Anyone searching for «Languages entry test» usually expects a standard exam, like the TOLC for Engineering. There is none. Languages and linguistic mediation is an area where every university uses a different tool: sometimes its own test, sometimes a TOLC, sometimes an English test from an outside body. This guide compares the cases I read in the 2026/27 calls, declares what I have not verified (Ca’ Foscari and Milano Statale in particular) and gives you a method to check your own degree.
Date of reading of all sources: 29 October 2026.
The picture, university by university
| University / degree | Test (2026/27) | Structure and score |
|---|---|---|
| Genova, Interlinguistic Mediation Theory and Techniques (TTMI) | Own test on site, 3 September 2026 | Test A: 80 questions of linguistic logic, Italian language and general culture, 60 minutes; +1 / −0.25 / 0; OFA below 40/80. English Test B (only for those choosing English as specialisation language): 60 questions of grammar, vocabulary and comprehension, 30 minutes, B1 level, at least 40/60 to enter (50 English places) |
| Bologna (Forlì), Languages, Technologies and Intercultural Communication (LinTec) | Online Oxford Placement Test on Zoom, in English | Adaptive test up to 73 minutes (use of English, reading, listening); suitability 61/120; ranking only on the test score, the younger candidate wins a tie; two selections (13-17 April and 1-4 September 2026); second language to choose (Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, German) |
| Sapienza, Linguistic and Intercultural Mediation (L-12) | TOLC-SU (also @CASA) | Ranking out of fifty on the sections Text comprehension, Knowledge and skills, Logical reasoning; threshold 22/50; English has a separate ranking (at least 25/30, 120 places). 270 EU places + 10 non-EU with visa |
| Napoli «L’Orientale», non-selective degrees | TOLC-SU compulsory | Does not bar enrolment; the score of Section 1 (Italian comprehension and language) decides the OFAs; valid if taken from 1 January 2026 |
| Ca’ Foscari, Linguistic and Cultural Mediation | Online admission test, 27 August 2026 (morning) | Registration 1 July-17 August 2026, fee 35 €; I have not read the structure of the questions; the page mentions only an OFA if the Italian section is below 10/30 |
| IULM (private, Milan) | Own online proctored test, four sessions (January, March, May, July 2026) | Mediation, Interpreting and Intercultural Communication: 65 questions (English 30, second language 30, cultural knowledge 5), 60 minutes (30 for beginners in the second language), not selective: it forms the lab classes. Languages, Culture and Digital Communication: 65 questions (English 30, second language 30, comprehension 2, critical-verbal reasoning 3), 60 minutes; oral assessment after enrolment; fee 110 € |
| Milano Statale, Linguistic and Cultural Mediation | TOLC-SU, according to an earlier source | Not verified: I have not read the call |
The picture rests on a few calls read in full: Genova (the TTMI PDF), Bologna (the LinTec call), Sapienza, Napoli L’Orientale, Ca’ Foscari (the admission page only) and IULM. For the rest of Italy I do not know how it works.
Genova: the only full own-question test I read
Genova’s Test A is the closest to a test «to prepare». Eighty questions in 60 minutes mean under a minute a question: speed is part of the test. The three areas are linguistic logic, Italian language and general culture; the number of questions per area is not in the text I read, but the tie-breaker shows the order of importance: Linguistic logic, then Italian language, then Logic.
A scoring example with +1 / −0.25 / 0. If you answer 70 questions, get 52 right and 18 wrong, the score is out of 80: above the threshold of 40, so no OFA. If you solve 40 with certainty and guess the other 40 with a 25 % chance of success, the expected value of the 40 attempts is points: positive but small, because break-even is at 20 %. Random answering is not a strategy; ruling out options is.
Test B in English has a different role: it is a filter for the 50 English places, with 60 questions in 30 minutes (half a minute each) at B1 level and a threshold of 40/60. At this level the work is mostly speed on basic grammar and vocabulary: half a minute a question leaves no time to ponder.
Bologna LinTec: an English test, not a question test
LinTec uses the Oxford Placement Test, an adaptive test (questions adapt to your answers), and the ranking is made only on the test score. There is no general-culture test: English counts, with suitability at 61/120. The test is run by an outside body, so it makes no sense to look for a specific practice bank: prepare your English (grammar, vocabulary, listening, reading).
Sapienza and Napoli: the TOLC-SU
For Sapienza (Mediation L-12) and Napoli L’Orientale the test is the TOLC-SU, covered in the guide to the TOLC-SU: 50 questions, 30 of text comprehension and knowledge of Italian, 10 of knowledge acquired in school, 10 of logical reasoning. At Sapienza the ranking is out of fifty with a threshold of 22 and English needs at least 25/30 in a separate ranking; at Napoli L’Orientale the TOLC-SU does not bar enrolment, but the result on the Italian comprehension section decides the OFAs. So the same six weeks of preparation serve two different purposes: to get in at Sapienza, to avoid starting with a debt at Napoli.
How to check your own university in five minutes
- Go to the call for the degree, not to the generic «How to apply» page. Search for the «admission call» with the academic year 2026/27 or 2027/28.
- Look for three numbers: questions, minutes, points per answer (correct / wrong / blank).
- Look for the threshold and what happens if you miss it: exclusion, OFA, ranking?
- Look for the mode: on site, online with proctoring, @HOME. An online test needs room, computer and connection tried beforehand.
- Look for the second language: if you must choose a specialisation language, some tests (like Genova’s Test B) change with your choice.
If one of these points is not in the call, do not assume it: write to the degree’s office.
What I do not know
As of 29 October 2026 the following is not verified: the structure of the Ca’ Foscari questions; the Milano Statale call; the number of questions per area of Genova’s Test A; the tests of the other universities in Italy. 2027/28 calls usually come out between spring and early summer: the first re-check is planned by 30 April 2027.
If you already have a university in mind and want to know where to start, the free introductory call is for that: in half an hour we look at the call for your degree and build the plan. The tests I prepare are listed on the admission tests page, and for English there is the English page.
