Vita-Salute San Raffaele University Admissions Guide
Everything you need to apply to Vita-Salute San Raffaele University: entrance requirements, application deadlines, tuition and cost of living, and the UniSR Admission Test.
At a glance
San Raffaele in brief
- Entrance exam
- UniSR Admission Test
- Language of instruction
- English
- Interview required
- No
- Tuition
- €20,690 / year
- Cost of living
- €950–1,600 / month
- Application deadline
- Provisional for 2027/2028: mirrors the 2026/2027 cycle (registration closed at noon on 6 February 2026 for the EU quota and 5 February 2026 for non-EU candidates; sessions 14 February and 14 March 2026 for the EU quota, 11 February and 4 March 2026 for non-EU); official 2027/28 dates not yet published
- Subjects tested
- Logic, Problem Solving and Reading Comprehension, Scientific Subjects
Source: Vita-Salute San Raffaele University Admissions · Verified 7 Oct 2026
Admission test
UniSR Admission Test
Vita-Salute San Raffaele University requires the UniSR Admission Test for admission. Here are the essential figures.
- Total Questions
- 60
- Test Duration
- 80 min
- Main Sections
- 2
- Maximum Score
- 60
Not sure you'd clear the cutoff?
Take the free San Raffaele diagnostic: real questions from its own question bank, scored against its cutoff. No account needed.
What the exam tests
- Logic, Problem Solving and Reading Comprehension
- Scientific Subjects
2 tested areas · UniSR Admission Test
Application
Application requirements
- Entrance exam
- Required
- Logic, Problem Solving and Reading Comprehension, Scientific Subjects (Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics)
- Online, remotely proctored
- Interview
- Not required
- Scholarship
- Merit-based automatic
- Application fee
- €200
The programme
San Raffaele medicine in English: the International MD Program (IMDP)
Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (UniSR) is a private university in Milan, next to the San Raffaele hospital. Its International MD Program (IMDP) is the six-year, single-cycle degree in Medicine and Surgery taught entirely in English: 360 ECTS credits, with limited access through UniSR's own admission test. English is the language of lessons, activities and exams.
Students train in the San Raffaele reference hospital and in its IRCCS research centres. Graduates are licensed to practise as doctors in Italy straight away, because the licensing rotations are built into the degree, and can go on to postgraduate specialisation. Italian is still compulsory for talking to patients: UniSR asks for B1 Italian by the end of year 2 and teaches a course in years 1 and 2.
Fees
San Raffaele medicine fees for 2026/27
The IMDP fee table for 2026/27 is one table for everyone: it states no difference between EU and non-EU students. Each year is paid in three instalments.
International MD Program tuition, academic year 2026/27 (fee table published July 2026)
| Year | 1st instalment | By 31 January 2027 | By 31 March 2027 | Total for the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | €7,190 at enrolment | €7,000 | €6,500 | €20,690 |
| Year 2 | €7,190 by 1 October 2026 | €7,000 | €6,500 | €20,690 |
| Years 3 to 6 | €6,990 by 1 October 2026 | €6,600 | €6,600 | €20,190 a year |
| Six years at 2026/27 rates | €122,140 |
On top of tuition, the admission test costs €200 for both sessions, and the Lombardy Region's fee for the right to education was €190 in 2026/27. Non-EU candidates admitted from the ranking confirm their place with a non-refundable €1,500 advance, which is then deducted from the first instalment. The fee table is valid for 2026/27 only: UniSR publishes each year's figures shortly before it starts, so later years may cost more.
Places
Places for EU and non-EU candidates
UniSR admits to the IMDP in two quotas, each with its own call, its own two test sessions and its own ranking list. The EU quota also covers non-EU citizens living in Italy or with EU-equivalent status, and citizens of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, San Marino and the Vatican; the non-EU quota is for non-EU citizens living outside Italy.
IMDP places and calendar, academic year 2026/27 (Chancellor's Decrees n. 9853 and n. 9854)
| EU quota | Non-EU quota | |
|---|---|---|
| Places | 86 | 64 |
| Registration | 17 December 2025 to 6 February 2026, noon | 17 December 2025 to 5 February 2026, noon |
| Test sessions (best score counts) | 14 February and 14 March 2026 | 11 February and 4 March 2026 |
| After the ranking | Declare your intention to enrol (9 to 22 June 2026), then the Definitive Ranking List | Confirm your place with a €1,500 advance by 9 April 2026 |
| Enrolment | 1 to 20 July 2026, places 1 to 86 | 1 to 20 July 2026 |
Places turned down pass down the list in published notices. In 2026/27 the EU Definitive Ranking List had reached its 181st place by 8 October 2026, at 35.00 out of 60, and the non-EU list its 102nd place, at 46.50, by 6 October 2026. The 2027/28 calls are not out yet; in the last cycle registration opened on 17 December.
How to apply
How to apply to medicine at San Raffaele
The 2026/27 calls set out these steps; check the 2027/28 calls when they are published:
- Register on the UniSR Admission Portal, book the test sessions and pay the €200 fee by PayPal within 15 minutes of booking; book both sessions, because you can only book within the registration window and only your best score counts.
- With a school diploma from outside Italy, register on the portal at least 5 days before the deadline: you can book the test only after UniSR has evaluated your school documents.
- Sit the test at home, proctored online: 60 questions in 80 minutes, entirely in English, scored +1, -0.25 and 0, then 7 reserve questions. You receive the technical instructions by email from 5 days before the test.
- The ranking list is published within 15 days of the last session. EU candidates then declare their intention to enrol; non-EU candidates pay the €1,500 advance.
- Enrol online in July with an English certificate at C1 level, unless you attended at least your last two years of high school, or two consecutive years of college, entirely in English.
- Questions go to the Admissions & Credential Evaluation Office: +39 02 91751500, contact@unisr.it.
Study plan
The IMDP curriculum and study plan
The first five semesters cover the basic sciences and preclinical subjects. The 2026/27 study plan's first year is Medical genetics (8 credits), Medicinal Chemistry and Biochemistry (11), Molecular cell biology (9), Medicine as a Human Endeavour (9), Medical Physics (5), Nursing (1) and Basic medical statistics (6). First-year electives include Language and Behaviour, Nursing with 25 hours of practical experience, and The Scientific Method, Quantitative Biology and the Art of Medicine. In 2026/27 first-year lectures run from 5 October 2026 to 22 January 2027.
From year 2 students choose one of four tracks: the General track, with electives in internal medicine, surgery, diagnostics and research; the Medicine and Surgery track, with early clinical exposure; the Global Health track; and the Translational Research track. The last three are selective, for high-achieving students, with at most 20 places each. Every track leads to the same Medical Doctor degree. The last semester has no classes or exams, so students can work on their thesis research, the 'Additional project', at UniSR or at another institution in Italy or abroad.
Transfers
Transferring into medicine at San Raffaele
UniSR takes transfer students into years after the first when places are free, under a yearly transfer call. For 2026/27 applications were made online on the university's student portal by 27 July 2026, with a €50 fee, and the final ranking was published by 25 September 2026; the 2027/28 call is not out yet.
- Documents: your high school diploma, the transfer application form, an official transcript with grades and credits, the detailed syllabus of every exam (the application is not considered without them), ID and an English certificate at C1 level; documents not in Italian or English need a certified English translation.
- Scoring out of 100: credits that could be recognised (0 to 15), grade average (0 to 15), continuity of studies (0 to 5), coherence with the IMDP programme (0 to 15), 10 points for coming from a medical school, and an interview (0 to 40).
- You need 50 points from the first five criteria to be interviewed, and at least 10 in the interview to be ranked. Only exams matching the IMDP study plan, up to the year you apply for, count.
- Non-native speakers transferring into years 2 to 4 need a B1 Italian certificate to join the clinical activities from year 3.
Rankings
San Raffaele in the rankings
On Times Higher Education's own site, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University is joint 247th in the world in the World University Rankings 2027, with its highest pillar score, 98.5, in research quality. In THE's 2026 subject ranking for Medical and Health it is in the 126-150 band. QS's page for the university could not be read, so its figures are not given here; the key figures on the IMDP page do not say which ranking each belongs to, so they are not repeated either.
A ranking describes the university, not your chances of getting in: admission depends only on your position in your quota's ranking list.
Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in the THE World University Rankings
| Edition | World | Medical and Health |
|---|---|---|
| THE 2027 | =247 | not out yet |
Sources, read on 16 October 2026: Times Higher Education: Vita-Salute San Raffaele University · International Medical Doctor Program admissions · Call for Admission, IMDP, EU, AY 2026/27 (DR 9853, English translation) · Call for Admission, IMDP, non-EU, AY 2026/27 (DR 9854, English translation) · Bachelor's and Master's Degree fees and contributions 2026/27 · IMDP fee table 2026/27 · International Medical Doctor Program · IMDP Curriculum · Study plan A.Y. 2026-2027 · Incoming Transfers · Transfer Procedure 2026/27, International MD Program · Student Rankings and Matriculation, IMDP EU · Student Rankings and Matriculation, IMDP non-EU
The campus
San Raffaele's Olgettina campus
UniSR's Campus Milano Olgettina, at Via Olgettina 58 in Milan, shares its site with the IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, which covers more than 290,000 m². The DiBit 1, DiBit 2 and San Michele buildings hold research laboratories and the university's teaching rooms; the hospital's own buildings hold its departments and clinical laboratories. The nearest metro station is Cascina Gobba on line 2 (green), then the light metro or bus 925.
DiBit 2
Research laboratories and university teaching rooms. The UniSR student office (Polo Studenti) is on floor -1, and an eight-metre angel stands on the dome.
San Gabriele
Part of DiBit 2, home to the hospital's blood donation centre and transfusion service.
San Michele
Research laboratories and university teaching rooms, like DiBit 1 and DiBit 2.
DiBit 1
Research laboratories and university teaching rooms.
Iceberg
The hospital's Surgical and Emergency Pole, by Mario Cucinella Architects: operating theatres, intensive care and the emergency department in its base, wards and outpatient clinics in the tower.
Ospedale San Raffaele
The IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60: its buildings, lettered A to R, hold the hospital's departments and clinical laboratories.
DiMeR
Hospital departments and clinical laboratories.
Garden
The open-air garden the hospital's buildings are set around.
Student life
Living in Milan as a medical student
San Raffaele's campus is at Via Olgettina 58, on Milan's northeastern edge bordering Segrate — genuinely outside the city centre, roughly 30–40 minutes from the Duomo via the M2 metro to Cascina Gobba plus a shuttle or bus. The English-taught International Medical Doctor Program reserves 64 of its 150 seats for non-EU applicants (43%) — a far more internationally mixed cohort than the university's low whole-institution average suggests, since most of San Raffaele's other faculties teach in Italian.
On-campus-adjacent housing is available through two purpose-built residences, Cascina Melghera and Cassinella (around 170 furnished single rooms combined), within walking distance of campus — a self-contained alternative to renting in central Milan, which runs meaningfully more expensive. San Raffaele Hospital (IRCCS), directly integrated with the university, is a recognised strength in neuroscience research alongside its other clinical divisions.
FAQ
San Raffaele admissions FAQ
No. San Raffaele's current English-track test doesn't include a separate General Culture component. It has two parts: Logic, Problem Solving & Reading Comprehension (36 questions, the larger of the two), then Scientific Subjects (24 questions covering biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics).
+1 for a correct answer, −0.25 for a wrong one and 0 for a blank, across 60 multiple-choice questions, with no minimum score: places go purely by ranking. It's sat online from home under remote proctoring, and no calculator is allowed. In 2026/27 each quota had two sessions of its own (EU: 14 February and 14 March 2026; non-EU candidates resident abroad: 11 February and 4 March 2026), and your better score counted.
This guide is built for the English-taught International Medical Doctor Program's admission test. San Raffaele's Italian-taught programme runs a separate, differently structured test, so check its current format directly with the university before relying on this guide for that track.
Yes. The simulator supports San Raffaele-specific practice sessions.
150 total seats: 86 for EU applicants and 64 reserved for non-EU applicants. San Raffaele doesn't publish an official acceptance rate, so treat any percentage you see elsewhere as a third-party estimate, not a university figure.
Within the EU, yes, automatically, as a standard Italian medical degree (LM-41). Outside the EU it isn't automatic as a rule. For the UK, the Medical Act 1983 (sections 21B and 21C, as in force on 12 October 2026) spares holders of an Italian medical degree the knowledge test other international graduates take through PLAB/UKMLA, but the UK's list pairs the laurea with the Diploma di abilitazione all'esercizio della medicina e chirurgia, which Italy stopped issuing in March 2020, when the practical training moved inside the degree. The GMC's Italy page therefore offers graduates since then provisional registration on the laurea, for a UK Foundation Year 1 post, and asks for evidence of supervised practice, such as a 12-month internship, for full registration. US-bound graduates need ECFMG certification via USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK, the same requirement every international medical graduate faces.
Ready to prepare for the UniSR Admission Test?
The San Raffaele Complete Admissions System — study guide, exam simulator, video courses and application help, built from Vita-Salute San Raffaele University's own syllabus.