What Is the CEnT-S Exam?
The CEnT-S (CISIA English Test – Sciences) is the online admission test Italian universities use for many degrees taught in English, mainly in engineering, economics, pharmacy, and the sciences. It has 65 multiple-choice questions in six timed sections, lasts 140 minutes, and costs €55.
Checked with CISIA, the consortium of Italian universities that runs the test, on .
Preparing for it? TuttoPrep offers CEnT-S topic guides and practice questions, temporarily free during open beta (regular price: €8.99 a month billed yearly).
Who Needs to Take the CEnT-S?
You need the CEnT-S if the admission notice for your English-taught degree asks for it. In November 2025 it replaced the English versions of TOLC-E, TOLC-I, and TOLC-F, so degrees that used those tests now ask for the CEnT-S. Degrees taught in Italian use other tests, such as CISIA’s Italian-language TOLCs.
The admission notice (in Italian, bando di ammissione) is the official call for applications a university publishes for each degree. It tells you whether the degree accepts the CEnT-S, which formats and testing periods count, any minimum score, and when your result must arrive. Read it before you book anything.
You don’t have to sit the test at the university you’re applying to. CISIA lets you book a date at any university’s venue, as long as the result is valid for your degree.
What Is on the CEnT-S?
The CEnT-S has 65 multiple-choice questions in six sections: Reading and comprehension, Mathematics, Reasoning on texts and data, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Each section has its own time limit, 140 minutes in total. Every question has five options and one correct answer.
| Section | Questions | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Reading and comprehensionEnglish texts at B2 level: non-fiction, literary, and journalistic. No specific preparation needed. | 10 | 30 |
| MathematicsNumbers, algebra, geometry, functions, exponentials and logarithms, combinatorics and probability, basic statistics. | 15 | 30 |
| Reasoning on texts and dataLogic and deductive reasoning, reading and working with data, problem solving. | 15 | 30 |
| BiologyBiological molecules, cells, the cell cycle and inheritance, plants and ecology, animal anatomy and physiology. | 10 | 20 |
| ChemistryMatter and atoms, periodic trends, reactions and stoichiometry, solutions, acids and bases, redox, organic chemistry. | 10 | 20 |
| PhysicsMeasurement, kinematics, dynamics, energy and work, fluids and thermodynamics, electromagnetism. | 5 | 10 |
| Total | 65 | 140 |
You can move to the next section early, but you can’t go back, and unused time doesn’t carry over. The current format includes Reading and comprehension: 10 questions in 30 minutes. Full syllabus at CISIA
TuttoPrep’s CEnT-S question bank covers all six sections, including Reading and comprehension. The guides cover Mathematics, Reasoning on texts and data, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Try the CEnT-S course free
How Is the CEnT-S Scored?
Each correct answer earns 1 point, a blank earns 0, and a wrong answer loses 0.25. When your testing period ends, CISIA adjusts each section score with a coefficient that reflects how hard your version of the test was. That normalized score is your official result. CISIA sets no pass mark: each university decides how to use it.
A worked example
Say you answer 40 questions correctly, get 10 wrong, and leave 15 blank. Your raw score is 40 − (10 × 0.25) = 37.5. CISIA then normalizes it at the end of your period.
Should you guess?
With five options, a blind guess is worth nothing on average: a 1 in 5 chance of +1 against a 4 in 5 chance of −0.25. Rule out even one option and a guess starts to pay. Rule out two or three and it clearly does.
When you see your result
At the end of the test you see how many answers were right, wrong, and blank. Your normalized score appears in your CISIA Student Area once your testing period ends.
When Can You Take the CEnT-S?
You can take the CEnT-S once in each testing period, which CISIA calls a macro-period. 2026–27 has five: November to January, February to March, April to May, June to July, and August to September. Universities set the test days inside each period, and scores come out after it ends.
| 2026–27 period | Testing window | Scores by |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Nov 2026 – Jan 2027 | November 2026 – January 2027 | |
| 2nd Feb – Mar 2027 | February – March 2027 | |
| 3rd Apr – May 2027 | April – May 2027 | |
| 4th Jun – Jul 2027 | June – July 2027 | |
| 5th Aug – Sep 2027 | August – September 2027 |
From the day after your test, you can book another one in a later period. Test days appear in the CISIA calendar as universities schedule them. See every CEnT-S test date
How Much Does the CEnT-S Cost?
The CEnT-S costs €55 per attempt, paid to CISIA by card or by MAV bank slip. MAV only works with Italian banks, so from abroad you pay by card. The fee is the same at every university and is not refunded.
Each attempt is paid separately, so taking the test twice costs €110. Under the 2025–26 rules, if you missed your test you could book another CEnT with the same payment, up to the last test day of the cycle. Miss that one too and the fee is lost. A booking can’t be cancelled for a refund.
Prepare before you book another attempt. TuttoPrep’s CEnT-S prep is temporarily free during open beta (regular price: €14.99 a month). No card required. See plans
CEnT@HOME or CEnT@UNI: What Is the Difference?
CEnT@UNI is taken on a computer in a university test room. CEnT@HOME is taken online from a private room, watched through your laptop camera and a second camera on your phone. The test is the same; your admission notice says which formats your degree accepts.
What you need for CEnT@HOME
- A laptop with a built-in front camera, plugged in, with CISIA’s apps installed by the day before the test.
- A smartphone or tablet with a camera and the Webex app, plugged in, as a second camera.
- A private, well-lit room with one door, kept in view of the phone camera throughout.
- A stable connection with no VPN or proxy, blank paper, and a pen. No headphones, smartwatch, or calculator.
With CEnT@UNI, the university provides the computer and the room. Either way, check the CISIA rules for your format before test day.
How Do You Register for the CEnT-S?
Create an account in the CISIA Student Area and activate it from the email CISIA sends you. Then book the CEnT-S: choose CEnT@UNI or CEnT@HOME, pick a date, and pay €55. Your seat is confirmed once the Payment and Enrolment Receipt appears under Manage Bookings.
In 2025–26, booking closed about six days before each test day, at 14:00 Italian time. Our step-by-step registration guide covers each screen, what to enter if you don’t have an Italian tax code, and the mistakes that cost students their seat.
How Do You Prepare for the CEnT-S?
Learn each syllabus topic, then practise under the real section time limits, because you can’t move unused time between sections. TuttoPrep offers guides for Mathematics, Reasoning on texts and data, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, and practice questions for all six sections. Exam Prep is temporarily free during open beta.
TuttoPrep’s CEnT-S course currently covers Mathematics, Reasoning on texts and data, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Work through the CEnT-S curriculum, then target your weak topics in the question bank, which also includes Reading and comprehension. CISIA also publishes free practice material.
More Questions
Prepare to sit the CEnT-S once
Each CEnT-S attempt costs €55. Prepare with topic guides and timed practice before you book. TuttoPrep’s Exam Prep plan is temporarily free during open beta.
- Guides for Mathematics, Reasoning, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics
- CEnT-S practice questions for all six sections
- Drills timed to the real section pace
- A personalized application checklist, free
- Free plan
- €0 no card, no time limit
- Exam Prep, with the CEnT-S course
Regular price:
€14.99 a monthFree
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Regular price:
or €8.99 a month billed yearly