Master in Harvey Medicine and Surgery
Pavia, Italy
Master degree
DURATION
6 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 400 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* students may be eligible to apply for a flat rate or to tuition fees calculated according to their family income
Key Summary
About: The Harvey Medicine and Surgery course at The University of Pavia is a six-year, single-cycle Masters degree taught entirely in English. It blends Italian teaching methods with interactive learning, extensive practical training in Pavia clinics and research laboratories, and a rigorous seminar programme led by selected local and international clinicians and scientists.
Career Outcomes: Pavia offers a range of career opportunities in health and research. The University links treatment and research through San Matteo, Fondazione Maugeri and Neurological Institute Mondino. Graduates can enter clinical practice, pursue hospital or laboratory research, become clinician-scientists, or join biomedical industry and medical education.
The Harvey Medicine and Surgery Course was founded on October 1st, 2009, by Professor Ermanno Gherardi, Head of the Department of Molecular Medicine.
It is a six-year, single-cycle Master’s Degree in Medicine and Surgery. The Harvey Course was thought “not just to teach the medical profession, but also to build a solid scientific basis for continued training that will be vital for the reception and understanding of future medicine”.
The Harvey Medicine and Surgery Course is the first medicine course entirely taught in English in Italy, together with several other MD programmes offered in English by the University of Pavia.
The Course was named after William Harvey (1578-1657), a seventeenth-century British physician, a pioneer in correctly understanding and describing the circulatory system.
The Harvey Course arises from the need for an international (i.e. English language) medical school in Italy. The curriculum combines the long-established Italian teaching methods with the modern paradigms of interactive learning. Harvey trainees evolve into well-rounded doctors through a new, wide-ranging programme of study and extensive practical training in the renowned Pavia clinics and their research laboratories. This includes a rigorous and practical seminar programme provided by Harvey’s carefully selected local and international lecturers consisting of top-of-the-line clinicians, professors and scientists.
The Harvey Medical Course Is Structured Into Six Years of Studies: The First Three Years Cover the Pre-Clinical Raining Period; the Last Three Years Mainly Focus on Clinical Training, Hospital Rotations and Internships in Italy or Abroad, and Final Thesis Preparation.
Year 1
- Basic Sciences (chemistry and Medical Physics)
- Essay Writing Techniques
- Mathematics
- Living Molecules
- Scientific Foundation of Medicine (epidemiology, History of Medicine, Statistics)
- Structure of The Body (Anatomy, Histology, Embryology, Cytology)
- Social Roots of Health
- Elective Courses: The Disabled Person / Ultrasound Laboratory
Year 2
- Functions of the Body (physiology)
- Ethics and Society
- Biology of Disease (general Pathology, Immunology)
- Laboratory of Medicine
- Microbiology
Year 3
- Clinical Foundations (General Surgery, Semiotics, Radiology)
- Systemic Pathology
- Drug Discovery and Actions
- Disease Control and Eradication (Infectious Diseases, Clinical Epidemiology)
- Clinical Foundations Practicals
- Blood Diseases
- Diseases of The Endocrine System and Metabolism
- Elective Courses: Resection Medicine / the Disabled Patient / Nanotechnologies in Medicine / Evolution and Medicine
Year 4
- Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases
- Heart and Lungs
- Sensory System Diseases
- Soft Tissue Diseases
- GI and Urinary Tracts
- Clinical Cases 4th Year
Year 5
- Childhood and Women's Health
- General Surgery I
- General Surgery II
- Clinical Pharmacology, Genetics and Pathology
- Clinical Cases 5th Year
Year 6
- Clinical Medicine (Family Medicine, Forensic Medicine, Geriatrics, Internal Medicine, Occupational Medicine)
- Students Presentation of Scientific Papers
- Practicals in Degree Thesis Subject
- Practical Evaluative Traineeship in General Practice
Pavia is a multi-faceted city offering a wide range of jobs and opportunities, either in health, technology or research.
The University combines treatment and research in three leading hospitals: San Matteo, Fondazione Maugeri and Neurological Institute Mondino.
Graduates from the Harvey Curse may also participate in scientific, medical-related research projects from the wide variety proposed by the University of Pavia.