housemanship at an MDCN-accredited training centre, and then full registration plus the annual practising licence fee required under the MDCN Act. For an Italian degree specifically, MDCN also won't recognise graduates whose clinical rotations happened somewhere unregulated or outside the country where the university sits — worth confirming for a specific university's placement structure before enrolling.
What does MBBS abroad cost for Indian students?
For Italy specifically, Global Admissions' verified programmes show published tuition for 34 of 38 listed programmes; among the 29 priced in euros, rates run from EUR 150 to EUR 23,206 a year, with five more programmes priced in US dollars outside that range. That spread is wide enough that the answer depends on the specific university and programme, not a single Italy-wide figure — check the sourced fee table above for what a given budget actually reaches.

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How to verify this page

  • Confirm the university appears on your home country's medical regulator list (e.g. NMC, PMDC, MDCN) before applying.
  • Cross-check the tuition figure on the university's own official fee page — not a third-party agent site.
  • Confirm the teaching language matches what you can actually study in (English-medium vs local-language track).
  • Check the exact degree title awarded (MBBS vs MD vs Bachelor of Medicine) and whether it's recognised back home.
  • Ask about the internship and clinical-rotation structure — some programmes require it happen abroad, not at home.
  • Understand your home country's return-home licensing rule (e.g. NEET, MDCAT, a screening exam) before you commit.