Overview
"Semestre filtro" (filter semester) is the current admission route into Medicine and Surgery, Dentistry, and Veterinary Medicine degree programmes at Italian universities. It replaced the old single entrance test: instead of sitting one exam before enrolling, students register freely for the first semester and are then selected into the rest of the programme based on their performance in that semester's exams and a national ranking. The Ministry of University and Research (MUR) sets the rules each academic year by decree; the rules described here are from the decree for the 2026/2027 cycle.
Who can take it
Any student who meets the general requirements for university enrolment in Italy can register for the filter semester in these degree classes; places in the semester itself are open rather than capped by an entrance test, but the number of students who go on to the second semester and beyond is limited.
Structure or exam pattern
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Registration | Students register for the filter semester through the Universitaly portal, within the window MUR sets each year, and pay the registration fee |
| First semester | All registered students take the same core subjects at their chosen university |
| National exams | At the end of the semester, all universities hold the same set of national exams, on the same dates, covering the core first-semester subjects |
| National ranking | Exam results feed into a single national ranking for each degree class |
| Progression | Students who rank within the places available proceed to the second semester and the rest of the programme; others do not continue in that degree class |
What it covers
The filter semester covers foundational subjects for the degree class (for Medicine and Surgery, this centres on biology, chemistry and physics), taught and examined identically across universities so that the national ranking is comparable.
Scoring and results
Students' scores on the national end-of-semester exams determine their place in the national ranking for their degree class. Only students within the number of available places (set separately by ministerial decree each year) can continue into the second semester of the programme at their chosen university.
Recognition
The filter semester is the official national admission route to Medicine and Surgery, Dentistry, and Veterinary Medicine degrees at Italian universities, run under MUR regulation.
Dates and fees
For the 2026/2027 cycle, online registration for the filter semester on the Universitaly portal opened 13 July 2026 and closed 3 August 2026, with the registration fee payment deadline on 6 August 2026. The exact rules, exam dates and number of available places are set out in Decreto Ministeriale n. 941 of 10 July 2026 and the related decree on available places.
How to register
Registration is done online through the Universitaly portal, following the procedure and annexes set out in the current MUR decree, within the dates that decree sets for that cycle.
Preparation tips
Read the current year's MUR decree (or your university's own filter-semester page) for the exact subjects, exam dates and number of places, since these are reset each cycle.
Treat the first semester itself as the real selection step, since there is no separate pre-enrolment test to prepare for instead.
Do students still take an entrance test before enrolling in Medicine in Italy?
Not under the current system. Students register freely for the filter semester, and selection happens afterward through national exams taken at the end of that semester.
What happens to students who don't rank high enough to continue?
They do not proceed to the second semester of that degree class at that university. The rules for what happens next are set out in the current MUR decree.
Is the filter semester the same at every Italian university?
The core subjects and the national end-of-semester exams are held on the same dates and are common across universities, so results are comparable in a single national ranking.