Failing Medical School at the University of Milan (Statale)? Exams, Dismissal and Transfer (2026)

Failing medical school at the University of Milan: key facts

• Course: Medicine and Surgery, single-cycle master's degree, 360 credits in six years, at the University of Milan (Statale), also as English-taught International Medical School.
• Retakes: no cap on attempts per exam; at least two weeks must pass after a failed attempt (Art. 10).
• Passing grade: 18/30; exam dates are published at least 60 days in advance.
• Progression: listed exams must be passed by the end of the September session, otherwise you become ripetente for the whole next academic year (Art. 9).
• Attendance: at least two thirds of the hours of each course (Art. 8).
• Decadenza: no exam passed for three consecutive academic years (Art. 16).

The rules below come from the course regulations of the University of Milan for Medicine and Surgery and from Italian national law. They apply to the Italian-language course at its teaching sites and, in the same structure, to the International Medical School. Your cohort year decides the exact list of exams, so always check your own regulation.

Exam rules at the University of Milan: retakes and appelli

Exam dates are set at least 60 days in advance and you register online. To sit an exam you need three things: your fees paid, the propaedeutic exams passed and the attendance attestation for the course. If an exam is registered without them, the university can annul it by rectoral decree.

The number of exams is limited too. The assessments of the whole course may not exceed 36 over the six years. In-course students take exams in the periods set each year by the Collegio Didattico. Repeaters and fuori corso students can be offered additional appelli, also during teaching periods.

Progression and propedeuticità in Medicine at the University of Milan

In the Italian-language course at Polo San Paolo, the year-two threshold is Histology and Embryology plus one elective exam from year one. For year three you need Human Anatomy I and II plus three exams from years one and two. For year four you need Human Physiology plus six exams from years one to three.

In the English-taught International Medical School the thresholds are named exams. For year three you need Functions I and II. For year four you need Fundamentals of Biomedical Imaging and Mechanisms of Diseases. For year five you need Fundamentals of Clinical Medicine 1, 2 and 3 plus Fundamentals of Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Further prerequisites sit in a table. Functions I and II require Anatomy and Biochemistry, and Mechanisms of Diseases requires Anatomy, Biochemistry and Genetics. Students who are not native Italian speakers need level B2 of the Common European Framework to enter year three of the International Medical School, with exemptions listed in the regulation.

Ripetente or fuori corso at the University of Milan: what it means

Ripetente is a status for one year at a time. It changes once your position is regularised. As ripetente after missing exams you have no attendance obligation, so you can use the year for the exam backlog. After missing attendance you must attend the courses lacking attestation.

Fuori corso is different. You have finished the attendance side of the course, but exams or the final exam are open. The thesis work, the internato di laurea, comes before the final exam. The final exam needs all planned exams and 347 credits in total. It is worth 13 credits. The score is out of 110, and honours need unanimous approval of the commission.

Do not forget the practical part. The course contains at least 60 professionalising credits. Fifteen of them are the tirocinio pratico-valutativo, which takes place between the fifth and sixth year once all exams of the first four years are passed. An open exam from year two can therefore delay year six.

Decadenza at the University of Milan: when study rights end

Decadenza is the real end point of the exam law. It is not triggered by a failed exam but by a long pause. A student who keeps passing at least one exam per academic year is outside the rule.

If you come back after decadenza, credits can be recognised, but they are checked for obsolescence. The International Medical School regulation sets this check after ten years (Art. 17).

Appeals, illness and disability at the University of Milan

For illness, the documentation must come from a facility of the national health service, and the request goes promptly to the Segreteria della Presidenza. If teachers report no missing attendance, the attendance obligation is presumed fulfilled.

For appeals against administrative decisions, the national deadlines are 60 days for the regional administrative court (TAR, Art. 29 of Legislative Decree 104/2010) and 120 days for the extraordinary appeal to the President of the Republic (Presidential Decree 1199/1971). For a single exam grade, speak to the teacher and the Collegio Didattico first.

Students with disabilities are protected by Law 104/1992, and students with specific learning disorders by Law 170/2010. Both laws give a right to individual measures in exams. Ask the university's service for students with disabilities and learning disorders before the next appello.

Why students get stuck in Medicine at the University of Milan

The course is demanding and the pace is fixed by the progression thresholds. A student with a strong profile can still miss one listed exam. Others study in a second language in the International Medical School, or travel between teaching sites. Illness, a bereavement or exam anxiety play a role more often than people say.

Medicine does not get lighter in higher years. Clinical subjects bring more material and longer chains of prerequisites. That is why an early decision is cheaper than a late one. For the national picture, including the semestre filtro, read our guide on failed medical school in Italy.

Switch early: checklist for students of the University of Milan

• You have failed the same exam more than twice.
• You are ripetente and a second repeated year is possible.
• You are about to miss two thirds of the hours in a course.
• Your last passed exam was more than a year ago.
• You want to keep your passed exams and credits.
• You want a clear plan instead of waiting for the next appello.

Your next four weeks after failing at the University of Milan

1. Week 1: download your transcript of passed exams and attendance attestations.
2. Week 2: read the progression table of your cohort and count the missing exams.
3. Week 3: book the next appello, at least two weeks after the failed one, and book the free consultation.
4. Week 4: compare staying with a transfer and decide.

Transfer from the University of Milan to a university in Europe

A study transfer is a complicated undertaking: recognition of exams, deadlines, documents and the right year of entry have to fit together. 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 and can save the medical career. Entry into a higher year is possible where the profile allows; every case is checked individually. See also our overview of transfers from the University of Milan.

Returning home: recognition of a degree from another EU country

Directive 2005/36/EC lists the medical degrees that all EU and EEA countries recognise. After graduation you apply for registration with the competent licence body of the country where you want to work. Italy is part of the system, so a transfer is not a one-way decision.

Cost of continuing Medicine abroad after the University of Milan

Compare this with the cost of a lost year: tuition, living costs and a year of salary as a doctor that starts later. A transfer into a higher year can pay for itself.

How Medschool Experts helps students of the University of Milan

We start with your transcript. Then we tell you which partner universities fit, which year you can enter and what each step costs. We stay with you through the application.