TOLC

The TOLC (CISIA Online Test) is an individual test with questions selected from the CISIA TOLC database, to be sat on the computer. The test is different for each candidate, but TOLCs of the same type are similar or comparable in difficulty.

The TOLC is administered by CISIA - Consortium of Inter-University Integrated Access Systems: it is possible to take the test at any university member of the consortium (check here the full list of CISIA’s member institutions), and use it to access degree programmes at the University of Padua

The TOLC test can be both taken in presence - “TOLC at the University” - or remotely - “TOLC@Home”.

Please note: taking the TOLC alone is not sufficient for admission to a degree programme. You should carefully read the Call for admission for the programme you are interested in, to find out the type of TOLC required, the procedures and deadlines for the compulsory stages involved.

For the purposes of enrolment at the University of Padua and for the possible allocation of the Additional Formative Obligation (OFA), the University will take into consideration the TOLC test with the best score among those accepted and taken by the deadline indicated in the relevant Call for admissions regardless of the score obtained in the previous ones.

At present, there are 11 types of TOLCs (the full list is available on the CISIA’s web page). The University of Padua currently admits TOLC-I and English TOLC-I, TOLC-E, TOLC-AV, TOLC-SU, TOLC-F, TOLC-PSI to select students for our degree programmes (see below 'Types of TOLCs').

  Registering for the TOLC

The calendar with the list of available dates and locations for the "TOLC at university" and "TOLC @CASA" tests can be consulted on the dedicated page of the CISIA portal. Tests taken at other CISIA partner universities, both in presence and online, are considered valid for admission to the programmes.

Candidates must register for the TOLC on the CISIA’s website and pay € 30 fee. Please register for it well in advance, as each test has limited places available. The closing date for registering is one week before the test date.

You can sit up to one test per month, for each of the different TOLC types, regardless of the university where you take it (by way of example you cannot take two TOLC-I test in the same month, even if taken at different universities, but you can take a TOLC-I and a TOLC-E). 

  Students holding a foreing degree

All the procedures concerning access to the University of Padua’s degree programmes are outlined in the relevant Calls for admissions.

Candidates holding a foreign secondary school diploma must also apply on apply.unipd.it starting from the dates set in the relevant Call for admissions. Please check the list of documents required for application on https://www.unipd.it/en/study-italian-how-apply (section "Required documents"). 

Enrolment is subject to approval of entry qualification documents by the Admissions and Welcome Unit.

Types of TOLCs

Note: Different types of tests granting access to the same degree programmes have different minimum scores. All the information concerning the type of TOLC admitted, minimum scores and sections considered is provided in the relevant Call for applications.

  TOLC-I

Structure

  • MATHEMATICS (20 questions in 50 minutes)
  • LOGICAL REASONING (10 questions in 20 minutes)
  • SCIENCES (10 questions in 20 minutes)
  • READING COMPREHENSION (10 questions in 20 minutes)
  • ENGLISH (30 questions in 15 minutes)

Further information is also available in the dedicated section on the CISIA’s website.

The TOLC-I gives access to the following Italian-taught degree programmes:

School of Engineering

School of Science      

The University of Padua provides materials and initiatives to prepare for the admission tests. For further information, please consult the following webpage (in italian): https://www.unipd.it/prepararsi-prove-dingresso

  English TOLC-I

Structure

  • MATHEMATICS (20 questions in 50 minutes)
  • LOGICAL REASONING (10 questions in 20 minutes)
  • SCIENCES (10 questions in 20 minutes)
  • READING COMPREHENSION (10 questions in 20 minutes)

Further information is also available in the dedicated section on the CISIA’s website.

The English TOLC-I gives access to the following Italian-taught degree programmes:

School of Engineering

School of Science      

The University of Padua provides materials and initiatives to prepare for the admission tests. For further information, please consult the following webpage (in italian): https://www.unipd.it/prepararsi-prove-dingresso

  TOLC-E

Structure

  • LOGICAL REASONING (13 questions in 30 minutes)
  • READING COMPREHENSION (10 questions in 30 minutes)
  • MATHEMATICS (13 questions in 30 minutes)
  • ENGLISH (30 questions in 15 minutes)

Further information is also available in the dedicated section on the CISIA’s website.

The TOLC-E gives access to the following Italian-taught degree programmes:

School of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine    

School of Economics and Political Science 

School of Science

Unlimited access degree programmes: Statistica per l'economia e l'impresa; Statistica per le tecnologie e le scienze. Further information on the application procedures

The University of Padua provides materials and initiatives to prepare for the admission tests. For further information, please consult the following webpage (in italian): https://www.unipd.it/prepararsi-prove-dingresso

  TOLC-AV

Structure

  • BIOLOGY (8 questions in 16 minutes)
  • CHEMISTRY (8 questions in 16 minutes)
  • PHYSICS (8 questions in 16 minutes)
  • MATHEMATICS (8 questions in 16 minutes)
  • LOGICAL REASONING (8 questions in 16 minutes)
  • READING COMPREHENSION (10 questions in 20 minutes)
  • ENGLISH (30 questions in 15 minutes)

Further information is also available in the dedicated section on the CISIA’s website.

The TOLC-AV gives access to the following Italian-taught degree programmes:

School of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine    

  • Unlimited access degree programme in Scienze e cultura della gastronomia. Further information on the application procedure.
  • Limited access degree programmes: Riassetto del territorio e tutela del paesaggio; Scienze e tecnologie agrarie; Scienze e tecnologie alimentari; Scienze e tecnologie animali; Scienze e tecnologie viticole ed enologiche; Sicurezza igienico-sanitaria degli alimenti; Produzioni biologiche vegetali; Tecnologie forestali e ambientali. Further information on the application procedure.

The University of Padua provides materials and initiatives to prepare for the admission tests. For further information, please consult the following webpage (in italian): https://www.unipd.it/prepararsi-prove-dingresso

  TOLC-SU

Structure

  • READING COMPREHENSION AND ITALIAN LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE (30 questions in 60 minutes)
  • KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS ACQUIRED DURING STUDIES (10 questions in 20 minutes)
  • LOGICAL REASONING (10 questions in 20 minutes)
  • ENGLISH (30 questions in 15 minutes)

Further information is also available in the dedicated section on the CISIA’s website

The TOLC-SU gives access to the following Italian-taught degree programmes:

School of Economics and Political Science

School of Law

School of Human and social sciences and cultural heritage

The University of Padua provides materials and initiatives to prepare for the admission tests. For further information, please consult the following webpage (in italian): https://www.unipd.it/prepararsi-prove-dingresso

  TOLC-F

Structure

  • BIOLOGY (15 questions in 20 minutes)
  • CHEMISTRY (15 questions in 20 minutes)
  • MATHEMATICS (7 questions in 12 minutes)
  • PHYSICS (7 questions in 12 minutes)
  • LOGICAL REASONING (10 questions in 20 minutes)
  • ENGLISH (30 questions in 15 minutes)

Further information is also available in the dedicated section on the CISIA’s website

The TOLC-F gives access to the following Italian-taught degree programmes:

School of Medicine and Surgery

The University of Padua provides materials and initiatives to prepare for the admission tests. For further information, please consult the following webpage (in italian): https://www.unipd.it/prepararsi-prove-dingresso

  TOLC-PSI

Structure

  • READING COMPREHENSION (10 questions in 20 minutes)
  • MATHEMATICS (10 questions in 20 minutes)
  • VERBAL REASINING (10 questions in 25 minutes)
  • NUMERICAL REASONING (10 questions in 20 minutes)
  • ENGLISH (30 questions in 15 minutes)

Further information is also available in the dedicated section on the CISIA’s website

The TOLC-PSI gives access to the following Italian-taught degree programmes:

School of Psychology

  • Limited access degree programmes: Scienze e tecniche psicologiche; Scienze psicologiche cognitive e psicobiologiche; Scienze psicologiche dello sviluppo; della personalità e delle relazioni interpersonali; scienze psicologiche sociali e del lavoro. Further information on the application procedure.

The University of Padua provides materials and initiatives to prepare for the admission tests. For further information, please consult the following webpage (in italian): https://www.unipd.it/prepararsi-prove-dingresso