English-taught programmes in Italy are easier to find at master's level than most applicants expect, and harder to find at bachelor's level than most websites admit. The headline figure is real: about 1,250 degree programmes are taught in English across roughly 60 universities. But the split matters. Politecnico di Milano teaches every one of its postgraduate programmes in English; the University of Padova, one of the most international in the country, lists just eight bachelor's degrees taught in English. A second trap is that many programmes described as \"in English\" have only one track in English inside an Italian degree. And the entrance test that most English-taught bachelor's degrees use changed a year ago, so much of what is written about it is out of date. This guide is built from the universities' own programme lists and the testing body's current rules, read on 12 November 2026. It shows where the programmes are, how admission works for a bachelor's and for a master's, what English you must prove and what Italian you may need later, and how to check a programme before you apply. It is part of our guide to studying in Italy.
\nThere is no reliable national list you can simply download. The Ministry's Universitaly portal has a course finder with a language filter, and it is worth using, but the dependable source is each university's own page of programmes in English. ICEF Monitor, citing Studyportals, put the national total at about 1,250 on-campus programmes in 2024, up 30% in five years. Here is what six universities publish.
\nTwo things stand out. The bachelor's lists are short and specific, so the usual approach of choosing a city first and a subject second does not work in Italy; you choose the programme and accept where it is. And location is not always the main campus. Politecnico di Milano runs English-taught programmes at Piacenza, Lecco, Cremona and Mantova, Sapienza at Latina and Rieti, and the Ministry's table of places lists one of Padova's medical degrees with Venice as its site. Read the campus line before you picture the city.
\nMany English-taught bachelor's degrees with limited places rank applicants by a standard test. Until 2025 that was the English version of the TOLC. From November 2025 the testing consortium CISIA replaced the English TOLC tests with a single test, CEnT-S. If a guide tells you to book an \"English TOLC-I\" or \"TOLC-E\", it predates the change.
\nCISIA's current structure is 65 questions in 140 minutes, in six timed sections:
\nEach section has its own clock. You can move on early, but you cannot go back or carry spare time forward. A correct answer scores 1 point, a wrong answer loses 0.25, and a blank scores nothing. Your official result is a normalised score, adjusted for the difficulty of your sitting and released at the end of each test period. Some university pages still describe an earlier 55-question version; CISIA's own page is the one to prepare from.
\nThe practical rules: the fee is €55 per sitting. The test is offered at home under remote supervision or in a university room, and each university's admission notice says which format it accepts. For the 2027/28 intake there are five test periods (November to January, February to March, April to May, June to July, August to September) and you may sit the test once in each. Scores are released by 29 January, 31 March, 31 May, 30 July and 17 September. That gives a candidate who starts now up to five attempts, but only the early ones are useful, because university deadlines for applicants living outside the EU fall in winter and spring. How long a result stays valid is decided by each university, not by CISIA.
\nNot every university uses CEnT-S in the same way. At Padova it is required only for some programmes, as stated in each call, and where it is required you pay the €55 test fee in place of the university's €60 application fee. Politecnico di Torino uses its own test, the TIL, or accepts an SAT score in its place, except for architecture. It also expects applicants from countries with a national university entrance exam to have passed it. The rule is always the same: the programme's own call tells you which test, which format and which score.
\nFor a master's there is no national test. You apply to each university on its own portal, a committee assesses your bachelor's degree and transcript against the programme's requirements, and admission is decided months before the academic year begins. Padova and Politecnico di Milano show the pattern.
\nPadova takes applications at apply.unipd.it for up to two programmes, with a non-refundable fee of €60. For 2027/28, programmes without a cap on places had a first call from 15 September to 15 November 2026 and a second call closing on 1 March 2027. Programmes with limited places take applications from non-EU applicants living outside Italy between 7 January and 7 March 2027. A third call, from 1 April to 1 June 2027, is only for EU citizens and for non-EU citizens already living in Italy, so do not plan around it from abroad. The documents at application are a CV in English, a motivation letter, your transcript, your degree certificate (a certificate of enrolment or a provisional certificate is accepted if you have not yet graduated), your passport and an English certificate if the programme asks for one. Translations are needed at this stage; legalised originals only after admission. No entrance test and no reference letters appear in the general list, though individual programmes can add requirements.
\nPolitecnico di Milano takes master's applications for September 2027 from 1 October 2026 to 28 January 2027, with an early-bird deadline of 1 December that costs €50 against €150 afterwards and is the only route to its merit scholarships. You may apply to two programmes. Sapienza works in two layers: a pre-selection, and then the admission call of the specific programme.
\nBecause admission is decided on your academic record, the document that defines your record matters. Universities may ask for a CIMEA statement confirming what your degree is, and Padova says so on its application page. Start that in parallel with the application, not after the offer.
\nThe standard for English-taught programmes is level B2. What counts as proof varies, and Politecnico di Milano's table for bachelor's programmes is a useful benchmark for 2026/27: IELTS 5 or above, TOEFL iBT 59 or above, Cambridge B2 First at grade C, Trinity ISE II, or an Oxford Test of English score of 111. Certificates that the issuing body treats as expired are not accepted. You are exempt if you are a citizen of a country where English is the official language, or if you hold a qualification, at least at upper secondary level, that was obtained in English. Politecnico di Torino asks for B2 or above and refers to a document from your school or university certifying that the medium of instruction was English. Padova sets the requirement programme by programme. Master's programmes set their own level, so read the programme's own line.
\nItalian is the part applicants overlook. An English-taught degree does not require Italian to enter; Padova states that no Italian certificate is needed for its English-taught programmes. But Politecnico di Milano's page says of its English-taught bachelor's degrees: \"Proficiency in Italian is not an entry requirement, but you will need to obtain a B2 level in Italian before completing your Bachelor of Science programme.\" Students who cannot show it are enrolled with a language obligation that must be cleared before the graduation exam. Medical degrees are stricter still, because clinical training means speaking to patients: Tor Vergata's medical school reminds its fourth-year international students about B2 Italian certification. If your programme has a rule like this, three years is enough time to reach B2, but only if you start in the first semester.
\nIf you are weighing Italy against another European destination, compare how each treats English. Our article on English-taught programmes in the Netherlands describes a country that is capping places on English tracks; Italy is still adding them.
\nUniversitio checks which programmes in your subject are taught fully in English, which test and window apply to you, and what each university needs at application, so that your shortlist is made of programmes you can actually enter.
\n \nYes, but the choice is limited. Padova lists eight English-taught bachelor's degrees, Milano Statale and Tor Vergata four each, and Turin three. Check that your subject is offered before choosing a university, because most bachelor's teaching in Italy is in Italian.
\nIt is the English-language admission test run by CISIA, which replaced the English TOLC tests in November 2025. It has 65 questions in six timed sections over 140 minutes and costs €55. You can sit it at home or at a university, once in each of five test periods a year.
\nYou need to prove English at B2, and IELTS is one accepted way. Politecnico di Milano asks for IELTS 5 or TOEFL iBT 59 for its English-taught bachelor's degrees. It exempts applicants whose school qualification was obtained in English, and Politecnico di Torino accepts a document certifying English as the medium of instruction.
\nNot to be admitted. Some programmes require it later: Politecnico di Milano requires B2 Italian before you complete an English-taught bachelor's degree, and Tor Vergata's medical school reminds fourth-year international students of a B2 Italian requirement. Check the programme's language rules before you enrol.
\nBetween October and March for a September start, if you live outside the EU. Politecnico di Milano closes on 28 January 2027 and Padova's windows for applicants abroad close on 1 and 7 March 2027. Later calls are usually reserved for EU citizens and residents of Italy.
\nUsually not. Admission is based on your bachelor's degree, transcript, CV and motivation letter, assessed by an academic committee. Individual programmes can add an interview or a specific requirement, so read the programme's call.
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