The University of Rome Tor Vergata

The University of Rome Tor Vergata is a public structure founded in 1982 in the suburb of Rome. The University website contains all the basics information regarding faculties, courses and admission procedures.

The University of Rome Tor Vergata organization mirrors the American-University Campus model, with faculties’ buildings scattered among Viale Cambridge. It provides a great variety of courses, among which the most relevant for us: Medicine and Surgery. The latter is a 6 year long Single-Cycle degree course offered both in Italian and English languages. The specific website for the International Medical School at the University of Tor Vergata can be found at the following link .

The Medicine and Surgery Faculty is located in Via Montpellier 1, outside the G.R.A., in Rome’s South-East area. The building is flanked by the Policlinico Tor Vergata (PTV), the Hospital pole where students can perform their training and clinical practice activities.

How to get to University

Being located in the periphery of Rome, the University of Rome Tor Vergata Ateneum is not easily reachable by means of transport:

• From Roma Termini Station: Metro A (direction Anagnina) dropping out at Anagnina (almost 25 minutes).
• From Anagnina stop of Metro A: 20 or 20L bus (departing every 6 minutes up to 8 am, every 30 minutes from 8 am on) dropping out at Heidelberg (almost 19 minutes). It is also possible to take the Cotral bus (direction Marino) dropping out at Heidelberg (4 stops, 8 minutes).
• From Torre Angela stop of Metro C: taking 20, 500, 544 or 548 at Torre Angela or Cambellotti stops, dropping out at Policlinico Tor Vergata stop.

Despite the G.R.A. early morning traffic, the best way to get to University is by car. In fact, the University of Tor Vergata offers free car parking for students.

Faculty of Medicine and Surgery – English course

For those interested in a multicultural environment, wishing to study medicine in English and perhaps practice abroad in the future, the University of Tor Vergata offers the International Medical School’s Medicine and Surgery degree , which shares most spaces, and lecturers, with its Italian counterpart.

The International Medical School is characterized by a multidisciplinary and integrated approach to disease prevention and health promotion. The training, which starts early in the first year, is primarily patient-oriented, involving community-based health centers and hospitals for a varied human and rich clinical experience. The University programme allows integration of clinical and basic science across the curriculum, developing new models for clinical reasoning and engaging students in an in-depth and long-term experience.

The course is held entirely in English , though an Italian language course is offered to international students to improve communication and interaction with patients. By the end of the second year, non-Italian students are required to acquire a B1 certificate of the Italian language , which allows them to be admitted to the third year.

Current legislation lays down six years of study totalling 360 CFUs (university credits), 60 of which are obtained through vocational training and educational activities designed to develop specific professional skills. The course is organized into 12 semesters and 36 integrated courses . These correspond to specific CFUs assigned by the teaching body’s Council and comply with the table of mandatory training activities. The study plan is roughly divided into:

• Pre-clinical years : in the first couple years students will learn the foundations of medicine, like molecular biology, chemistry and biochemistry, physics, anatomy and pharmacology
• Clinical years : from the third year, students start to take the first clinical courses, studying the specific disease mechanisms for each organ system and the therapies to treat them.

The teaching process takes advantage of modern educational tools, such as tutorial systems, clinical trigger, problem-oriented learning, experiential learning, problem-solving, decision-making, seminars and conferences.

Applicants for the Medicine and Surgery course can enroll only after successfully passing the entrance IMAT examination test and previous registration on the Universitaly website. The available seats for 2023/2024 are 55 , with 40 spots reserved for European Citizens and non-EU Citizens with Italian Residence, and 15 spots for non-EU citizens requesting a visa. Non-EU citizens residing abroad must submit a pre-application request to the Italian Embassy or Consulate in their country of residence (15 seats for 2023-24 a.y.).

Minimum admission scores at the University of Rome Tor Vergata

• EU students: 40.2
• Non-EU students : 53.4

The course structure is available at the following link , while the course schedule related to the 2023/2024 academic year is available on this link . Lectures take place in building B, usually on the first and second floors (1B2, 1B3, 2B1, 2B3). Classrooms are named after the building’s floor and letter, so you can avoid the awkward first day walk into the wrong classroom. The clinical practice and training activities are scheduled from the first year of study, progressively increasing the number of hours up to the sixth year.

For more information on application requirements, available spots, and enrollment procedures, you’ll have to wait for next year’s call of applications. In the meantime, if you’re interested, you can take a look at the call for applications of the a.y. 2023/2024.

First Year

The first year of IMS at the University of Rome Tor Vergata may be quite hard for most new students. Although the timetable may be subject to changes year after year, lessons are taken every day from 8:00 to 17:00/19:00 in the first semester, and attendance is mandatory and checked daily.

As with most medical schools, the schedule is grueling, but spending all this time together allows students to really bond and form tight friendships that span the 6 years of university and more.

The first semester of lectures goes from mid-October to mid-January , and is followed by the first exam session (which lasts about a month, with 2/3 “appelli” for each exam, meaning 2 or 3 available dates to try the exam). The second semester starts in late February/early March , ends in late May , and is once again followed by an exam session.

For students who fail an exam, want to retake it, or simply prefer to space them out, there are two “extra” exam sessions, one in April (around Easter) and the other in early September. In the first year, the exams are the following:

First-semester exams are:

• Chemistry and Introduction to Biochemistry , 7 CFU, where a written test precedes and allows access to the final oral exam;
• Physics and Statistics , 12CFU, composed of three modules, Medical Physics (7 CFU), Medical Statistics (3 CFU) and Informatics (2 CFU). The final grade is obtained by the weighted average of the Physics and Statistics modules grades;
• Scientific Writing and Research , 6 CFU, composed of 4 modules, Scientific Writing, Bioethics, English Grammar and Human Research. To pass the exam, students must write a review of a chosen topic using PubMed Articles and Reviews and give the other three modules’ written tests;
• Human Anatomy I (part I), 5 CFU. The midterm oral exam concerns the Musculoskeletal system. The course is held in the Human Anatomy Lab, where students are equipped with bone models.

Second-semester exams are:

• Human Anatomy I (part II), 5 CFU, whose final oral exam concerns splanchnology;
• Biology and Genetics , 10 CFU, composed of a Genetics (1 CFU) and a Biology (9 CFU) modules, whose final exam is oral and whose final grade is obtained by the weighted average of the two grades;
• Histology and Embryology , 9 CFU, whose final exam is oral and students are required to recognise and describe a specific slide or specimen;
• Clinical Practice I, 6 CFU, where students spend three days in the University Hospital, learning basic medical skills.

To enroll in the second year, students must have passed two exams of the first year (CP I and Scientific Writing excluded).

Pros & Cons of Studying Medicine at the University of Rome Tor Vergata

The pros of studying at the University of Rome Tor Vergata’s International Medical School are:

• It is an entirely innovative course , which allows students to have a direct approach to patients and medical doctor’s lifestyle by starting training in the very first year;
• Classes are composed of 25-30 students, and most of them come from abroad. This creates a very comfortable and stimulating environment, where students communicate in English, thus improving their speaking skills and self-confidence;
• As most of the medical world of research requires English-written papers and articles, studying in English represents a great advantage for future medical doctors;
• Professors and teachers are always available for clarifications and questions, and they are quite flexible with exam dates changes ;
• The International Medical School degree is equivalent to the Italian one . Thus, graduated students are allowed to apply for the Italian Specialization test.
• Remember that all roads lead to Rome , the city of magic! So, what better city to study medicine in and spend the best years of your life?

The cons of studying at the University of Rome Tor Vergata’s International Medical School are:

• It’s quite challenging to reach the University by public transport. Rome is a massive city, so if you don’t have a car or you live far away, it can be very stressful to travel every day;
• The district in which the University is located is quite far from the center of Rome;
• As with all universities, sometimes there are administrative or didactic issues that are anyways promptly solved.

Study Abroad

The University offers a few different opportunities for students to study abroad for a period of time (usually ranging from 3 months to a year).

• The Erasmus+ programme is a European Union funded programme for education, youth and sport, started in January 2014. Through the Erasmus+ programme, several students travel from their university for a study period abroad in another European institution. Since the curricular activities of Universities involved in the Erasmus+ program are significantly different from the IMS course schedule, it is not highly recommended. Students might fall behind on their exams, but it’s still a valid option to gain practical experience in a different country.
• The University of Rome Tor Vergata offers the opportunity to spend one semester at extra-European partner universities under a cooperation agreement framework for teaching and exam purposes in a project called Overseas. All information on the Overseas project can be found here .
• In their last year of studies, students from the University of Rome Tor Vergata can travel abroad to write their thesis abroad .

Where to eat

All enrolled med students at the University of Rome Tor Vergata can access the university canteens (“mense”) to enjoy a meal in a friendly environment not too far from the course venues. The menus vary daily, and a meal has a standard price ranging from 4 to 5 euros. The 2 canteens are:

• DiscoLazio mensa, located 2 minutes away from the faculty, in Via Cambridge
• PTV mensa, situated on the -1 floor of the hospital itself.

Many students also bring a packed lunch to eat around campus.

Where to study

The Biomedic Library – P. Fasella is located on the second and third floor of building D in the Medicine and Surgery Faculty, which is also the reference point for Biology, Biomedics, Experimental Medicine, Clinical and Surgical Sciences.

The BioMedical Library is a specialized library where an expert staff provides information, resources, and services to support the education, research, clinical care, and outreach missions of our Medicine and Surgery course.

It is accessible to all students from 9:00 am to 22:00 during weekdays and from 10:00 am to 20:00 on weekends.

The Library contacts are the following:

• Tel. 0672595413
• mazzitelli@biblio.uniroma2.it
• Via Montpellier, 1

Besides the library, there are different study rooms on the ground floor of various buildings of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.

Accommodation and Sports

The University of Rome Tor Vergata has activated an accommodation support service dedicated to Tor Vergata students.To request information write to alloggi@uniroma2.it . The service is active at the Welcome Office (Hours: Monday and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.).

There’s also an “unofficial student residence”, Campus X , which is located 5 minutes on foot from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. Campus X is a private company in the student housing sector, which offers shared student living with many amenities and opportunities for socializing, very close to the Tor Vergata lecture halls and hospital.

The University recognises the importance of body and mental health by providing students with discounts and facilitations for the CUS Tor Vergata , the sports centre of the University, which offers a wide variety of courses in flexible times during weekdays.

Fees and Scholarships

Fees for each student are based on family income. Tor Vergata University offers a free Taxes simulator based on the ISEE (the official indicator for income). To obtain your ISEE parificato, follow the instructions on this page . The University of Rome Tor Vergata also offers several scholarships for both Italian and international students, which you can find on the following websites:

• University Facilities and Scholarships (Italian),
• University Facilities and Scholarships (English)

Students can also apply for scholarships supplied by the Lazio region. For further information, you can visit the DiscoLazio website. You can also consult the Student Guide for detailed information regarding the University.

Bureaucracy and Administration

1. Enrolment : o n-line registration, payment of first instalment and validation are followed by the presentation of documentation at the Student Secretarial Office.
2. Transfers : entries for any academic year other than year one, following the verification of academic credits by the University, can only take place if empty places are available and in relation to the number of places defined in the annual programming decrees. It is not necessary to pass the test in cases where students are already enrolled in the same degree courses at one of the other Italian university courses, irrespective of whether they are European Union or Non-European Union citizens. For what concerns the IMS, the recognition of exams is possible only if they were taken in English.

Italian Course

Didactic Office

• Matteo Valente (I-III anno) Tel. 06 72596971
• Fabrizia De Dominicis (IV-VI anno): Tel. 06 72596923
• Email: laurea.med-chir@uniroma2.it

Students Secretarial Office

• Phone: 06 72596044/6045/6013
• Email: segr-studenti-medicina@med.uniroma2.it
• Web: cdsmc.med.uniroma2.it/segreteria-studenti

URP (Ufficio relazioni con il pubblico)

Office Hours Monday to Thursday 9:00 -13:00 / 14:00 – 17:00

Phone 06 72593099

Email: relazioni.pubblico@uniroma2.it

English Course

Students’ Secretarial Office

School of Medicine and Surgery: the main office is located at the Faculty of Medicine entrance on the ground floor, Building D.

Address Via Montpellier, 1 – 00133 Roma

Telephone 0039+06-7259 6044

Office Hours Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9.00 -12.00;

Wednesday 14.00 – 16.00 (in August closed on Wednesdays)

Email: segr-studenti-medicina@med.uniroma2.it

University Foreign Students’ Office

Address Via Cracovia, n. 50 – 00133 Roma

Edificio D – floor room 0 – stanza n. 001

Telephone 0039+06-7259 2566-67

Office Hours Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9.00 -12.00

Wednesday 14.00 – 16.00

Email: Studenti.stranieri@uniroma2.it; international.students@uniroma2.it