Tor Vergata University is one of two public universities in Rome (the other being La Sapienza) that offer a medicine in English programme. Located more towards the outskirts of the metropolitan city this Italian Medical School manages to combine modern architecture in an ancient and historic place. Being on the East limits of Rome, the life in this medical school is a lot calmer and less crowded, while still being a great place to study medicine in Italy.
Academic Calendar & Structure
First year usually starts sometime in November to accommodate for the late starts due to the IMAT scrolling and ranking. After first year, like other Italian medical schools, Tor Vergata also starts it’s academic year early October.
February: Winter Exam Session
March – May: 2nd Semester classes with 1 week off for April
- Mid April – Some professors might hold an extraordinary exam session for students that are missing exams from the February session, although it is not guaranteed and will occur during Easter break.
June and July: Summer Exam Session
August: Vacation (No Exams or Classes)
September: Additional (Fall) Exam Session
April, September and December exams are known as extraordinary exams sessions, whereas February, June and July are the official exam sessions. There are usually 2 attempts per exam session for every subject.
First Year Subjects
- CHEMISTRY & INTRO BIOCHEMISTRY
- PHYSICS & STATISTICS
- BIOLOGY & GENETICS
- HISTOLOGY & EMBRYOLOGY
- HUMAN ANATOMY I
- SCIENTIFIC WRITING & RESEARCH COMMUNICATION
What are the tuition fees and living costs for Tor Vergata?
The living expenses in Tor Vergata are considered lower than in central Rome, however I recommend for new students to stay in Campus X for at least the first month while trying to find an apartment. The cost for a private room is usually around €300-400 Euro when looking for a 20 minute distance from the Medical Faculty. Another source has confirmed that a private room 15 minutes away form the university by bus is around 250 euro a month.
The cost of rent in Campus X depends upon which room you want to rent; it can be anything from €390 Euros to €700 Euros depending on the type of contract you will sign.
Are the professors fluent in english?
Obviously most of the professors have an accent, but we can easily understand them. Personally I have some professors that I love to have classes with, and others that I don’t (I think most likely because of the subjects involved and my personal interest towards them). However for a matter of the fluency the professors mostly have great English.
What are the exams like?
Most of the exams in Tor Vergata are oral exams. Some others are written like physics and statistics.This is pretty average for Italian Medical Schools.
Are there Italian Language courses offered by Tor Vergata?
Yes, they offer free Italian language courses for university students, and especially international medical students at every level.
How are the classes organised?
It depends on which semester you are in, but usually classes start at 8 am and can end between 3-5pm. Depending on which year you are, you can end up with days off having no class. It pretty much depends on the semester you are in.
What are the clinical years like in Tor Vergata?
We start our clinical years in the first year of the course during the second semester. In the beginning there is not a lot of things that the medical students can do, as they don’t quite know anything yet. However they do spend some time in each department of the hospital to learn how the hospital works, as well as learning how to collect blood. In the following years we start doing more things, and start official rotations.
Do we get paid for practical lessons?
No.
Distance of Tor Vergata Medical Faculty from Rome City Centre
As you can see from the map below, Tor Vergatas hospital and medical faculty are located in the south-east outskirts of Rome city. It takes around 40-50 minutes with Romes public transport to get from the central most part of the city (Termini Train Station) to the university itself, which is why students usually choose to live in the outskirts of the city.
2 thoughts on “A Brief Look at Medicine in Tor Vergata University”
i’m a Non-EU student from sri lanka. i have CSS for biology, chemistry and physics to my high school examination..i would like to know about the entry requirement and pre enrollment to your university.. and also about age limits to entry.. thank you
There are no age limits (upper or lower), only that you’ve completed a minimum of 12 years of schooling. For the entry requirements you should wait for the university to release the call to applicants to see what you will need.