CEnT-⁠S 2027: The Complete Guide to the CISIA English Test

In short. The CEnT-S is the entry test for English-taught bachelor's degrees in Italy. About 20 Italian universities use it for engineering, economics, pharmacy and science. For 2027/28 entry it has 65 questions in 6 sections, over 140 minutes. It cost €55 per sitting in 2026.^[1]

CISIA runs the test. CISIA is a group of Italian universities that runs entry tests. Each university then decides how it uses your result. This guide explains the test in plain words. Each part links to a longer guide.

The test at a glance

You sit six sections, in this order. Each section has its own clock.^[2]

See the sections as a table

Section	Questions	Minutes
Reading and comprehension	10	30
Mathematics	15	30
Reasoning on texts and data	15	30
Biology	10	20
Chemistry	10	20
Physics	5	10
Total	65	140

• Time you do not use in a section is lost.
• You cannot go back to a section you have closed.
• In 2026, each question had 5 options and one right answer.
• In 2026, no calculator was allowed. At home you used your own blank paper and a pen. At a university you got sheets in the room.

What changed for 2027/28 entry

The test is only one year old. CISIA changed it for 2027/28 entry:

• A new first section. Reading and comprehension has 10 questions in 30 minutes.
• A longer test. It now has 65 questions in 140 minutes. In 2026 it had 55 questions in 110 minutes.
• Five test windows. In 2026 there were four. CISIA calls them macro-periods.
• New score dates. Your official score arrives by one of five dates in 2027.

If a book or a website says 55 questions, it describes the 2026 test.

Is it in English? Do I have to go to Italy?

• Yes, it is all in English. It replaced the English TOLC-I, TOLC-E and TOLC-F in November 2025.
• No, you do not have to travel. You can sit it online from home, even outside Italy. This is called CEnT@HOME.
• Your university must accept the format. Some accept the home test only from some applicants.

The CEnT-S is not an English certificate. In 2026, Bologna Pharmacy, Trento and Sapienza Sustainable Building Engineering also asked for B2 English. See does the CEnT-S replace IELTS?

How long is the test day?

• In 2026, the ID check started at 14:15 Italian time.^[3]
• You then started the test between 14:30 and 14:50.^[4]
• In 2026 there was no set break. The supervisors could allow one break of up to 10 minutes, between sections.

For 2027/28 entry, the sections add up to 140 minutes. CISIA has not published the 2027 test times yet.

Who can sit it

Anyone can book, from any country. You need a CISIA account. You do not need an Italian tax code.^[5]

For 2027/28 entry, take the test between November 2026 and September 2027. Take it in your last year of school, or after you finish. CISIA says you cannot take it in your second-to-last year. A score from an earlier entry year will not count. For example, a sitting on 15 October 2026 counts only for 2026/27 entry.

Who uses it

Each university says in its call which degrees need the test. The call (bando in Italian) is the university's admission notice. Some examples from the 2026 calls:

University	Degrees
Politecnico di Milano	All engineering degrees, as an alternative to its own entry test, the TOL
Padova	Information Engineering; Economics, Governance and Decision-Making
Sapienza (Rome)	Sustainable Building Engineering; Bioinformatics; Molecular Biology
Bologna	Pharmacy, in Rimini
Trento	Economics and Management, for non-EU applicants
Brescia	Business and Economics
Teramo	Business Management
Roma Tor Vergata	Business Administration and Economics
Ca' Foscari (Venice)	Economics and Business; Business Administration and Management

In September 2026, CISIA's own list had 18 universities.^[6] Some universities use the test but are not on that list.

• On CISIA's list: Bolzano, Brescia, Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Cassino, Firenze, Messina, Milano (Statale), Milano-Bicocca and Padova. Also Pavia, Perugia, Pisa, Politecnico di Milano, Sapienza (Rome), Teramo, Trento, Trieste and Udine.
• Not on the list, but use it for admission: Bologna (Pharmacy), Roma Tor Vergata and Ca' Foscari (Venice).
• Not on the list, but host test dates: Siena and Chieti-Pescara.

Which sections count

Your university decides which sections count. Here is what the 2026 calls said:

• Economics at Tor Vergata, Trento (non-EU applicants) and Ca' Foscari counted only Maths and Reasoning.
• Teramo Business Management has open access. It set its OFAs on Maths and Reasoning. An OFA is an extra requirement if you score low.
• Polimi engineering counted Maths, Reasoning and Physics.
• Sapienza Sustainable Building Engineering, Sapienza Bioinformatics and Bologna Pharmacy counted every section.

See every university in which sections count for your university.

Your score in four lines

1. A right answer gets +1. A wrong answer gets −0.25. A blank gets 0.
2. Your raw score shows on screen when you finish. The maximum is 65.
3. After your window, CISIA adds points to each section. It adds more when your questions were harder. The result is your normalised score: your score after CISIA's fairness adjustment. It comes by your window's score date.
4. Your university decides which number it uses. In 2026, Sapienza Bioinformatics used the raw score. Tor Vergata and Sapienza Sustainable Building Engineering used the normalised one.

More in CEnT-S scoring.

When to sit it

There are five test windows. You can sit the test once in each.^[1]

See the score dates as a table

Window	Official score by
November to January	29 January 2027
February to March	31 March 2027
April to May	31 May 2027
June to July	30 July 2027
August to September	17 September 2027

The test dates are not out yet. In 2025, booking for the first window opened on 4 November.

Plan your sitting backwards from your university's deadline. More in CEnT-S exam dates, fee and booking.

Need a student visa? In 2026, Ca' Foscari said its international applicants needed a score from the first two windows.^[7] Check your own university's deadline. Our advice: if you need a visa, an earlier window is safer.

At home or at a university

• CEnT@UNI is in a computer room at an Italian university. Any university that runs the test will do.
• CEnT@HOME is online from your own room. You need a laptop, plus a phone or tablet.
• Check your call first. In 2026, Bologna Pharmacy accepted @HOME only from non-EU applicants living abroad.

Compare the two in CEnT-S at home or at a university.

What is not on the syllabus

CISIA's syllabus lists no trigonometry under Mathematics.^[2] But if Physics counts for you, learn sine, cosine and tangent. In Physics they are ratios in a right triangle, used for vectors.

How to start

Do CISIA's free simulation first. It runs on the real test platform.^[8] In September 2026 its menus were in Italian.

Some students on Reddit who sat it in 2026 said the real test felt harder than CISIA's simulation. So treat the simulation as the minimum level. Then read how to prepare for the CEnT-S.

CentsPrep practice: see the plans.

Checked against CISIA on 5 October 2026.