IELTS score required for Italian universities (by university and programme)

Most Indian applicants to an English-taught programme in Italy spend more time worrying about the IELTS score than they need to. The bar at Italian public universities is real but not extreme — typically IELTS 6.0 for bachelor's and 6.5 for master's — and the alternative tests Italian universities accept (TOEFL, Duolingo, Cambridge, and the institutional language test) are wider than most India-based agents acknowledge. This guide breaks down what each major Italian university actually asks for, the exemptions Indian applicants often miss, and the two India-specific test routes (TOLC and IMAT) that have nothing to do with English at all but quietly decide whether your application is even processed.

The short answer — what most Italian universities ask

Italian public universities follow the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for English. B2 is the standard floor for English-taught programmes. The IELTS score that maps to B2 is 6.0 (with some courses asking for 6.5 if the programme is competitive or content-heavy). C1 is required only at a handful of programmes — typically law, English literature, or research-track master's that involve heavy writing in English.

Politecnico di Milano — IELTS 6.0 with widely accepted alternatives

Politecnico di Milano is the most-applied Italian destination for Indian engineering and design students, so its English-language policy gets the most questions. For English-taught master's programmes, Polimi accepts IELTS 6.0 (or 5.5 with a Polimi internal English placement test, but most international applicants skip that and submit 6.0+). For bachelor's, the bar is also IELTS 6.0. Polimi does NOT have its own English entrance test for incoming international students — your IELTS / TOEFL / Cambridge result is the evidence.

• IELTS Academic: 6.0 minimum overall, no individual-band requirement specified.
• TOEFL iBT: 78 minimum.
• Cambridge English: B2 First (FCE) or higher.
• PTE Academic: 56 minimum.
• TOEFL ITP: not accepted.
• Duolingo English Test: accepted as a temporary alternative in some cycles — verify the current intake.
• Native English speakers (from US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand): exempt from the language test.

The catch at Polimi is not the IELTS — it's the TOLC. For most engineering and design master's programmes, your application is ranked using a portfolio + transcript review (no test), but bachelor's applicants must clear the TOLC-I (engineering) or TOLC-F (architecture / design) test. We cover TOLC separately later in this guide.

University of Bologna — IELTS 6.0 to 6.5, programme-by-programme

The University of Bologna runs one of the largest English-taught master's portfolios in Italy. Score requirements vary by programme: most engineering, computer science, and economics master's ask for IELTS 6.0, while the more competitive programmes (international relations, certain law tracks, English-literature master's) ask for 6.5 or 7.0. UniBo's standard list of accepted certifications is broad — IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge, PTE Academic, Trinity ISE, and many others. The exemption list is also generous: applicants who completed their full secondary or higher education in English are typically exempt from submitting a separate score.

Sapienza University of Rome — IELTS 6.0, with MoI exemption common

Sapienza is Italy's largest public university and runs roughly 35-40 English-taught master's. The standard bar is IELTS 6.0 (B2). Some research-track and humanities programmes ask for 6.5 or 7.0. Sapienza accepts a wide alternative list — TOEFL iBT 80+, Cambridge B2+, PTE 50+, and the Duolingo English Test in recent cycles. Like UniBo, Sapienza accepts a medium-of-instruction certificate as evidence of English proficiency for many programmes, which is the most common Indian-applicant exemption.

Sapienza is also one of the Italian universities most welcoming to medicine applicants via IMAT. Medicine in English at Sapienza is a 6-year Single-cycle Master, and the IMAT is the only test that matters for admission — your IELTS score plays a smaller role (Sapienza usually asks for B2 evidence, met by Class 12 CBSE / ICSE English or an MoI letter, no separate IELTS needed for many candidates).

University of Padua — IELTS 6.0, with a special path for top scorers

The University of Padua is one of the most data-driven Italian universities. Its 17 English-taught master's typically ask for IELTS 6.0 / TOEFL iBT 80+. What makes Padua interesting for Indian applicants is the explicit international-scholarship structure: high-scoring international students can apply for total tuition exemption, which dropped the effective fee for Padua's Indian admits in recent intakes from €2,750 to €0 (regional taxes still apply). The IELTS score is a meaningful input into that scholarship ranking — submitting 7.0+ instead of the floor 6.0 noticeably improves the competitive ranking on borderline programmes.

Bocconi University — IELTS 6.5 or 7.0, no MoI exemption

Bocconi runs Italy's most competitive English-taught business and economics programmes. The bar is higher than at the public universities: IELTS 6.5 for most bachelor's, IELTS 7.0 for most master's. Bocconi also accepts TOEFL iBT 100+, Cambridge C1+, and PTE Academic 68+. Unlike most public universities, Bocconi typically does NOT accept a medium-of-instruction letter in lieu of a score — Indian applicants need to sit IELTS or one of the listed equivalents, even if their entire prior education was in English.

Bocconi also runs its own institutional admissions test (the Bocconi Test, online from home), which carries more weight in the admission decision than the IELTS score itself. The IELTS is treated as a gate — if you clear it, the admission decision is made on academic profile, the Bocconi Test, your essays, and (for master's) work experience. Pushing IELTS from 7.0 to 7.5 changes nothing at Bocconi; pushing the Bocconi Test result up does.

A wider table — what other Italian universities ask

The five universities above are the most-applied by Indian students. The table below covers another set Indian applicants commonly shortlist. Treat these as 2026-tested defaults — always confirm the exact figure on the programme page before booking your test.

Exemptions Indian applicants miss most often

Three exemption routes save Indian applicants the cost (₹16,250 for IELTS Academic) and time (4-6 weeks of preparation) of sitting the test. Each one is real but specific — verify on your programme page before relying on it.

1. Medium-of-instruction (MoI) letter — a written confirmation from your Indian university that your bachelor's degree was delivered entirely in English. Most Italian public universities accept this in lieu of IELTS for master's admission. Private universities (Bocconi, Luiss, Cattolica, Humanitas) generally don't.
2. Native-English-country secondary or undergraduate education — applicants whose last school or university was in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand are exempt almost everywhere. Indian applicants who did Class 12 IB at a UK / US-curriculum Indian school usually don't qualify; the exemption is country-of-institution-based, not curriculum-based.
3. Internal language test at the university — Polimi, Padua, and a few others run their own placement test that can substitute for IELTS. These are usually free for admitted applicants and lower-pressure than a global IELTS slot. Worth asking about if you're applying late in the cycle.

TOLC — the test that decides bachelor's admission for engineering, sciences, economics

TOLC (Test OnLine CISIA) is Italy's standardised aptitude test for bachelor's admissions in engineering, sciences, economics, agriculture, and a few other domains. It has nothing to do with English — TOLC is content-based and tests mathematics, logic, reading comprehension, and discipline-specific knowledge. For Indian applicants, TOLC is the gating test for bachelor's admission at most public engineering and science universities.

• TOLC-I — engineering bachelor's at Polimi, Politecnico di Torino, UniBo engineering, Padua, etc.
• TOLC-F — pharmacy bachelor's; sometimes architecture / design at certain universities.
• TOLC-E — economics bachelor's at Sapienza, UniBo, Bocconi (depending on cycle), and others.
• TOLC-SU — humanities at some universities.
• TOLC-B — biology / biotech bachelor's.
• TOLC@CASA — the at-home, web-proctored version, available to candidates outside Italy including India. The format and content are identical to the in-person TOLC.

Multiple TOLC sittings are allowed across the year — the best score counts. CISIA, the body that runs TOLC, publishes the calendar of sittings on cisiaonline.it. For Indian applicants, TOLC@CASA in early spring (March-May) is the most popular slot because it precedes most bachelor's deadlines.

IMAT — the only test that matters for English-taught medicine

IMAT (International Medical Admissions Test) is the single test for English-taught medicine programmes at Italian public universities. It runs once a year, usually in September. For the dominant English-taught Italian medicine cohort (a 6-year Single-cycle Master), the IMAT is the gate — your IELTS score, if asked, is a minor B2 check; the IMAT score is the ranking that decides your admission and your university choice.

• Universities running English-taught medicine via IMAT: Pavia, Padua, Milan (UniMi), Bologna, Naples Federico II, Bari, Rome (Sapienza, Tor Vergata, RomaTre / Cattolica), Turin (UniTo), Messina, Parma, and a few smaller centres.
• Format: 60 multiple-choice questions over 100 minutes — logic, scientific knowledge (biology, chemistry, physics, maths), reading comprehension, general knowledge.
• Score weighting: scientific knowledge dominates; reading comprehension and general knowledge are tie-breakers.
• Indian test centres: British Council centres in major cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad).
• Single annual sitting — there is no second chance within a cycle; missing the September date means waiting a full year.

When to actually book IELTS — the timing question

Italian university admissions for September intake mostly open between November of the previous year and March-April. Most programmes ask for the English score at application time, not as a deferred condition. The IELTS Academic test runs at British Council and IDP centres across India year-round, but slot availability tightens between August and November when the rush for September-intake admissions abroad is at its peak.

1. Book your IELTS slot 8-12 weeks before your earliest application deadline. The earliest Italian-university deadlines are around early February; that means December for IELTS.
2. If your programme allows a deferred score submission (some Sapienza and Bologna programmes do), you can sit IELTS up to 2-3 weeks before the conditional offer expires.
3. Allow one buffer month for a retake. Indian first-attempt averages are usually 0.5 band below practice-test averages.
4. IELTS Academic results are valid for 2 years. If you sit it in January 2026, it covers admissions for September 2026 AND September 2027 intakes.

Cost in INR — and where the cheaper routes are

Common mistakes Indian applicants make

1. Targeting IELTS 8.0 because of an Australian-PR-style mental anchor. The Italian ceiling at most universities is 6.5. Spending 6 extra weeks pushing 7.5 to 8.0 changes nothing for Italian admissions.
2. Booking IELTS before checking MoI eligibility. A simple medium-of-instruction letter from your Indian university often replaces the score entirely at public universities. Check first.
3. Confusing the language test with the admission test. For engineering bachelor's at Polimi, IELTS opens the door; TOLC decides admission. For medicine, IELTS is a B2 gate; IMAT decides admission. The university-website wording often blurs these.
4. Choosing the Duolingo English Test for cost reasons without checking acceptance. Duolingo is accepted unevenly — fine at some UniBo programmes, not accepted at Polimi or Bocconi in some cycles. The ₹10,000 saved is wasted if your top university rejects the certificate.
5. Missing the IMAT registration window. The single annual sitting + tight registration window means a 24-hour mistake costs a year. Register early even if you're not yet sure you'll sit the test.
6. Submitting an outdated MoI letter. Italian universities usually want the MoI letter dated within the current admission cycle. A 2021 letter for a 2026 admission application is sometimes rejected.

Two scenarios — Indian applicants in practice

Two short composite scenarios to anchor the moving parts. Names are illustrative.

The verification step

Score requirements change every academic year — sometimes mid-cycle. Before you book a test or rely on an exemption, open your programme's official admission page (linked under each university on ArrivoBuddy's /universities), find the English-language section, and copy the exact wording. Take a dated screenshot. If the requirement changes after you apply, the published wording on the date you applied is what matters in a dispute.

Last reviewed against official sources on 18 May 2026. Verify fast-moving facts (visa fees, deadlines, FX rate) against the linked sources before relying on them for decisions.