Do You Have to Take Every CEnT-S Section?

We see this question in student groups every week: "I want engineering, so can I skip chemistry and biology?" or "I want finance, so do I only need maths and reading?" The short answer is no, you cannot skip a section. The longer answer is more useful: you sit the whole test, but the university you apply to may only look at some of the sections.

Can you skip a section of the CEnT-S?

No. According to CISIA, the CEnT-S is made of sections that are taken one after the other, each with its own time limit. When the time for a section runs out you move to the next one, and you cannot go back. The rules also say that you can submit the test only from the last section (CISIA CEnT rules, art. 4.1.2).

You can leave questions blank, and a blank answer scores 0 instead of the 0.25 you lose for a wrong answer. But leaving a whole section blank on purpose is almost always a bad idea, for the reason explained below.

The current structure on CISIA's site is 65 questions in 140 minutes, in six sections: Reading and comprehension, Mathematics, Reasoning on texts and data, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (CISIA structure and syllabus). Some university documents for 2026/27 still describe the older version with 55 questions and five sections, so always read the date on the document you are looking at.

Who decides which sections count?

The university, not CISIA. CISIA's rules say that each university can apply its own evaluation system, give coefficients to weight the scores of individual sections, and set its own minimum passing threshold. Each university publishes these criteria on its own website (CISIA CEnT rules, art. 1.3).

So two students with the same CEnT-S result can be in a strong position for one degree and a weak one for another. It depends completely on the call for applications (the "bando") of the course you choose.

Real examples for 2026/27

These are taken from the universities' own documents. They show how different the rules can be.

Notice the difference. At PoliMi, Biology and Chemistry do not affect your engineering result at all. At Messina, Chemistry counts for engineering, while Biology does not.

Why you should still do well in every section

There are three good reasons not to give up on a section, even if your first-choice course ignores it:

1. You may apply to more than one course. CISIA says the same CEnT-S result can be used for every degree course that accepts the CEnT-S, even at a different university (CISIA CEnT FAQ). A section that does not matter for your first choice may matter for your second.
2. You can only take it once per macro-period. If you need a better result, you have to wait for the next macro-period (CISIA CEnT rules, art. 1.2). It is better to have one strong, complete result.
3. The rules can change between years. A course that ignores a section this year may count it next year, and the CEnT-S itself changed from five to six sections.

How to check the rules for your course

1. Find the call for applications ("bando") of your exact degree course on the university's website. A general page about the university is not enough.
2. Search the document for "CEnT-S". Look for words like "sections considered", "sezioni valutate", "threshold", "soglia" or "OFA".
3. Write down which sections count, any minimum score, and whether the minimum is for admission or only to avoid OFA. These are not the same thing.
4. Check that the document is for the right academic year.
5. If anything is unclear, email the university's admissions office before you book your test.

What about medicine and pharmacy?

This is a common mix-up. CISIA describes the CEnT-S as the test for English-taught degrees in engineering, economics, pharmacy and other scientific fields (CISIA guide). English-taught medicine in Italy uses a different test, the IMAT. So if you want pharmacy in English, you need the CEnT-S (unless your university's call says otherwise), and if you want medicine in English, you need the IMAT.

Practise the whole test, not just your favourite sections

You can try a free 10-question check and a free lesson in our CEnT-S course. The full course covers all six sections, with lessons, topic drills and timed mocks that follow the real section timers. If you are not sure what the questions look like, read our CEnT-S sample questions for every section.