HUMAT vs IMAT vs UniSR vs UniCatt: a candid guide to English-taught medical admissions in Italy.
The main routes into English-taught medical school in Italy are not interchangeable. The exams differ in format, difficulty curve, preparation infrastructure, and the kind of candidate they select for.
The four routes at a glance
| School / route | Exam | When | Approx. seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humanitas University (Medicine + MEDTEC) | HUMAT | Feb (PROVA2) and Mar (TOL) | ~150 |
| UniSR (Vita-Salute San Raffaele) | Internal entrance test | Apr | ~90 |
| UniCatt (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome) | Internal entrance test | Apr / May | ~75 |
| Italian public medical schools | IMAT | Usually Sep | Hundreds, distributed |
Seats vary year to year: always verify dates, calls, and quotas on official university websites before making decisions.
Humanitas (HUMAT)
Humanitas runs two English-taught medical programmes: standard Medicine and Surgery and the bioengineering-focused MEDTEC. Both use HUMAT, with timed sections for Scientific Thinking, Biology and Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics, and Reserve questions.
The defining feature is Scientific Thinking: visual logic, architectural projections, flowcharts, Venn classification, formula cascades, and graph interpretation. These questions do not resemble IMAT or most other European admissions tests.
Preparation reality: Humanitas publishes no past papers and no full official practice ecosystem. This is why Vettamed exists.
UniSR (Vita-Salute San Raffaele)
San Raffaele runs an English-taught medical programme in Milan with an entrance test separate from HUMAT and IMAT.
The exam rewards broad academic strength, careful English reading, and logic. Some private tutors cover the format, but public materials are limited.
UniCatt (Cattolica)
Cattolica in Rome runs its own entrance test for the English-taught medical programme.
It balances factual science with reasoning and reading comprehension, and is often approachable for candidates already preparing seriously for HUMAT or IMAT.
IMAT (public route)
IMAT is the entrance test for English-taught public medical programmes across Italy. It has many years of public past papers and a mature preparation market.
Vettamed does not currently cover IMAT. That niche is already well served; HUMAT, UniSR, and UniCatt are the under-served private-track exams.
A note on this guide
This guide is informational, not official advice. Formats, dates, and seats change: always verify details with the universities. The author was admitted to all four programmes in the 2026 cycle and chose Humanitas MEDTEC.