Study Medicine at University of Pavia

Overview

The Harvey course is the University of Pavia's six-year, single-cycle Master's Degree in Medicine and Surgery (degree class LM-41), taught entirely in English. Launched on 1 October 2009 and named after the physician William Harvey, it was the first English-language medicine programme in Italy. The curriculum splits three pre-clinical years from three clinical years, with clinical training carried out mainly at the IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo teaching hospital in Pavia. Admission is restricted (numerus clausus) and requires passing the national IMAT admission test.

At a glance

Seats: official MUR bando D.M. 599/2025 (Tabella B).

Degree

LM-41 (Medicine and Surgery)

Duration

6 years

Language

English

Campus

Pavia, Lombardy (Medical Campus, within walking distance of Policlinico San Matteo)

University founded

1361

Cut-off trend

How the IMAT admission threshold moved from 2016 to 2025 — EU-pool and non-EU shown separately, on the 0–90 score scale.

Tuition & fees

Italian public-university fees are income-linked (ISEE) for EU/resident students, with fixed bands for international applicants whose income is abroad.

Italian public-university fees are ISEE-income-linked. EU students pay a fixed part (regional tax + stamp duty, ~€156/yr) plus a variable 'all-inclusive' fee ranging from €0 (no-fee threshold: ISEE ≤ €32,000) up to ~€4,463/yr. Non-EU/international students pay a flat rate set by citizenship and area of study across three brackets (approx. €400–€4,500/yr), with the option to instead pay a fee adjusted to family economic situation (ISEE). Figures are for A.Y. 2025/2026.

The programme

• Six-year, single-cycle programme structured across 12 semesters, each with a minimum of 12 weeks of lectures
• First three years cover the pre-clinical training period; the last three years focus on clinical training, hospital rotations, internships (in Italy or abroad) and final thesis preparation
• Teaching organised into integrated courses comprising modules, combining established Italian teaching methods with interactive, systematic case-based discussions
• Clinical training emphasises patient communication, clinical history-taking, physical examination and differential diagnosis using imaging, laboratory and proteomic data
• First medicine course taught entirely in English in Italy; named after physician William Harvey (1578–1657) and founded 1 October 2009
• Numerus clausus (restricted access); admission solely via the national IMAT test taken in English

Teaching hospitals

How to get in

Admission to University of Pavia's English-taught Medicine is through the IMAT — 60 questions in 100 minutes, scored +1.5 / −0.4 / 0 (max 90). You list University of Pavia among your university preferences on Universitaly, and places are filled by a single national merit ranking against the 143 seats above.

Living in Pavia

Pavia is a historic university city in Lombardy, about 35 km south of Milan, on the river Ticino. With a comparatively small population, it has a strong student presence and a compact, walkable "city campus" character.

Frequently asked