Messina IMAT 2026 overview

Messina IMAT 2026 is the University of Messina's admission cycle for its English-taught, single-cycle Master's degree in Medicine and Surgery — Ministerial class LM-41, the Italian equivalent of an integrated MD — decided by the national IMAT (International Medical Admissions Test), a Ministry-set entrance test. This guide is based on the University's own official call for admission, published as Prot. n. 0108175 del 26/08/2026 and signed by Rector Prof. Giovanna Spatari.

The test has identical content at every Italian university offering English-taught Medicine and Surgery, set under Ministerial Decree No. 1005 of 6 August 2026. A single national ranking list is compiled by CINECA for EU and non-EU candidates residing in Italy, while the ranking for non-EU candidates residing abroad is compiled locally by Messina.

This guide walks through the call in plain English: who can apply, exactly what's due and when, how the test and rankings work, and what happens after you win a seat. It's a summary of a longer official document — the call is published in Italian, and the University states that in case of any discrepancy in interpretation, or for any legal, administrative or procedural reference, the Italian version prevails. Always cross-check anything decision-critical against your reserved area on Universitaly or the University of Messina's international admissions page before you act on it.

Messina IMAT 2026: Programme & Seats

Messina offers a single English-taught programme through this call — Medicine and Surgery (LM-41). Seats are split into two categories, set by the Ministry of University and Research under Ministerial Decree No. 1005 of 6 August 2026:

The University's Rector's Decree no. 1983/2026 of 6 August 2026 approved a 5% increase to the educational potential of this course for A.Y. 2026/2027, ahead of the seat numbers being finalised in Ministerial Decree No. 1005/2026.

Who's Eligible for Messina IMAT 2026

Candidates need an upper secondary school diploma issued by an Italian educational institution, or another qualification obtained abroad that's recognized as suitable, in accordance with Ministerial Decree No. 270 of 22 October 2004. The University reserves the right to check the veracity of any data submitted at any time; providing false data, or not actually meeting the requirements, results in forfeiture of the right to enrol.

EU and non-EU applicants residing in Italy

These candidates compete for the 55 seats reserved to this category and appear on the single national ranking list compiled by CINECA.

Non-EU applicants residing abroad

These candidates compete for the 61 seats reserved to this category and appear on a ranking list compiled locally by Messina rather than the national one. Registration for the test is carried out online by the candidate directly and is not conditional on first completing the pre-enrolment procedures at Italian diplomatic-consular representations abroad — but those consular steps must still be completed separately, by their own deadlines. Details are available at universitaly.it/studenti-stranieri and international.unime.it/study-us/application-and-admission.

Messina IMAT 2026 deadline calendar

This is the single most important table on this page. Missing any of these dates, for any reason, results in exclusion from the procedure or forfeiture of the right to enrol.

How to Register for Messina IMAT 2026

Registration for Messina IMAT 2026 happens entirely through the national Universitaly portal, available only from 26 August to 9 September 2026 (15:00 Italian time).

1. 1

   Access Universitaly (www.universitaly.it) and register through the active procedure.

2. 2

   Declare any language certification listed in Annex 3 of Ministerial Decree No. 1005/2026, if you hold one. This is self-certified, and the University may verify it at any stage.

3. 3

   Rank your preferred test locations in order. This ranking is irrevocable and can't be changed after 9 September 2026, 15:00 — only your last confirmation before that deadline counts. Your first-choice location automatically becomes your assigned test venue. To sit the test abroad, you must choose a location from Table A attached to the call.

4. 4

   Pay the test participation fee through Universitaly. Payment isn't valid, and you won't be entitled to sit the test, unless it's accompanied by the online registration receipt.

Messina IMAT 2026: Disability & SLD Arrangements

Candidates with a certified disability (Law 104/1992) or a diagnosis of a specific learning disorder — SLD (Law 170/2010) — may request test aids and/or compensatory measures, as well as additional time, even if their certification isn't updated due to the limitation of NHS activity caused by the Covid-19 pandemic (the University reserves the right to request updated documentation afterwards).

Requests must be submitted by registering on the ESSE3 platform (unime.esse3.cineca.it), then completing the "Request for aids" and "Disability/SLD Declaration" procedures in your reserved area, no later than the 9 September 2026 registration deadline. Requests submitted late, or through any other channel, will not be accepted. Candidates with documentation issued in a foreign language must present a certification attesting to their disability or SLD status, accompanied by a sworn translation into Italian or English.

For further information, contact the Disability/SLD Services Operational Unit at servizi.dd@unime.it, tel. 090 6765066.

Messina IMAT 2026 test format & scoring

60 questions, five options each (one correct answer), 100 minutes on the clock, starting at 1:30 p.m. on 29 September 2026. Content is identical nationwide, at every test venue, prepared by subject-matter experts on behalf of the Ministry of University and Research and validated by a Commission of experts.

Scoring (90 points max):

The 60 test questions are drawn from the syllabus set out in Annex A to the call, which is not reproduced here — check the University's institutional website or Universitaly for the full programme content.

Messina IMAT 2026 Test-Day Rules

The test, identical at every location, takes place on 29 September 2026, lasts 100 minutes and starts at 1:30 p.m., both at Italian universities and at the foreign locations listed in Table A to the call. Full procedural details are set out in the Classroom Regulations (Annex B), which is not reproduced here.

Candidates will have their test cancelled for any of the following:

• Sitting the test in an examination room other than the one they're officially enrolled in, unless the change was authorised by the Examination Commission and recorded in the minutes
• Bringing in or using mobile phones, PDAs, smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, earphones, webcams or similar equipment, manuals, school textbooks, or reproductions (even partial) of them, handwritten notes, or reference material
• Affixing a signature or identifying mark, front or back, on the answer form by the candidate or a Commission member
• Interacting with other candidates, or attempting to copy or exchange any material, including personal data or answer forms
• Using pens, pencils or other writing instruments, while placing the personal data sheet or form into the containers provided for that purpose, to make changes, additions or corrections to the answer form

Test cancellation is ordered by the Commission appointed under Rector's Decree.

Messina IMAT 2026 minimum scores & national ranking

To appear in the ranking at all, your score has to clear a threshold:

• EU and non-EU applicants residing in Italy: ≥ 20 points
• Non-EU applicants residing abroad: > 0 points, provided at least one question was answered

CINECA compiles a single national ranking of EU and non-EU candidates residing in Italy. A separate ranking for non-EU candidates residing abroad is defined locally, by each university, including Messina. Eligible candidates are admitted in descending order of score. In the event of a tie, the following criteria apply, in order:

1. The score obtained, respectively, on biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics, logical reasoning, and reading-skills questions, in descending order
2. Possession, by the registration closing date, of a language certification listed in Annex 3 of Ministerial Decree No. 1005/2026, as declared at registration
3. Preference for candidate(s) with a certified disability of 66% or greater, or certification under Art. 3, para. 3, Law 104/1992, over candidates who don't fall into those categories
4. If a further tie remains, the youngest candidate prevails

Eligibility for admission to this course refers only to the current selection procedure — it gives no right to access the course in years subsequent to the one in which the test was taken.

Enrolling and Scrolling After Messina IMAT 2026

Once the national ranking is published on 26 October 2026, every candidate is marked with one of three statuses:

• ASSIGNED — within the available places for the candidate's first useful preference; must enrol at that university and course, under penalty of forfeiture of the right to enrol
• RESERVED — not placed at the first available preference, but able to choose whether to enrol immediately in an available place (which automatically cancels all other preferences) or wait for a transfer once enrolment of preceding candidates concludes
• WAITING — eligible, but not included in any available place; must wait for subsequent scrolling rounds

Enrolment must be completed no later than 4 days from the date the ranking is published (including the publication day itself, excluding Saturdays and holidays). The day after that deadline, by 12:00 noon, the University notifies CINECA of enrolled students, and by the same time, every remaining candidate (except those enrolled, withdrawn, or marked "sold out") must confirm, in their reserved Universitaly area, their interest in remaining on the ranking list — under penalty of forfeiture. The call is explicit that a missing confirmation cannot be justified after the fact for any reason.

Once those communications are complete, CINECA publishes the first scrolling of the rankings on 3 November 2026. Subsequent scrolling rounds repeat the same procedure and timing.

Messina IMAT 2026: Special Situations

Enrolment in years subsequent to the first

Candidates with previous academic careers who want to continue their studies at Messina in a year after the first are not required to sit this admission test. Instead, they must follow the separate selection procedure regulated by the "Call for enrolment in years subsequent to the first for degree programmes with limited access at national level, A.Y. 2026/2027," published on the University's institutional website.

Messina IMAT 2026 FAQ

Messina IMAT 2026 Contacts