HUMAT · Test format

HUMAT format: three sections, 60 questions, 120 minutes

Checked against Humanitas's official documents on 18 October 2026. The 2027/28 call is not out yet; figures are from 2026/27.

Key figures

questions, five options each
60
in three timed sections
120 min
questions per subject, six subjects
10
reserve questions, 12 more minutes
+6

The HUMAT is one test in three sections, each pairing two subjects and each with its own clock. You can finish a section early, but you can never go back to one you have closed. This page sets out the format as Humanitas's 2026/27 call defines it, the version the 2027 tests are expected to keep until the 2027/28 call says otherwise.

In short

  • 60 multiple-choice questions, five options each, one correct, entirely in English.
  • Three sections of 20 questions: Scientific Thinking & Academic Literacy (45 minutes), Biology & Chemistry (35), Mathematics & Physics (40).
  • Each section's time is fixed. Moving on early is allowed; returning to a finished section is not.
  • Six reserve questions follow the 60, one per subject, with 12 extra minutes. They count only if one of the 60 is withdrawn.
  • No calculator. The test is taken online from home, under remote invigilation.

The three sections of the HUMAT

Humanitas's call gives the test as Table 1: six subjects of ten questions each, grouped into three sections that are timed separately. The order is fixed, and the sections open one after the other.

SectionSubjectsQuestionsTimeTime per question
1 · SAScientific Thinking, Academic Literacy10 + 1045 min2 min 15 s
2 · BCBiology, Chemistry10 + 1035 min1 min 45 s
3 · MPMathematics, Physics10 + 1040 min2 min
TotalSix subjects60120 min2 min on average

Time per question is the section's time divided by its 20 questions: an average, not a rule. Academic Literacy texts run to about 700 words, so its questions take longer than the visual ones in Scientific Thinking.

The letters SA, BC and MP are the call's own labels for the sections.

What each section asks

  1. 01

    Scientific Thinking & Academic Literacy

    Scientific Thinking is mathematical, procedural and visual thinking applied to unfamiliar problems: reading a graph, predicting how a formula changes, following a flow chart, mirror images and three-dimensional shapes. Academic Literacy is reading: scientific texts of about 700 words at CEFR level C1, adapted from real sources, with questions on critical thinking, scanning for a detail, skimming for the gist, and how paragraphs relate.

  2. 02

    Biology & Chemistry

    Questions on fundamental concepts, in Humanitas's words: the chemistry of living things, the cell, bioenergetics, inheritance and molecular genetics, human physiology; and in chemistry, atomic structure, bonding, reactions and stoichiometry, equilibrium, acids and bases, redox and an introduction to organic chemistry. It is the shortest section, at 1 minute 45 seconds a question.

  3. 03

    Mathematics & Physics

    The application of the most relevant mathematical and physical principles for scientific study: algebra and functions, analytic geometry and trigonometry, logic, probability and statistics; kinematics and dynamics, fluids and optics, thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism. All without a calculator.

Humanitas states the aim of the whole test as "not to evaluate previous knowledge, but to measure the skills and abilities relevant to undertaking highly scientific courses of study" (Apply page). The topic lists come from its Syllabi 2027, posted on 1 October 2026.

Moving through the test: the rules that shape your timing

The technical guide sets out how the test software behaves, and three of its rules decide how you should pace yourself.

  • Each section's time is binding. When it runs out you move to the next section; you may also move on earlier, by choosing "End section".
  • Once you have moved on, the section is closed: you can no longer change its answers. Inside a section you can go back and forth freely and change a confirmed answer.
  • An answer marked "To review" counts as given when the section ends, if a letter is selected. Choosing "I omit the answer" leaves it blank. A flagged guess is therefore still a guess, and is marked like one.

The guide does not say that time left over in one section carries into the next, so plan each section as if it does not.

The six reserve questions

After the 60 questions, every candidate answers six more, one for each subject, with 12 additional minutes. They exist in case one of the 60 turns out to be faulty: the commission can then withdraw (neutralise) that question and use the reserve question of the same subject in its place.

If no question is withdrawn, the reserve questions play no part in the ranking. So answer them properly, but they are not a second chance on a section you found hard.

How the HUMAT has changed

The test took its current shape with the 2026/27 call, sat in March 2026. Until 2025/26 it had 60 four-option questions in Scientific Thinking and Academic Literacy only, in two 60-minute parts, with no science sections. The EU calls for 2014/15 to 2017/18 describe a different test again: a 100-minute paper test arranged with Cambridge Assessment, with general culture and logical reasoning.

That is why older papers say little about today's test: they have neither its science sections nor its timing, nor its five options. The Syllabi 2027 changes some science topics again against the 2026 list, but not the structure.

Taken online, from home

There is no test centre. The HUMAT runs on Politecnico di Milano's online services, with Safe Exam Browser locking the computer and an invigilator watching through a Zoom virtual classroom on your phone. Calculators, notes, earphones and a second screen are all banned; blank sheets and a pen are allowed for working.

Questions

How many questions are on the HUMAT?

60, each with five options and one correct answer: ten for each of Scientific Thinking, Academic Literacy, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. Six reserve questions follow, which count only if one of the 60 is withdrawn.

How long is the HUMAT?

120 minutes: 45 for Scientific Thinking & Academic Literacy, 35 for Biology & Chemistry and 40 for Mathematics & Physics, plus 12 minutes for the six reserve questions.

Can I go back to an earlier section?

No. Within a section you can move between questions and change answers; once you end a section, or its time runs out, its answers are final.

Is a calculator allowed on the HUMAT?

No. Calculators, rulers, notes and books are all banned. You may use blank sheets of paper and a pen for working, shown to the invigilator at identification.

Is the HUMAT in English?

Yes, entirely, and the call notes that passing it exempts you from submitting a B2 English certificate at enrolment.

Is the HUMAT the same test for Medicine and MEDTEC?

Yes. There is one test; the two programmes weight its sections differently and rank candidates separately.

Official sources

Every figure on this page was read on the source itself on the date above. (18 October 2026)

Practise in the real format

The free practice paper has 60 questions in the current three-section format, every answer explained. When you want more, the IvyTest Humanitas package adds a full simulator, the study guide and lessons.

Take the free practice paperSee Humanitas preparation

The HUMAT, one question at a time

Also on IvyTest