Failing Medical School at Sapienza University of Rome? Exams, Dismissal and Transfer (2026)

Failing medical school at Sapienza University of Rome: what the rules say

Key facts

• Governing rules: the Regolamento studenti of Sapienza and the Regolamento didattico of the LM-41 course.
• Course length: six years, 360 credits (CFU), no more than 36 integrated courses.
• Attendance: at least 67% of the hours of each course is required to sit the exam.
• Exam appelli: at least five ordinary and two extraordinary per academic year (Art. 21).
• Pass mark: 18/30; a failed result carries no grade.
• Time limit for the degree: three times the normal duration, so 18 years (Art. 24).

The rules we found set no fixed number of failed attempts. They work through time: you need the attendance, the prerequisite exams and the credits in the right order, and the calendar keeps running while you wait for the next appello.

Medicine and Surgery at Sapienza is offered in several Italian-taught courses and one English-taught course. Details such as the exams needed to move up can differ by course.

Exam sessions and appelli at Sapienza Medicine and Surgery

Article 21 of the Sapienza student regulations sets the frame. For a first-semester course there must be at least two appelli in January and February, two in June and July and one in September and October. For second-semester and annual courses the pattern is two in June and July, one in September and October and two in January and February of the following year.

In the Italian-taught Medicine and Surgery course for the academic year 2025/26 the sessions were a winter session from 26 January to 27 February 2026, a summer session from 1 June to 31 July 2026 and a recovery session from 1 to 30 September 2026. Each session has at least two appelli. Exams are not held during teaching periods.

Booking runs through Infostud, only after the lessons of your year have ended, and you must be up to date with your fees.

Retaking exams and the attendance rule at Sapienza

There is no cap on the number of attempts. A failed exam does not count as a grade and does not touch your average. You can also reject a passing grade of 18 or higher; it is then recorded as rinuncia and does not appear on your transcript.

The limit is attendance. In Medicine and Surgery you need at least 67% of the total hours of each course. Without the attendance certificate you cannot sit the exam. For documented serious health reasons, missing attendance can be made up in the following academic year.

Up to two extra exams (art. 42, formerly art. 6) can be taken with the permission of the faculty.

Prerequisites and blocked exams in Sapienza Medicine and Surgery

Sapienza uses propedeuticità to control progression. In the Italian-taught course C for 2025/26 the rules are:

• Year 2: two exams of year 1.
• Year 3: all exams of year 1.
• Year 4: all exams of years 1 and 2 plus one exam of year 3.
• Year 5: all exams of years 1 to 3.
• Year 6: all exams of years 1 to 4 plus two exams of year 5.

Individual exams have their own prerequisites too. Human Anatomy requires Histology and Embryology, and Pharmacology and Toxicology requires Pathology and General Pathophysiology. Some blocks are set in Infostud, and exams taken in breach can be annulled by the student administration.

The practical-evaluative internship (tirocinio pratico-valutativo, TPV) comprises 15 credits in years five and six: one month in surgery, one in internal medicine and one in general practice, with the general practice month not before year six. The final exam is also the state exam that qualifies you to practise (Art. 102, paragraph 1, Decree-Law 18/2020), provided the TPV is passed.

Other courses may set different thresholds. Read the table in the regolamento of your own course.

Fuori corso, repeated years and the time limit at Sapienza

Fuori corso status is defined in Art. 33 of the student regulations. You can use the special exam sessions. Enrolment in the first year behind schedule brings no increase in fees. From the second year behind schedule the surcharges of Art. 68 apply. Switching to part-time study, which spreads the 360 credits over nine years at 40 credits per year, avoids the surcharge.

The time limit is set in Art. 24: you must pass all exams within three times the normal duration of the course unless the faculty regulations say otherwise. Years of authorised interruption do not count. If you exceed it, you apply for a review of your earlier career, and the Teaching Council can assess your exams and set new training requirements.

A suspension of attendance of more than six years means you re-enter in a year assigned by the competent teaching council.

Exam law at Sapienza: illness, pregnancy, disability and appeals

Article 28 lets you interrupt your studies for one full academic year in case of serious prolonged illness, pregnancy, the first year after the birth or adoption of a child, or student-athlete status. You can submit at most two requests per study cycle, the interruption cannot be revoked, and you cannot take exams in that year. The applications for 2026/27 run from 1 September to 5 November 2026. On resuming you pay a flat fee of €290; students with a disability of at least 66% pay €30 per year.

Extraordinary appelli are open to fuori corso students, part-time students, students with a recognised disability (Art. 56) or specific learning disorder (Art. 57), pregnant students, parents of a child under three, athletes, caregivers and working students. Caregivers and working students send documents to the teacher at least 20 days before the session; working students need 60 days of work in the six months before.

You can ask for the reasons of a grade and see your written paper. Against a formal decision, such as an annulled exam, a refused review or a decadenza, you can appeal to the regional administrative court (TAR) within 60 days, or make an extraordinary appeal to the President of the Republic within 120 days. Check the deadline in the decision itself.

Medicine and Surgery in English at Sapienza: what changes

Art. 21, Art. 24 and Art. 33 apply to the English course too. Clinical activities begin only once the Italian course requirement of the first year is addressed, and students who fall behind in Italian can lose time at this point.

Why students get stuck in Medicine at Sapienza

Reasons we hear: little study structure in the first year, exam anxiety, an undiagnosed learning difficulty, money worries, a move to Rome without a support network and, in the English course, the Italian language.

Switch early: a checklist

• List every exam you have passed, with grade and credits.
• Write down your attendance certificates and the exams you are missing.
• Check the prerequisite table of your year.
• Note the next appello and how many attempts you realistically have.
• Collect your transcript, your admission documents and your school certificate.
• Ask for a free transfer consultation before you decide to leave or to wait.

Your next four weeks

• Week 1: collect your transcript, attendance certificates and exam records from Infostud.
• Week 2: book the free transfer consultation with Medschool Experts.
• Week 3: compare the options we show you, including the year of entry.
• Week 4: decide, and start the application with our help.

Transfer from Sapienza to a medical school abroad

A study transfer is a complicated undertaking. It involves recognition of your exams, the right year of entry, deadlines and documents in two countries. Our experts have almost ten years of experience with study transfers worldwide and therefore plan and carry it out confidently.

Medschool Experts are experts in exactly this situation. We help with the whole application process abroad, aim for no loss of time, with entry into a higher year where your profile allows, and can save your medical career. For exactly this case we have several partner universities in Europe: 25+ partner universities. Every case is checked individually.

Returning home with an EU degree

What continuing Medicine abroad costs

How Medschool Experts helps Sapienza students