Bernini signs the decree: 27,000 places for Medicine, up 12.5 per cent on 2025

Three thousand more places for aspiring medical students. This is provided for in the decree signed by Minister Anna Maria Bernini, which increases the number of places for entry into the second year of Medicine from around 24,000 in the 2025/26 academic year to 27,001 in 2026/27. For the first semester, which will once again be open as it was 12 months ago, 52,300 students have enrolled. This figure rises to 62,200 if we include the 4,300 in Dentistry and the 5,550 in Veterinary Medicine. In the majority of cases, these are female students, who account for 72 per cent of the total, compared with 28 per cent male students.

In total, there are 30,225 places available, of which 23,495 are allocated to state universities and 6,730 to non-state universities. Compared with the previous academic year, the number of places on offer has increased by 3,160. Specifically, there are 27,001 places for Medicine, 1,825 for Dentistry and 1,399 for Veterinary Medicine.

If we look solely at Medicine, the increase is around 3,000 places, as the figure has risen from around 24,000 to 27,000. Of these, just under 21,000 are at state universities. This increase is part of a process initiated by Bernini, who has gradually expanded the range of courses on offer by adding over 11,000 places from the 2022/2023 academic year to the present day. This trend is set to continue next year, reaching a total of 30,000 places.

As mentioned, for the 2026/2027 academic year too, admission to courses will follow the open-semester model. Students will be able to enrol freely and attend the first semester, taking the three core modules in Chemistry and Introductory Biochemistry, Physics and Biology, totalling 18 university credits.

Teaching activities will begin on 1 September and will end at least ten days before the first exam session, scheduled for 10 December. The second exam session will take place on 11 January 2027.