The national ranking was published on January 8 and gave a bitter surprise to hundreds of aspiring white coats. These students were assigned the “Nostra Signora del Buon Consiglio” Catholic University of Tirana, with which Tor Vergata activated a “Joint degree” course. Many say that they did not realize, when selecting the offices, that Tirana was abroad: the wording was “Medicina Roma Tor Vergata” with “Tirana office” in brackets.
The high costs
The main issue concerns costs. The annual fee amounts to 9,650 euros without any modulation based on the ISEE, as happens in Italian public universities. For comparison, at state universities tuition is calculated on family income and can be much lower, with total exemptions for the lowest income brackets.
The students assigned to Tirana are those with the lowest scores in the tests of the filter semester: in most cases they obtained only a passing grade on the three exams of Chemistry, Physics and Biology. It is therefore not the first choice indicated during registration.
Minister Bernini’s speech
The matter quickly reached the Ministry of University and Research. Minister Anna Maria Bernini summoned the rector of Tor Vergata, Nathan Levialdi Ghiron, defining the choice as “wrong” and the taxation “inconsistent with the purposes of the open semester and disproportionate to the principles that must guide the public university system”.
Bernini underlined that “such a contribution regime is incompatible with a full and effective implementation of the right to education, which must be guaranteed to all students, regardless of where they attend”.
The official source
The 220 places in Tirana result from Ministerial Decree no. 600 of 7 August 2025, published by the MUR, which defines the places available for Medicine in the academic year 2025/2026. The document clearly specifies that 483 places are planned for Tor Vergata in Rome and 220 in Tirana, the latter still in the accreditation phase.
Students have until January 14th to decide whether to enroll or withdraw, with the hope that a solution will arrive from the Ministry in the meantime.
