Enrolment in the "open semester" for Combined Bachelor's and Master's Degree Programmes in Medicine and Surgery, Dentistry, and Veterinary Medicine

From the 2025/26 academic year, the system for accessing Italian-taught degree courses will change for:

• Medicine and Surgery (LM-41)
• Dentistry (LM-46)
• Veterinary Medicine (LM-42)

An "open semester" has been introduced — a university semester with open enrolment, featuring three core learning activities, each worth 6 university credits (CFUs):

• Chemistry and Biochemical Propaedeutics
• Physics
• Biology

Go to the Universitaly website for detailed information.

The enrollment deadline for the open semester of the 2025–26 academic year has passed.

When applying on Universitaly, you will be asked to indicate at least ten degree programmes at different universities where you would be willing to continue your studies in the second semester. This is a safeguard in case you are not ranked high enough in the national merit list to access your first-choice programme, or if you decide not to enrol.

These are known as related programmes and belong to the following degree classes: Bachelor's Degree in Biotechnology (L-2), Biological Sciences (L-13), Animal Production and Management (L-38), Combined Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Pharmacy and Industrial Pharmacy (LM-13), and certain Healthcare Professions programmes, which are identified each year by ministerial decree.

Related programmes – L-2, L-13, LM-13, L-38 classes – at the University of Bologna 

• Aquaculture and Hygiene of Fish Productions – Campus of Cesenatico (Degree class: L-38 R)
• Biotechnology – Bologna Campus (Degree class: L-2 R)
• Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology – Bologna Campus (Degree class: LM-13 R)
• Pharmacy – Bologna Campus (Degree class: LM-13 R)
• Animal Production – Bologna Campus (Degree class: L-38 R)
• Biological Sciences – Bologna Campus (Degree class: L-13 R)

Related programmes in Healthcare Professions – academic year 2025-26 – at the University of Bologna 

• Professional Education (qualifying for the role of Professional Educator) – Imola Campus (Degree class: L/SNT2)
• Nursing (qualifying for the role of Nurse) – Bologna Campus (Degree class: L/SNT1)
• Nursing (qualifying for the role of Nurse) – Faenza Campus (Degree class: L/SNT1)
• Nursing (qualifying for the role of Nurse) – Rimini Campus (Degree class: L/SNT1)
• Podiatry (qualifying for the role of Podiatrist) – Bologna Campus (Degree class: L/SNT2)
• Environmental and Workplace Prevention Techniques (qualifying for the role of Prevention Technician in the Environment and Workplace) – Imola Campus (Degree class: L/SNT4)
• Neurophysiopathology Techniques (qualifying for the role of Neurophysiopathology Technician) – Bologna Campus (Degree class: L/SNT3)
• Orthopaedic Techniques (qualifying for the role of Orthopaedic Technician) – Bologna Campus (Degree class: L/SNT3)

For further details on related degree programmes, please refer to the Universitaly website and the dedicated FAQ section.

• If you hold a qualification obtained abroad, check whether it is suitable for access to higher education in Italy and find out which documents you need to prepare.  Start getting ready now, as you will need to submit your qualification along with all the required documentation by the start of lectures for the open semester. Your qualification will be assessed for admission to the open semester.
• If you are a non-EU citizen residing abroad:
• by 25 July 2025, you must complete the online pre-enrolment application for the University of Bologna to obtain a study visa for the 2025/26 academic year, as required by the Supplementary Note to the Procedures for international students for the methods of access to the single-cycle degree programmes in Medicine and Surgery, School of Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine valid for the 2025/26 academic year (in Italian) available on the Universitaly - international students website;
• by the start of the open semester lectures, you must meet the Italian language requirement.
  Read the information on how to meet the Italian language requirement.
• If you are a non-EU citizen residing in Italy, by the start of lectures for the open semester you must demonstrate that you meet the requirements for EU-equivalent status, as outlined in point 1 on the Who are international students page. This is necessary to take part in the selection process for the second semester as an EU student.

From 5 August to 5 September 2025, you must submit documentation relating to your academic qualification or its recognition.  “Open Semester a.y. 2025-26 for Medicine and Surgery, School of Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine – Foreign academic qualifications, residence permits, and required documents for recognition”, and upload the required documents. Check the list of required documents [.pdf 80 KB] based on your specific situation.

You will need to be in Italy to sit the open semester exams, which are scheduled for 20 November and 10 December 2025.

Students enrolled in the degree programmes in Medicine and Surgery, Dentistry, and Veterinary Medicine, or in a related degree programme as defined by Article 8 of Ministerial Decree 418 of 30 May 2025, who have already attended one or more courses corresponding to those of the open semester, may request validation of their attendance by completing the respective online forms:

• Recognition of attendance for Chemistry and Biochemical Propaedeutics
• Recognition of attendance for Physics
• Recognition of attendance for Biology

Students must provide suitable documentation demonstrating compliance with the attendance requirements for these courses by filling in all fields in the online forms. Please note that each open semester course is assigned 75 hours of lectures.

Requests for recognition from degree programmes other than those listed above and/or those lacking complete documentation will not be accepted.

The online forms must be submitted by the strict deadline of 5:00 PM on 31 July 2025.

Students who have obtained full validation of attendance for one or more open semester courses will be allowed to proceed directly to the respective written examinations.

The procedures for communicating the evaluation results of attendance validation requests will be published on 5 September at 13:00.

A fixed fee of €250 is required to enrol in the "open semester".

You are fully exempt from the fixed fee if:

1. Your family’s 2025 ISEE (Equivalent Economic Situation Indicator) is equal to or below €22,000.
   To obtain the exemption, you must submit your 2025 ISEE or other financial documentation via the platform managed by ER.GO – Regional Authority for the Right to Higher Education by 30 October 2025 at 6:00 PM (CEST).
2. You have a disability certification with a recognised invalidity of over 66%, or a certificate issued under Law 104/1992.
   To obtain the exemption, send your certification by 30 October 2025 at 6:00 PM (CEST) to the Student Services Office for Students with Disabilities and Specific Learning Disabilities (e-mail ases.adattamentisemestreaperto@unibo.it). If you have already submitted your certification to the office in the past, there is no need to send it again. Please send an e-mail indicating the date it was originally submitted.

Students eligible for a full exemption will receive a refund in the following months. 

Students whose 2025 ISEE falls between €22,000.01 and €30,000 are eligible for a partial exemption, according to the following scale:

To obtain the exemption, you must submit your 2025 ISEE or other financial documentation via the platform managed by ER.GO – Regional Authority for the Right to Higher Education by 30 October 2025 at 6:00 PM (CEST).

Students eligible for an exemption will receive a refund in the following months. 

Lectures for the open semester will be held in Italian and will take place from 8 September to 31 October 2025.

Students may attend lectures:

• In person or online from 8 September to 3 October 2025
  Starting on 26 August, students will be able to book in-person attendance directly from this page.
  Each student may book up to 3 days of in-person lectures. Lectures will be held in Bologna; the specific venue will be confirmed at the time of booking.
  Online lectures will be delivered via the Zoom platform. No booking is required for online participation. The link to access the virtual classroom will be available on this page from 26 August.

• Online only, from 6 October to 31 October 2025
  These lectures will also be held via Zoom.
  No booking is required. The link to access the virtual classroom will be available on this page from 26 August.

Attendance

Attendance is compulsory for all lectures, whether in person or online. Attendance will be recorded for all sessions.

Lectures will not be recorded.

Teaching materials

Any teaching materials will be made available directly within the Zoom classroom used for participation.

Consult the learning activities programmes (in Italian):

• Chemistry and Biochemical Propaedeutics
• Biology
• Physics

The lecture timetable is the same for all programmes and is available on the websites of the following degree programmes:

• Medicina e chirurgia - Bologna 
• Medicina e chirurgia - Forlì 
• Medicina e chirurgia - Ravenna 
• Odontoiatria e protesi dentaria 
• Medicina veterinaria

At the end of the open semester, you will have to pass the exams for the three scheduled courses.

The exams will take place in person in Bologna, the specific location will be communicated in due course.

Two exam sessions are scheduled:

• first session on 20 November at 11:00;
• second session on 10 December 2025 at 11:00.

In order to be included in the national merit list, all three exams must be passed with a minimum score of 18/30.

The procedures for sitting the exams are described in Article of Ministerial Decree no. 418 of 30 May 2025.