Medical Education at the University of Siena
(Università degli Studi di Siena)
My questions:
Hello
I am Egor Kugno, a 15-year-old pupil of the 9th grade in Moscow school.
I have a small website — https://kugno.ru / where I write about my studies, exams and publish various answers from Russian ministries (about paying for studies abroad, transferring money for studies and so on)
The first 7 years I studied in an ordinary (good) Moscow school, had additional classes in biology (microbiology) and chemistry; last year I passed through the competition entrance exams to Chemical School #1501 — #10 in the rating of Moscow schools (it is approximately #30 among ALL schools in Russia). The school chemistry was very good — 6 hours a week, all year round (the standard in Russia is 2 hours a week, now there is no chemistry at all in humanities classes), but everything else, except chemistry, was not very good, and I went to 9th grade to school at the Higher School of Economics — (through entrance exams, of course) — where chemistry is a bit less, but everything else is much better)
Although I am still studying 2.5 years, I started researching universities of the world — to understand where I can go to study, what requirements I have to meet, whether to study languages other than English and Spanish that I am studying now at school, and of course — whether my parents will be able to pay for my education.
At the moment I am most interested in medicine (pathology, chemotherapy and hematology), chemistry (more like laboratory management) and pharmacy (more like managing science and research in a pharmaceutical company, but of course with a full understanding of what scientists do, and with a deep knowledge of biochemistry).
Right now I am studying primarily medical education, as it is the most complicated, expensive, there is a lot of information and it is the hardest to find.
Later I will gather information about chemical and pharmaceutical education.
I checked out your university’s website, but I have a few questions for you:
1. Is it possible to enter your university after I finished my 11 years of school in Russia — or do I need to take another course at a university in Russia?
I am studying English (I will graduate with a C1) and advanced chemistry and biology. Starting next year, our school will have compulsory participation in all the Olympiads in Russia for schoolchildren — all in all, it’s a great school.
But, as I wrote, we are only 11, not 12.
2. Do you have any students from Russia who are studying to be a doctor?
3. Are there any quotas for foreigners to study medicine at your university (and are there any quotas for Russians?)
4. Do I understand correctly — I need to study for 6 years?
5. Does your university have dormitories for students for the entire period of study?
5.1 If there are no dormitories (or there is a five-year waiting list), can the university act as a guarantor when renting accommodation?
6. What is the cost of tuition and living in dormitories and all other expenses per year for studying to be a doctor at your university (I mean education-related expenses — i.e. textbooks, labs, etc. — not including food and transportation, of course).
I know that prices are going up, but the overall costs need to be understood early on.
6.1. are there scholarships for Russians to study and/or live in?
7. What exams do I need to take besides English?
7.1 What language certificates do I need to register?
7.2 Is it possible to study in English?
This is an important question because I know that in most countries medical education is done in the national languages of the respective countries and I think that 2.5-3 years of training in any language is enough for level C1 — if taken seriously.
7.3 Are internal Russian achievements recognized and important (participation in Olympiads, successful passing exams in Russian universities)
8. Is it compulsory to take preparatory and/or language courses at your university before entering university?
9. What is the further procedure of training as a doctor after graduation (postgraduate course, residency, specialization) and obtaining a medical license (if you know)?
10. Will I be able to work after graduation?
11. If training to be a doctor is not possible, please tell me if it is possible to study to be a pharmacist (if you have one) and a chemist (biotechnology, as an option — chemical engineering for pharmacy)
Great if you can indicate in your answer if it is possible to study in English for a chemist or a pharmacist)
P.S. Even though I’m only 15 years old, I’ve started seriously looking for a university to get a good education. I have noticed that many universities put information in PDF format on their websites. This, in my opinion, is very wrong. Not everyone REALLY knows English (French, Chinese….), and such guys, going to a university website and not finding information that can be read in Google Translate, will leave forever and not come back.
Sorry for the unsolicited advice))) — But it would be great to have all the information about the university not only in PDF format, but also as plain text on the websites)))
P.S.2. If you have students from Russia, could you give them my email address or forward them my letter?
I would love to talk to them.
Thank you very much again.
Egor Kugno
Answer:
Dear student,
thanks for your interest, the courses of MEDICINE, CHEMISTRY and PHARMACY are all taught in ITALIAN.
1. Is it possible to enter your university after graduating from the 11 summer school in Russia — or do I need to take one more course at a university in Russia?
It’s mandatory to have at least 12 years of schooling so you would need at least one year of University to be allowed to join the University.
2. Do you have any students from Russia who are studying to become a Doctor?
The Privacy Law does not allow us to give this kind of information
3. Are there quotas for training foreigners to become a doctor at your University (and are there quotas for Russians?)
Each year the quota for International Students change, last year it was 2
4. Do I understand correctly — you need to study for 6 years? The course of medicine lasts 6 years
5. Does your University have dormitories for students for the entire period of study?
The residences belong to the Regional Auhtority and are assigned via a notice of competition
5.1 If there are no dormitories (or there is a queue for five years in advance), can the university act as a guarantor for renting housing?
The University does not own any residence
6. What is the cost of studying and living in hostels and all other expenses per year when studying to be a doctor at your university (meaning the costs associated with education — that is, payment for textbooks, laboratories, etc. — not including of course food and transport ) (I know that prices are rising, but the total costs need to be understood early)
Please check this link: https://apply.unisi.it/contents/content/8-tuition-fees-and-costs
6.1. Are there scholarships for Russians for study and/or living?
7. What exams do I need to take besides English?
The course of medicine is a restricted access with a mandatory entrance exam held in ITALIAN.
7.1. What language certificates do I need to enroll?
The Italian Language Proficiency of at leat B2 level
7.2. Is it possible to study in English? No
7.3. Are internal Russian achievements accepted and important (Participation in the Olympics, successful passing of exams in Russian universities) no they are not
8. Is it obligatory to take preparatory and/or language courses at your University before entering the university?
Students are required to speak the language before taking the entrance exam
9. What is the further procedure for training as a doctor after graduation from the university (postgraduate study, residency, specialization) and obtaining a doctor’s license (if you know)? I am sorry but we do not have this information
10. Will I be able to work after graduation?
Same as before
11. If training as a Doctor is not possible, please tell me if it is possible to study as a Pharmacist (if you have one) and a Chemist (biotechnology, as an option — chemical engineering for pharmaceuticals)
It’s great if in the answer you can indicate whether it is possible to study in English as a Chemist or Pharmacist)
I have already answered this question.
Regards
Giulia PAGNI
Mrs. Giulia PAGNI
Area Rapporti allo Studente
Urp e International Place
Centro di Informazione Europe Direct Siena
Università degli Studi di Siena — Via Banchi di Sotto, 55 — 53100 — Siena (Italia)
Tel. +39 0577 235122
e-mail internationalplace@unisi.it