L'IMAT (International Medical Admissions Test) is the admission test that allows access to the courses of Medicine, Surgery, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine in English in Italian public universities. Unlike the traditional Italian test, the IMAT is designed to assess English language skills and basic scientific knowledge and is therefore an attractive opportunity for both Italian students with a good level of English and international candidates.
Why support IMAT?
Taking the IMAT opens the door to international classes at Italy's leading medical schools, where classes are in English and you study in an international environment. For many Italian students, it can be an alternative or plan B to taking the medical test in Italian.
Moreover, it does not require official English certification for enrolment: it is sufficient to have a good command of the language to understand and answer the questions in the allotted time.
How the examination is structured
The IMAT is a multiple-choice test consisting of 60 questions to be completed in 100 minutes, all in English. Each question has five options of answers, only one of which was correct.
The test is divided into sections covering:
- Reading Skills & General Knowledge (text comprehension and general culture)
- Logical Reasoning (logical reasoning and problem solving)
- Scientific Knowledge:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics & Mathematics
The distribution of questions may vary slightly from year to year, but generally tends to favour biology and chemistry, followed by physics/mathematics and the comprehension and logic part.
What is a good IMAT score? The system
The maximum score obtainable is 90 points. The evaluation takes place with this scheme:
- +1.5 points for each correct answer
- -0.4 points for each wrong answer
- 0 points for each answer not given
This system penalises mistakes and therefore requires a certain strategy: answering only if you are sufficiently sure can be more advantageous than guessing blindly. It is estimated that the minimum score for registration in the 2025 edition is between 53 and 56 points.
Ranking and admission criteria
At the end of the test, a national ranking which determines the allocation of available places: those with the highest scores enter the required places in order of preference. The ranking is separate from that of the Italian test and may differ in terms of required scores and availability of places.
It is important to remember that each year the threshold scores change: in some recent editions, for example, the minimum score to enter medicine was higher than the simple threshold, making the competition tighter.
Preparation strategies
Good preparation for the IMAT requires focused study of science subjects and practice with English in the context of multiple-choice questions. It is useful:
- practise with full simulations
- solve quizzes by subject
- reviewing key concepts of biology, chemistry, physics and logic
- getting used to quickly reading technical texts in English
The preparation can be supplemented with specific courses, study groups and materials from previous years to familiarise themselves with the format and difficulty of the questions.
The IMAT is an essential step for those who want to study medicine or health subjects in English at public Italian universities. While selective and competitive, it offers an alternative and often more international route into high-profile courses. Effective preparation, focusing on key topics and exam time management, can make the difference between scoring enough for entry and falling behind in the rankings.
