Medicine and Surgery – Harvey Course

About the course

A 6-year single-cycle degree in Medicine and Surgery (360 ECTS), taught entirely in English. The university describes it as the first medical course in Italy taught in English. Places are limited (numerus clausus) and are awarded by IMAT ranking. The course is based in Pavia and linked with the Policlinico San Matteo teaching hospital.

Entry requirements for Irish students

• The university does not publish a fixed Irish Leaving Certificate requirement. It asks for a high school diploma or an equivalent foreign qualification, and it asks UK and US applicants for 3 A-levels or 3 APs in science subjects. Your diploma has to be assessed by the university (EUR 35 fee), so contact admissions to confirm how the Leaving Cert is treated.
• Entrance exam: the IMAT, a multiple-choice test in English. In 2026 it had 60 questions in 100 minutes (12 general knowledge, 10 logic, 18 biology, 12 chemistry, 8 maths and physics), with 90 points maximum. A correct answer earns 1.5 points and a wrong answer loses 0.4. The minimum score is 20, and the course page says competitive entry has historically needed about 60-65 points. The format can change from year to year.
• English: the pages we checked do not state a minimum English level such as IELTS. Confirm with the university (harveycourse@unipv.it) whether proof of English is needed.

Working in Ireland afterwards

Because your medical degree comes from an EU/EEA country, the Medical Council of Ireland can recognise it automatically under EU Directive 2005/36/EC, as long as it is listed in Annex V (point 5.1.1). If that listing says the degree must come with an internship or state-exam certificate from your home country, you need to have that too, and you must also show your current professional standing and meet the English-language requirements. Graduates of EU/EEA medical schools may apply to the HSE for Irish intern posts, but only if their home-country degree does not already count as complete training. In older HSE intern guides (e.g., the 2022 guide), only graduates from medical schools in Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Iceland and Slovenia could apply. Graduates from other EEA countries (and Italians holding the ‘abilitante’ degree) were told they are not eligible, because they qualify directly for General registration. Applicants who need no work permit were matched before those who do. Please check the current eligibility list in the HSE intern guide for the year you apply. We could not confirm it for the July 2027 intake because the current HSE guide pages are password-protected.

How to apply

1. Get your diploma assessedApply to have your school diploma assessed and pay the EUR 35 fee. If Pavia is your first choice, check the current deadline with the university, because the access-requirements page gives 22 July without a year.
2. Register for the IMATRegister on Universitaly and pay the test fee (about EUR 130). EU applicants only need to register for the test. In 2026, registration ran from 26 August to 9 September.
3. Sit the IMATThe IMAT for the 2026-27 intake was on 29 September 2026. Expect a similar date for 2027 entry and check the official announcement.
4. Check ranking and enrolResults come out about 30 days after the test. If Pavia offers you a place, enrol before the deadline given, pay the first instalment and send your income documents so your fee can be set.

Costs

• Fees at Pavia depend on family income and assets. For 2026-27, the university’s Fees Regulation sets the Medicine fee (Area 3) at EUR 0 if your family’s ISEE is up to EUR 32,000. It rises to a maximum of EUR 4,851 a year in the top band (ISEE over EUR 80,000) for students within the normal course length. On top of this you pay a regional tax of EUR 130 to EUR 190, depending on income, plus a EUR 16 stamp duty. If your family lives outside Italy, you must send documents on foreign income and assets so an ‘equivalent ISEE’ can be worked out. The 2026-27 deadline for these was 22 October 2026, with a EUR 165 penalty for late submission. If you do not send them, expect to pay the top rate. There are also one-off costs: EUR 35 to have your foreign school diploma assessed, and about EUR 130 to register for the IMAT. The 2027-28 fees are not yet published.

At a glance