Foundation Course in English
Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome
Tuition, per year
€4,016
Unverified. Not yet verified. A person has not opened the source for this cycle. Read off the institution own programme page on 13 September 2026 by a single research pass. It has NOT been independently re-checked: the verification stage of that run was stopped before it reached this record, so the record renders as unverified rather than claiming a receipt it does not have. The English requirement is held at unverified unless a per programme source URL was found. Figures here are a starting point for a reader, not a checked claim. Open questions: 1) Whether the second application window is actually open. The admissions page warns that after a high volume of first window applications, a second window opens only if places remain, and may not open at all. The 30 September 2026 deadline is published but is conditional. 2) The course syllabi and the timetable are not published yet. Article 10 of the call says they will appear on scuolaiad.it before the academic year starts. The Scuola IaD Foundation Course page currently carries only a description, contact details and a link to the call and a leaflet. 3) Whether a medium of instruction letter satisfies the Article 3 waiver. The call names only native English speakers and those whose second language is English, with official documentation, and does not mention medium of instruction. 4) The admissions page body text still says a CEFR B2 certificate is required, while the warning directly below it and Article 3 of the call both say B1. The operative level is B1, but the page contradicts itself. 5) Whether the minimum of 25 enrolments for the course to run has been reached for 2026/2027. 6) No minimum school leaving mark is published anywhere in the call or the brochure, so minGpaPercent is left empty rather than guessed. Tor Vergata University of Rome, Admissions, Foundation Course in English
Application deadline
closes in 6 days
English requirement
IELTS required
The university’s exact wording
“Article 3(a) of the 2026/2027 Call for Applications: "A certificate at CEFR level B1 or above is required, issued by one of the following bodies: IELTS; TOEFL; CFE; British Institutes; Cambridge University Press and Assessment; Educational Testing Service (ETS); Pearson Education Limited; Trinity College London. This requirement is waived for native English speakers and for those whose second language is English, provided they supply official documentation to that effect." The call sets a CEFR level, not a test score. No minimum IELTS band and no minimum TOEFL score is published for this programme. The level is B1, lowered from B2 by the document "Partial Amendment to the Foundation Course, Call for Applications for the 2026/2027 academic year", following the Ministerial Guidelines for 2026/2027 and 2027/2028. A B2 certificate is not an admission requirement here but it does something else: under Article 2 it exempts the holder from the English module and grants the related credits. Duolingo is not on the accepted list.”
Unverified. Not yet verified. A person has not opened the source for this cycle. Read off the institution own programme page on 13 September 2026 by a single research pass. It has NOT been independently re-checked: the verification stage of that run was stopped before it reached this record, so the record renders as unverified rather than claiming a receipt it does not have. The English requirement is held at unverified unless a per programme source URL was found. Figures here are a starting point for a reader, not a checked claim. Open questions: 1) Whether the second application window is actually open. The admissions page warns that after a high volume of first window applications, a second window opens only if places remain, and may not open at all. The 30 September 2026 deadline is published but is conditional. 2) The course syllabi and the timetable are not published yet. Article 10 of the call says they will appear on scuolaiad.it before the academic year starts. The Scuola IaD Foundation Course page currently carries only a description, contact details and a link to the call and a leaflet. 3) Whether a medium of instruction letter satisfies the Article 3 waiver. The call names only native English speakers and those whose second language is English, with official documentation, and does not mention medium of instruction. 4) The admissions page body text still says a CEFR B2 certificate is required, while the warning directly below it and Article 3 of the call both say B1. The operative level is B1, but the page contradicts itself. 5) Whether the minimum of 25 enrolments for the course to run has been reached for 2026/2027. 6) No minimum school leaving mark is published anywhere in the call or the brochure, so minGpaPercent is left empty rather than guessed. Tor Vergata University of Rome, Admissions, Foundation Course in English
- LevelFoundation yearFoundation Year
- SubjectSocial sciences
- Taught inTaught in English
- Length9 months
- DeliveryBlended
- StartsNovember
- AdmissionRestricted, entrance testThere is an entrance test
- Minimum markNot yet read
The money
What you pay, and what you must prove you have.
Two different things, kept apart on purpose: a bill you pay, and a balance a visa officer needs to see that never gets spent.
What you pay
Tuition, per year
€4,016
about PKR 1,291,000
Why this figure, and not a lower one
Italian state fees usually scale with an assessed household indicator. Where the call states one figure it appears above; where it states a scale, this page says so rather than averaging it.
Read off the institution own programme page on 13 September 2026 by a single research pass. It has NOT been independently re-checked: the verification stage of that run was stopped before it reached this record, so the record renders as unverified rather than claiming a receipt it does not have. The English requirement is held at unverified unless a per programme source URL was found. Figures here are a starting point for a reader, not a checked claim. Open questions: 1) Whether the second application window is actually open. The admissions page warns that after a high volume of first window applications, a second window opens only if places remain, and may not open at all. The 30 September 2026 deadline is published but is conditional. 2) The course syllabi and the timetable are not published yet. Article 10 of the call says they will appear on scuolaiad.it before the academic year starts. The Scuola IaD Foundation Course page currently carries only a description, contact details and a link to the call and a leaflet. 3) Whether a medium of instruction letter satisfies the Article 3 waiver. The call names only native English speakers and those whose second language is English, with official documentation, and does not mention medium of instruction. 4) The admissions page body text still says a CEFR B2 certificate is required, while the warning directly below it and Article 3 of the call both say B1. The operative level is B1, but the page contradicts itself. 5) Whether the minimum of 25 enrolments for the course to run has been reached for 2026/2027. 6) No minimum school leaving mark is published anywhere in the call or the brochure, so minGpaPercent is left empty rather than guessed.
Unverified. Not yet verified. A person has not opened the source for this cycle. Read off the institution own programme page on 13 September 2026 by a single research pass. It has NOT been independently re-checked: the verification stage of that run was stopped before it reached this record, so the record renders as unverified rather than claiming a receipt it does not have. The English requirement is held at unverified unless a per programme source URL was found. Figures here are a starting point for a reader, not a checked claim. Open questions: 1) Whether the second application window is actually open. The admissions page warns that after a high volume of first window applications, a second window opens only if places remain, and may not open at all. The 30 September 2026 deadline is published but is conditional. 2) The course syllabi and the timetable are not published yet. Article 10 of the call says they will appear on scuolaiad.it before the academic year starts. The Scuola IaD Foundation Course page currently carries only a description, contact details and a link to the call and a leaflet. 3) Whether a medium of instruction letter satisfies the Article 3 waiver. The call names only native English speakers and those whose second language is English, with official documentation, and does not mention medium of instruction. 4) The admissions page body text still says a CEFR B2 certificate is required, while the warning directly below it and Article 3 of the call both say B1. The operative level is B1, but the page contradicts itself. 5) Whether the minimum of 25 enrolments for the course to run has been reached for 2026/2027. 6) No minimum school leaving mark is published anywhere in the call or the brochure, so minGpaPercent is left empty rather than guessed. Tor Vergata University of Rome, Admissions, Foundation Course in English
To be considered, once
Not yet read from the call
Paid to the university when you submit. Non-refundable, and separate from anything the visa itself costs.
Unverified. Not yet verified. A person has not opened the source for this cycle. Read off the institution own programme page on 13 September 2026 by a single research pass. It has NOT been independently re-checked: the verification stage of that run was stopped before it reached this record, so the record renders as unverified rather than claiming a receipt it does not have. The English requirement is held at unverified unless a per programme source URL was found. Figures here are a starting point for a reader, not a checked claim. Open questions: 1) Whether the second application window is actually open. The admissions page warns that after a high volume of first window applications, a second window opens only if places remain, and may not open at all. The 30 September 2026 deadline is published but is conditional. 2) The course syllabi and the timetable are not published yet. Article 10 of the call says they will appear on scuolaiad.it before the academic year starts. The Scuola IaD Foundation Course page currently carries only a description, contact details and a link to the call and a leaflet. 3) Whether a medium of instruction letter satisfies the Article 3 waiver. The call names only native English speakers and those whose second language is English, with official documentation, and does not mention medium of instruction. 4) The admissions page body text still says a CEFR B2 certificate is required, while the warning directly below it and Article 3 of the call both say B1. The operative level is B1, but the page contradicts itself. 5) Whether the minimum of 25 enrolments for the course to run has been reached for 2026/2027. 6) No minimum school leaving mark is published anywhere in the call or the brochure, so minGpaPercent is left empty rather than guessed. Tor Vergata University of Rome, Admissions, Foundation Course in English
What you must prove you have
Funds you must show, per year
€10,179.85
Health cover, minimum
€30,000
How these two are decided
Funds you must show: in your own account, or evidenced by a sponsor or an award. Cash is refused.
Health cover: emergency treatment and repatriation, across the Schengen area, for as long as the visa lasts.
Universitaly (MUR)checked
Who may hold the money, and the refusal of cash, are the embassy’s own rules for a study visa rather than the university’s.
Embassy of Italy, Islamabadchecked
Rent, food and travel are in none of the figures above. What a month actually costs in Italy.
Amounts are in euro, as published. €1 = PKR 321.43, 30 August 2026.
Entry requirements
What this call asks of you.
The admission model first, because it is the one that closes a degree for a year. Everything below it is quoted from the university's call for applications for this cycle, in its order.
How it admits
Restricted, entrance test
accesso programmato
The university's own wording
“Article 5 of the 2026/2027 Call for Applications: "There are 250 places on the Foundation Course. The course will run only if at least 25 students enrol." The same article states that "Applications are assessed on a first-come, first-served basis." Places are capped, so this is not open access. There is no entrance examination and no ranking by merit or mark: assessment is on the documents listed in Article 4, in the order applications arrive.”
Entrance tests
No entrance test
What the call asks for
English at CEFR level B1 or above, certified by IELTS, TOEFL, CFE, British Institutes, Cambridge University Press and Assessment, Educational Testing Service (ETS), Pearson Education Limited or Trinity College London.
The requirement is waived for native English speakers and for those whose second language is English, if they supply official documentation to that effect.
A final diploma that completes upper secondary education and that grants access to university in the country where it was awarded.
Applicants currently in their final year may apply by submitting report cards for every preceding year. Enrolment is confirmed only once the final diploma has been awarded.
Applicants who have not completed the full cycle of secondary education in their school system are not eligible. An example given is 11 years of schooling in a system that requires 12 or 13.
A Bachelor's or Master's degree is not accepted and results in exclusion from the Foundation Course.
Applicants under 18 must turn 18 by 31 March 2027 at the latest, so only students born on or before 31 March 2009 may apply.
Parents of applicants under 18 must give signed consent, appoint a legal guardian resident in Italy for the full duration of the course, submit a power of attorney for the Italian tax code, and attach copies of both parents' and the guardian's identity documents.
The English rule
IELTS required
“Article 3(a) of the 2026/2027 Call for Applications: "A certificate at CEFR level B1 or above is required, issued by one of the following bodies: IELTS; TOEFL; CFE; British Institutes; Cambridge University Press and Assessment; Educational Testing Service (ETS); Pearson Education Limited; Trinity College London. This requirement is waived for native English speakers and for those whose second language is English, provided they supply official documentation to that effect." The call sets a CEFR level, not a test score. No minimum IELTS band and no minimum TOEFL score is published for this programme. The level is B1, lowered from B2 by the document "Partial Amendment to the Foundation Course, Call for Applications for the 2026/2027 academic year", following the Ministerial Guidelines for 2026/2027 and 2027/2028. A B2 certificate is not an admission requirement here but it does something else: under Article 2 it exempts the holder from the English module and grants the related credits. Duolingo is not on the accepted list.”
The application file
- Passport
- Final secondary school diploma
- Final-year report card, with an official translation into English
- Qualification from a Lisbon Recognition Convention country: ARDI Certificate of Correspondence, free from the ARDI database, or a Declaration of Value from the Italian Embassy in the country of award
- Qualification from a non Lisbon Convention country: CIMEA Statement of Comparability, or a Declaration of Value from the Italian Embassy in the country of award
- CIMEA Statement of Verification, or an official translation into Italian of the diploma together with its legalisation. An Apostille may be submitted instead for countries party to the Hague Convention (1961).
- English language certificate at CEFR level B1 or above
- Still in your final year, or waiting for your diploma: a certificate of enrolment in the final year issued by the school with an official English translation, report cards for all previous school years officially translated into English, and the English certificate. The full set of definitive documents must follow by 15 October 2026.
English, accepted proofs
- IELTS
- TOEFL
- PTE Academic
Only what this call names. A proof another degree at the same university accepts is not on this list unless this call says so too.
Before any of it counts
Start the legalisation chain first
A degree awarded outside Europe has to be attested and legalised before an Italian university reads it. That chain is decided by the country you apply from, and no office on it publishes a turnaround.
The degree
About this degree.
A one year preparatory programme taught in English that gets international students ready to start a degree at an Italian university. It suits applicants whose school system stops short of the 12 years Italy requires, and those who meet that bar but want stronger Italian, English and subject knowledge first.
The Foundation Course in English is a preparatory programme run by the IaD School of Tor Vergata University of Rome. It is offered under Article 6(1) of Ministerial Decree No. 270/2004, which lets Italian universities run preparatory training for students entering degree programmes. It is not a degree. It runs for one academic year, from November to July, and the university brochure gives the length as 9 months of study.
The university's full description
The course is worth 60 equivalent credits. The first semester is the same for everyone and carries 20 credits of Italian Language and 10 credits of English Language. In the second semester you follow one of two pathways, each worth 30 credits. Social Sciences teaches Italian Literature and Culture, Geography and History, Principles of Economics, Political Institutions and Mathematics, each 6 credits. Natural Sciences teaches Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Political Institutions, each 6 credits. You choose your pathway when you enrol and the call states the choice is final and cannot be changed later.
Students who already hold a CEFR B2 certificate or higher from an accredited body, along with native English speakers and those with English as a second language, may be granted the credits for the English module and excused from attending it.
Teaching begins online in November 2026. From the second semester in March 2027 all teaching moves to campus and is held only in person. Attendance is compulsory for both the online and the on campus classes and teaching staff monitor it. Each module ends with a final examination, open only to students who attended at least 60% of that module's classes.
There are 250 places. Applications are assessed in the order they arrive. The course runs only once at least 25 students have enrolled, though the university reserves the right to run it with fewer where particular internationalisation needs justify doing so.
Fees total 4,016 euro and are paid in three instalments. The first instalment of 1,016 euro, which includes 16 euro of stamp duty, is due within 10 days of the acceptance email. The second instalment of 1,000 euro is due by 4 November 2026. The third instalment of 2,000 euro is due by 15 March 2027. The first two instalments must both be paid before enrolment is finalised and the first semester online classes are unlocked. The fees are not refunded, including if a visa is refused, and missing a payment deadline removes a student from the programme. Students with refugee status, or who have applied for temporary protection under Directive 2001/55/EC, are exempt from all three instalments if they hold a valid residence permit.
Non EU students living abroad must apply for a study visa through the Universitaly portal by 30 November 2026. The university advises contacting the Italian Embassy or Consulate early, because the visa has to be issued before on campus teaching starts in March 2027.
Students who pass every exam on their chosen pathway receive a certificate of completion. It confirms they meet the minimum entry requirements for Bachelor's and single cycle Master's degree programmes, and it exempts them from the placement tests for open access degree programmes at Tor Vergata. Restricted entry programmes still require their own admission test. The university states plainly that completing the course does not automatically entitle a student to a place at any other Italian university.
Where it leads
As the university states it on its own page. Not a placement rate and not a promise.
- The Foundation Course certificate of completion, confirming the credits and the pathway completed at Tor Vergata University of Rome
- Confirmation that the student meets the minimum entry requirements for Bachelor's degree programmes and single cycle Master's degree programmes
- Exemption from the placement tests for open access degree programmes at Tor Vergata University of Rome
- Restricted entry programmes, whether capped at national or local level, still require the relevant admission test
- Completing the Foundation Course does not automatically entitle a student to a place at any other Italian university
- No partial certificates are issued for attendance alone or for passing individual examinations
Asked about this programme
The questions this one gets.
What English level do I need?
CEFR B1 or above. The level was lowered from B2 to B1 for the 2026/2027 year by a partial amendment to the call. The call sets a CEFR level and publishes no minimum IELTS band or TOEFL score.
Is the Duolingo English Test accepted?
No. Article 3 names the bodies it accepts: IELTS, TOEFL, CFE, British Institutes, Cambridge University Press and Assessment, Educational Testing Service (ETS), Pearson Education Limited and Trinity College London. Duolingo is not among them.
Can the English certificate be waived?
Yes, for native English speakers and for those whose second language is English, if they supply official documentation to that effect. The call does not mention a medium of instruction letter, so check with the International Students Office before relying on one.
Is there an entrance exam?
No. Article 3 sets two eligibility requirements and applications are assessed on documents in the order they arrive. There are Italian and English placement tests, but you take them after paying the first instalment and they set your class level, not your admission.
Is a place guaranteed if I meet the requirements?
No. There are 250 places and applications are assessed on a first-come, first-served basis. The course also runs only once at least 25 students have enrolled.
Is the second application window definitely open?
Not certain. The admissions page warns that because of the high number of applications in the first window, a second window will open only if places are still available once all first window applications have been assessed, and that it may not open at all. Contact foundationcourse@uniroma2.it before you start an application.
What does it cost?
4,016 euro in total, paid in three instalments. You pay 1,016 euro within 10 days of acceptance, which includes 16 euro of stamp duty, then 1,000 euro by 4 November 2026 and 2,000 euro by 15 March 2027. The fees are not refunded, including if your visa is refused.
Is the course online or on campus?
Both. The first semester is delivered online from November 2026. From the second semester in March 2027 all teaching moves to campus and is held only in person.
How long is it and when does it finish?
Classes begin in November 2026 and the programme ends in July 2027. The university brochure gives the length as 9 months of study.
Can I change pathway after I start?
No. You choose Social Sciences or Natural Sciences when you enrol, and the call states the choice is final and cannot be changed later.
What are the modules?
The first semester is Italian Language, 20 credits, and English Language, 10 credits. Social Sciences then teaches Italian Literature and Culture, Geography and History, Principles of Economics, Political Institutions and Mathematics, each 6 credits. Natural Sciences teaches Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Political Institutions, each 6 credits.
Do I need a visa?
Non EU students living abroad must apply for a study visa through the Universitaly portal by 30 November 2026. The visa has to be issued before on campus teaching starts in March 2027.
One programme, one university, once a year.
That is what Universitaly allows. Three questions tell you where you stand before you spend that choice: the degree level, what the visa wants in the bank, and how much calendar is left.
Universitaly (MUR)checked
The shortlist is a conversation
An advisor reads your documents against what this call asks for and tells you whether the file will clear, and if it will not, what to fix.
Tuition a year€4,016
Check Pakistan eligibility