Studying dentistry in Italy in English is now possible thanks to Siena University, which is located more towards the North. Italy has been offering more and more English Medical programmes to train international medical students in the last decade, however now Siena University has created the first Dental Programme of its kind in the country. For students who are considering a future in dentistry, and want to study in the dreamy country of Italy, Siena might be the perfect answer. This in depth guide has also combined a deep dive interview with Carlotta, a current 3rd year dental student in Sienna’s English programme to find out all of the details of this unique course. You can watch the unedited interview on our Medicine in English YouTube channel, or find it linked at the end of this article.
Why Study Dentistry in Italy?
Before we talk about all of the details of the programme Siena offers, let’s consider why anyone would consider studying dentistry in Italy. Italian universities are some of the most prestigious and historic in the world, with well established foundations and quality of teaching. The teaching and educational quality aside, it is an absolutely beautiful country to live in. Of course there are difficulties being an international student here, especially if you are not familiar with the language, but food & culture alone makes it one of the most desirable destinations in the world.
However why specifically study dentistry in Italy? Well simply put healthcare is incredible here. Not only medical, but also dental healthcare is incredibly advanced with students graduating from these programmes achieving great feats all around the world. All graduates from these programmes are licensed to work in Italy, Europe, or around the world as they surpass the standard of most countries. Don’t think that these incredibly affordable courses might not be high quality due to the price, we can assure you that they are incredibly established over centuries in their own language, and now making the transition into English to increase their international reach. We really think that in the next few years to study dentistry in Italy is going to become A LOT more competitive, and a lot more Italian Dental schools are going to be offering English degrees.
Class Timetable of the Programme?
Due to the English dentistry course being quite new, unfortunately there isn’t quite a fixed programme. The class timetable may vary from week to week, so you need to keep up to date on the university website which provides a dynamic and updating calendar which you can see for example here, or in the screenshot below.
There are days when you have 6-8 hours of lessons starting from 9am and days when you have none. It really depends on the way the professors are able to organise lectures and resources.
The academic calendar in Siena University usually starts classes from October until December for the 1st semester, and then from March to mid-June for the 2nd semester, alternated with exam sessions.
What's the Structure of the Dentistry Course?
The dentistry course in Sienna is structured in a similar way to any classic MD programme in Italy as it lasts 6 years, with the first 2 years serving as an introduction to dentistry with similar classes in a traditional medical programme. Internships start from 2nd year, with other practical classes starting very early for the english dentistry programme. The entire course curriculum can be found below. For more information on the didactic requirements for each class, you can visit their course catalogue page by clicking here.
- CHEMISTRY
7 credits - CHOSEN BY THE STUDENT
6 credits – Optional - APPLIED BIOLOGY
7 credits - HISTOLOGY AND ANATOMY
16 credits - QUANTITATIVE METHODS
11 credits - SCIENTIFIC METHODS, BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES AND CRITICAL THINKING
9 credits - OTHER LANGUAGES
4 credits – Characteristic of the class - TRAINING COURSE ON HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK – HIGH RISK
Various educational activities
- CHOSEN BY THE STUDENT
2 credits - DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING AND RADIOTHERAPY
6 credits - BASICS OF DENTISTRY
18 credits - BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGY
9 credits - GENERAL PATHOLOGY AND ONCOLOGY
10 credits - PHYSIOLOGY
9 credits - PATHOLOGIC ANATOMY
6 credits
- DENTAL MATERIALS AND PROSTHETIC DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
5 credits - MEDICAL SCIENCES I
16 credits - MICROBIOLOGY AND HYGIENE
13 credits - ORAL PATHOLOGY AND DERMATOLOGY
11 credits - DENTAL MATERIALS AND PROSTHETIC AND LABORATORY TECHNOLOGIES
9 credits - PHARMACOLOGY
6 credits
- MEDICAL SCIENCES II
12 credits - GNATHOLOGY
4 credits - NEUROLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY
5 credits - ORAL AND DENTAL SCIENCES
30 credits - ORAL SURGERY
5 credits - LEGAL MEDICINE
4 credits
- DENTAL PROSTHODONTICS
6 credits - IMPLANTOLOGY
12 credits - ORTHODONTICS
9 credits - PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY
6 credits - PERIODONTOLOGY
6 credits - RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY
12 credits - MAXILLO-FACIAL PATHOLOGY AND THERAPY
9 credits
- FINAL TEST
10 credits – A foreign language/final examination - INTEGRATED ORAL AND DENTAL THERAPY I
24 credits - INTEGRATED ORAL AND DENTAL THERAPY II
26 credits
The Clinical Experience for International Dental Students?
The internships actually start from the 2nd year, as a way to help you start embodying your life as a dentist. You get introduced to real dentistry and start practicing with the instruments and tools to see how they work.
From third year onwards you start doing more specialised internships, such as oral surgery, gnathology & orthodontics.
Fifth and sixth year students also work a little bit in the clinic during the day helping professors.
“As an underlying learning practice though [early in the course] we divide into groups of 3 students, where one takes the role of the dentist, the other as the assistant, and the third as the patient. So we make progress practicing on each other as students.”
This is quite a cool and unique aspect of the english dentistry in Italy course, as in the medical schools practicing on fellow classmates is comparably limited.
How do the Exams Work in Siena?
There’s a winter exam session which lasts throughout January and February, and then another one in the summer from the last two weeks of June, until the end of the July. The summer session actually also includes September, but August is a complete month off with the university being closed. There are usually two different dates available for each subject in a session.
To better understand how exams work in an Italian university you can read our other guide.
The modality of exams are usually a 50/50 split between both oral exams and written exams and really varies depending on the professor or the subject, however currently due to long distance learning there are more oral exams.
The curriculum is referred to as system based rather than subject based, essentially requiring passing multiple smaller exams to get a final grade for one big subject. For example for the Anatomy final grade there is histology, embryology, general anatomy and special anatomy that you need to do the exam for in order to get the final anatomy grade.
What are the Average Tuition Fees for Siena University?
Students can check their website for updated fees every year, however the standard tuition fee for the English Dentistry course is a maximum of €5000 euro a year for a student with no financial considerations, but can be as low as €156 Euro. However like every public Italian university it depends on your financial situation, so if you’re able to provide the documents stating your or your family income the Italian system is usually very generous.
Are there Scholarship Options for Siena?
How much does Accommodation Cost in the city?
“Start the search early because it’s hard to get a house by the time the course starts in October. Expect to share a bathroom, as houses are old and can be quite crowded with other students”. (Paraphrased from our interview with a current english dentistry student)Current students advise that you should take a house in the city centre, and not near the hospital (San Miniato is where classes take place after 2nd year). The hospital is 20 minutes away from the city centre by bus. Below is the hospital on a map, as well as a screenshot of the bus route to get there.
The course website actually has a webpage dedicated to helping international students understand the different options and financial aid available for students.
On the right you can find a summary of the different types of accommodation options which we have found on their website, and how much students can expect to pay for each.
Class Dynamics & Quality of Professors
Class Size, Diversity and Dynamics
Class Size: 40 Students
-
12 Seats Reserved for Non-Eu Students
-
28 Seats Reserved for Eu Students
“It’s a very friendly environment, and there are great group chats to get help.”
Quality of Professors
The standard of teaching is really high and the professors can be very strict and demanding. The professors that teach in the course are world ranking as you can see here. The high quality of teaching also opens up huge opportunities for research and completely study terms abroad.
To understand more about Erasmus opportunities (studying abroad) you can check out our in depth article.
Teaching Facilities & Libraries
There are chemistry and biochemistry labs, and early on dental hygiene classes have labs where they already have to start learning instruments such as the curett. While most facilities have not been able to be utilised due to the current situation with distance learning, professors have made a massive effort to give tours or labs, and introduce instruments to make classes as interactive as possible.
There’s a very big library in San Miniato campus of the university where you can even be provided with a laptop during the time you’re there. In case you don’t have any, you are provided with resources such as books or a laptop so you can still get work done.
Sports & Canteen Facilities
Canteens and Mensa
There are canteen facilities that you can access for very cheap, especially if you present the ISEE document as mentioned in our other article about scholarships.
Based on their website we have summarised the types of meals and their prices.
| Meal Type | Price | Food Contained | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Full Meal |
€4.50 Euro |
Pasta/Risotto + Meat/Fish + Vegetable side + Fruit + Bread + Drink |
|
|
Meal A |
€3.50 Euro |
Pasta/Risotto + Vegetable Side + Fruit + Bread + Drink |
|
|
Meal B |
€4.00 Euro |
Meat (or Fish or Chicken) + Vegetable Side + Fruit + Bread + Drink |
|
Sports Facilities
While there is no specific structure for sports, as with other public universities there is the Siena CUS which hosts a variety of team sports, physical activities, classes etc. They are in general making a bigger effort to include more sports, and encourage team activities with tournaments.
Language Requirements for the English Course
As the only dentistry in Italy programme, Siena decides the standard for students and is putting a heavy focus on the English aspect of the course. It currently requires a proof of proficiency certificate of a minimum level of B2 in English before the end of the 1st year. If you have a certificate that has not expired you can use this to be exempt, otherwise you will need to complete one (for free) in the universities language centre.
Additionally you will need to know Italian for clinical experience. While there is no formal assessment before you’re granted access to participating in practicals you will not be able to understand what is happening as all interaction with patients takes place in Italian, which makes sense if you are going to study dentistry in Italy.
The University offers many language classes to students both within and outside of the course that you can even earn credits for that count towards your degree!
All about Siena City
The Weather
The weather is generally nice, and can snow during the winter. It’s absolutely beautiful, but not too cold. The summer is chilly because there’s always wind, so it never gets unbearable or particularly uncomfortable.
Getting Around Siena City
There are many buses and you can even rent bikes to go around since the distances aren’t really challenging, but walking is really the best way to move around considering the size of the city.
In Siena (and surrounding districts) public transport is managed by Tiemme Spa. Buses generally run 7 days a week from 6am to just after midnight, and tickets can be purchased online, at the bus station or in the tobacco shops.
• A Bus ticket (valid for 70 Minutes) costs €1.20 Euro
• A Student season pass (three-month) costs €56.00 Euro.
Different Activities for Students
There are many cultural & recreational activities that are organised by DSU-Toscana, which encourages students to participate in theatrical & musical events. This is encouraged by offering subsidisations, discounts, and even partial reimbursements of seasonal cinema passes, as well as organising other cultural initiatives such as guided tours of museums and the area.
Piazza del Campo is the main public square dating back to medieval times in the historic centre, and is considered the centre of the social life. There are countless bars and clubs around and there’s always a very diverse crowd of people.
The city has an incredibly famous event called the Palio di Siena renowned all around the country attracting 1000s of people. It is an infamous and fast paced horse race that takes place around the square.
Also it only takes half an hour by car to explore the gorgeous mountains in Tuscany.
Monthly Cost of Living in Siena for Students
The cost of living is pretty average, you can find a very big range of different places from fancy restaurants to street food so it really depends on your lifestyle choices. In comparison, it’s pretty much the same of Rome so a meal out is going to be between €10-25 euro depending on how fancy the restaurant is, and you can go out for drinks or an aperitivo for around €10-15 Euro.
On the universities website, they have provided a list of random day to day costs and what their average prices are.
Costs of living in Siena as a Student
• Full meal at the canteen €4.50 Euro
• Breakfast in a bar €2.00 Euro (Coffee + Cornetto)
• Specialist medical visit €36.00 Euro
• Cinema €8.00 Euro
• Newspaper €1.20 Euro
Why Choose Dentistry in Italy in English in Siena?
According to a student
Paraphrased to make sense in context from our interview with a current student:
“In Siena you can really choose what your student life is going to be like. There are a lot of us (students), so the city is pretty young and has really versatile scenes depending on what you’re into. You can find events and go out to bars and clubs in the picturesque city, or take a step back and enjoy the beauty of Tuscany in a town that can be very quiet in certain parts if that’s what you’re into.”
According to the course
The most important thing to know is graduated Dentists will have the opportunity to find jobs not only in Italy, but also in other European countries, as well as in the world developing countries.
The course website has an entire dedicated section on why you should consider this amazing course as well which you can read more about here however we have summarised the main points below.
The University takes teaching and research in the worldwide scientific community into serious consideration, and for this reason want to make a more attractive portfolio with an undergraduate course in Dentistry in the english language to establish a new international community of foreign students from all over the world, and not only Europe.
Aims of the new program:
The main goal of the new course is to graduate excellent dentists by combining concepts from a traditional study course with the knowledge and skills required by the highest international standards. This will include making good use of the newly available technologies and digital devices, that render the course advanced in basic and clinical research, as well as in professional training.
Foreign students will be able to integrate with Italian colleagues, as well as the local community to be exposed to an international and intercultural experience.
Why study dentistry in English:
English is the international scientific language, and so the ability to communicate in English and having the exposure to new technology will allow these students to stay at the forefront of knowledge in the dental field.
Teaching & Research in English are already an established opportunity in the University (particularly in the Faculty of Medical Biotechnology with different masters and PhD programmes in dentistry all in English)
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