MBBS in University of Padua School of Medicine and Surgery Treviso

The Treviso site of the University of Padova's Scuola di Medicina e Chirurgia is a comparatively recent addition to a university with an extraordinarily long history. The University of Padova itself was founded in 1222 by scholars who left Bologna in search of greater academic freedom, and its medical faculty carries the legacy of figures such as Andreas Vesalius, Gabriele Falloppio and Girolamo Fabrici d'Acquapendente, who built the world's first permanent Anatomical Theatre in Padova in 1594. The Treviso campus extends that centuries-old teaching tradition into a second, purpose-built location roughly 30 kilometres northeast of the main Padova campus.

The Medicine and Surgery course at Treviso was formally inaugurated on 16 October 2020, with an initial intake of 60 students, based at facilities near the Ca' Foncello Hospital in the Fiera district of the city. A dedicated new campus building for the School of Medicine and Surgery opened there on 17 June 2024, with lecture halls named after historically significant figures in medicine, including Girolamo Fabrici d'Acquapendente himself, reinforcing the connection back to Padova's anatomical heritage even at this newer site.

It is important to be clear about how the Treviso course differs from Padova's separate English-taught Medicine and Surgery programme. The Treviso site teaches its Corso di Laurea Magistrale a Ciclo Unico in Medicina e Chirurgia entirely in Italian, with roughly 97 places allocated to EU and Italian-resident candidates plus a small quota of about 3 places for non-EU applicants residing abroad, distinct from the separate 480-plus-6 quota at the main Padova site and the 75-plus-25 quota on Padova's English-medium international track.

Admission to the Treviso course, like all Italian-medium medicine programmes in the country, now runs through the Semestre Filtro (also called Semestre Aperto), the national reform introduced from the 2025/2026 academic year that replaced the older single entrance exam. Applicants register freely for an open first semester of lectures and then sit standardised national exams in Biology, Chemistry and Physics; a national merit ranking based on those results decides who is confirmed into a place at Treviso specifically, alongside candidates ranking for seats at other Italian-medium sites around the country.

Because the entire course, from the filter-semester exams through to hospital ward rounds, is conducted in Italian, this programme realistically requires a genuinely functional command of the Italian language from the outset, generally expected to be at least B2 level, since Treviso currently offers no English-medium alternative to its Italian-taught Medicine and Surgery course.

Clinical training at Treviso is built around the Ca' Foncello Hospital, a large general hospital serving the wider Treviso province, with internships and clinical placements carried out there throughout the course. While it does not carry quite the same specialist depth as Padova's flagship Azienda Ospedale-Università teaching hospital, it gives Treviso students hands-on exposure to a busy regional hospital serving a broad patient population.

Tuition fees follow the same income-banded structure used across the University of Padova, generally reaching a maximum of a few thousand euros per year for the highest income bands, with full waivers available for students whose family ISEE-equivalent income falls below a set threshold, in line with Padova's broader student fee policy.

Treviso itself is a smaller, walkable city in the Veneto region, known for its historic canals, arcaded streets and proximity to Venice, which is roughly half an hour away by train. It offers a noticeably quieter, more affordable alternative to studying in central Padova or Venice, with living costs generally running somewhat lower than in Padova itself, typically around €700 to €1,000 per month including rent, food and transport.

Indian students considering this route need to weigh the Italian-language requirement carefully. NEET remains necessary for eventual registration with India's National Medical Commission, and graduates hoping to return to India must clear NExT, the exam that has replaced the older FMGE screening test, regardless of which Italian site they studied at.

In summary, the Treviso site offers a genuine extension of Padova's centuries-old medical teaching tradition into a smaller, more affordable regional city, built around a functioning general hospital and a newly constructed dedicated campus. The trade-off is that the entire admissions process and curriculum are delivered in Italian through the Semestre Filtro rather than English through the IMAT, making it a realistic option mainly for applicants with strong existing Italian language skills.