TE.L.E.MA.CO. (Test of Logic, Mathematics and Verbal Comprehension) is an assessment tool designed to evaluate the prior knowledge deemed essential for the effective completion of a university programme, which all students enrolled on open-access degree programmes must sit (with the exception of degree programmes in Maritime Sciences and Technologies and Computer Engineering – Imperia campus, which, as they are taught in English, require a separate compulsory examination). Similarly, the degree programmes in Medicine and Surgery and in Dentistry do not require this initial proficiency assessment, which is replaced by the three exams in the ‘filter’ semester.

This is a self-assessment tool that UniGe makes available to students at the start of their degree programme.        

TE.L.E.MA.CO. consists of two sections:

• a core module common to all degree programmes (CdS), designed to assess basic skills in understanding texts in Italian (literacy) and logical reasoning (numeracy);
• a section tailored to the chosen degree programme, designed to assess:
  • basic skills in mathematics and logic and their application to the experimental sciences (M-extension),
  • the ability to carry out advanced analysis of different types of text (extension-T).

The list of degree programmes and the corresponding assessment methods can be found in the section Degree Programmes. Only for students enrolled on the classical track of the Bachelor’s degree in Humanities is there an additional section (Latin-Greek extension) which will be held in a separate session. No exemption is available for the Latin-Greek extension.

The core section consists of 20 multiple-choice questions, of which 10 relate to knowledge of the Italian language and text comprehension, and 10 relate to logical reasoning skills.

The section differentiated by degree programme (extension_M, extension_T) is structured around 20 multiple-choice questions.

Details regarding the content of the assessment (syllabus) are available in the Syllabus section. 

On aulaweb there is a practice quiz.        

The following are exempt from the TE.L.E.MA.CO assessment:

1. Students who, in the final state examination at the end of the second cycle of upper secondary education (maturità), achieved a mark of 90/100 or higher (or an equivalent mark, where the marking system does not use hundredths).  This exemption does not apply to foreign qualifications.
2. Students who already hold at least a three-year degree from an Italian university.
3. Students who, in the academic year 25/26, passed a TE.L.E.MA.CO. or TE.S.E.O. with a score compatible with the degree programme they are enrolling in (extension and pass threshold). Note: if you have passed the Common Core but not the Extension, you must still retake the full assessment.
4. Students enrolled in the 2025/26 academic year (and who have not “withdrawn”) who are transferring from a ‘related’ degree programme at the University of Genoa and who are not subject to O.F.A. requirements. Degree programmes considered ‘related’ are published in the section Courses of Study. 
5. Students transferring from another university or being readmitted, provided they have a sufficient number of CFU credits, which will also be assessed in relation to the core modules of the specific degree programme. In cases of doubt, the CCS will make the final decision.
6.  Students who, in 2026 or 2025, passed a pre-TE.L.E.MA.CO. assessment compatible with the degree programme they are enrolling in (in terms of scope and pass mark) 
7. Students at the Prison University Centre (PUP).

Only students who meet the first requirement must indicate their exemption during the pre-enrolment procedure. The declared exemption will be verified automatically on the basis of their diploma grade.

Students who meet requirements 6 and 7 do not need to take any action. The exemption or successful completion of the pre-TELEMACO assessment will be automatically recorded in their academic record.

Students wishing to claim exemptions 2 to 5 must complete (even before confirming enrolment) the online form on AulaWeb
Any exemption will be checked and either granted or refused, and notification of this will be provided on the same AulaWeb page. If granted, it will be added to the student’s academic record by the University. 
We strongly recommend that you apply for an exemption as soon as possible and, in any case, before 15 November. The portal for requesting exemptions will remain open until 31 January 2027, but, after 15 November, exemption requests will only be reviewed every 2–3 weeks. After 31 January 2027, no exemptions may be requested or granted.  

The TE.L.E.MA.CO test takes place in person in the University’s computer rooms (students may choose a room subject to availability) using the Aulaweb platform. To use AulaWeb , you must have UnigePass login details.

The core section in common consists of 20 multiple-choice questions, of which 1 is correct and 3 are incorrect. A correct answer is worth 1 mark; an incorrect or unanswered question is worth 0 marks. The pass mark for the core section is set at 12 points. The time allowed for the core section is 45 minutes.

Only students who pass the common section are eligible to sit the degree programme-specific section (extension_M, extension_T). The degree programme-specific section consists of 20 multiple-choice questions, of which 1 is correct and 3 are incorrect. A correct answer is worth 1 mark; an incorrect or unanswered question is worth 0 marks, and the time allowed is 55 minutes.

Each student may sit only one of the two specialisations. In sessions 1 and 2, students must independently choose the extension corresponding to the degree programme they intend to enrol in. In sessions 3 and 4, students will be automatically directed to the degree programme in which they have enrolled or pre-enrolled. The pass mark depends on the chosen degree programme and will be made available by July 2026 in the section Degree Programmes.

Upon completion of the extension, students who are not exempt from it must also sit the English test.

For students who are required to sit the English test but are exempt from TELEMACO on the basis of their school-leaving certificate grade, or who have already passed the pre-TELEMACO test, there will be a dedicated session on 12 October 2026. To book a place, go to this link. You must book by 12:00 on 5 October. Students who do not fall into either of these two categories (for example, students on quota-restricted courses, or those exempt due to transfer or a degree) will not be admitted, even if they have registered.

For information on the English test, the courses that require it and the qualifications that allow you to be exempted from it, please visit the CLAT page at this link.

The TE.L.E.MA.CO 2026 assessment takes place across four sittings. Each student may sit only one sitting. For the 2026/27 academic year, the assessment will take place on the following dates:

• 1^st SESSION: 14, 15 and 16 September
• 2^nd SESSION: 28, 29 and 30 September
• 3^rd EDITION: 28, 29 October
• 4th EDITION: 18 November
• 5^th EDITION: 20 January 2027 (reserved exclusively for students who have attended the ‘filter semester’ for Medicine and Dentistry (see below))

It is strongly recommended that you take part in the first two editions.

To sit the TE.L.E.MA.CO. assessment, you simply need to be pre-enrolled; it is not necessary to have confirmed your enrolment or paid the first instalment. If you are registered but not pre-enrolled, you will not be able to sit the assessment.

You must book a place to sit the assessment. The terms and conditions for booking can be found in the relevant section.

IMPORTANT

Students who, following the bridging semester, are not admitted to the main degree programmes or decide not to enrol on them, may enrol on an open-access course at the University of Genoa, notwithstanding the normal enrolment deadlines (they will generally have until the start of the second semester to do so). In this case, in accordance with Law 270, they must sit the compulsory initial proficiency test (TE.L.E.MA.CO.), unless they meet the exemption criteria mentioned above. To this end, a special TE.L.E.MA.CO. session has been arranged, reserved for these students, on 20 January 2027. You must book your place by visiting the Aulaweb page https://testingresso.aulaweb.unige.it/course/view.php?id=144. It is not necessary to have already confirmed your enrolment; you simply need to be pre-enrolled on an open-access first-cycle degree programme.

Students who have passed all three exams – whether they were included in the national ranking or not – may, if they wish, enrol not only on ‘related’ courses but also on any other open-access course. The following rules apply to these students:

• They are exempt from TE.L.E.MA.CO. if they enrol on a course with the M extension (Economics, Engineering, MFN Sciences)
• If, on the other hand, they enrol on a degree programme with the extension T (Law, Political Science, Humanities, Languages), they must sit the TE.L.E.MA.CO. exam.

These rules apply only to open-access first-level courses taught in ITALIAN. For courses taught in English, the assessment of prior knowledge is different.

A student who scores below the established pass thresholds will be awarded the additional training obligations (O.F.A.). There are three different O.F.A.s: one for the common core and one for each differentiated section (extension_M, extension_T).

Failure to pass the common core entails the attribution of the OFAs of the core and the differentiated section indicated by the Board of Studies.

Failure to pass only the differentiated section (extension_M, extension_T) entails the attribution of the relative O.F.A.

Only for the classical curriculum of the Arts degree course, failure to pass the obligatory additional section (extension_Latin-Greek) will result in the attribution of the relative O.F.A.

A student who does not participate in any of the TE.L.E.MA.CO. editions will automatically be attributed all the O.F.A.s indicated by the CdS immediately after the date of the last edition (18 November). Therefore, if you think you are entitled to an exemption you are strongly advised to apply for an exemption before 15 November

The O.F.A. requirement is fulfilled by completing a compulsory self-study refresher course PER.S.E.O (Support Course for Any OFA) upon completion of which it is necessary to sit the TE.S.E.O exam. (Test to Confirm Compliance with Any O.F.A.).

PER.S.E.O is delivered via the University’s distance learning platform (Aulaweb) and is therefore accessible at any time. There are three different sections of PER.S.E.O: one for the core module and one for each specialised section (extension_M, extension_T).

The PER.S.E.O self-study course is reserved for students who sat the TELEMACO test in the September, October or November 2026 and have not passed either the Core module or the extension required by their degree programme, and to students who have not sat any TELEMACO test.

Failure to pass the core module entails compulsory attendance at the PER.S.E.O sections for both the core module and the specialised section indicated by the degree programme.

Failure to pass the differentiated section alone (extension_M, extension_T) entails compulsory attendance at the relevant differentiated section.

Students cannot enrol in PERSEO of their own accord. Students with an OFA will be automatically enrolled on the course by the TELEMACO organisers. Following the September sessions, students who achieved a score of between 9 and 11 in the extension will also be enrolled. As the threshold depends on the degree programme, it will be up to the students to decide whether or not to attend, depending on the programme they intend to enrol in.

Students who sat the pre-TELEMACO assessment in March–April–May 2026 or in 2025 and who did not pass the Common Core or the extension may retake the assessment in one of the four September sessions, October or November (in any case, even if they passed the Core but not the extension, they will have to retake the whole test).

TE.S.E.O. takes place across five sessions, the last two of which are reserved for international students. For the 2026/27 academic year, it will take place on the following dates:

• 1^st SESSION: 5 November (only for students who sat TE.L.E.MA.CO. in the first two sessions and completed PER.S.E.O. by 12:00 on 31 October). You must book by 31 October at 12:00.
• 2^nd EDITION: 30 November (only for students who have taken TE.L.E.MA.CO. in the first 3 editions and completed PER.S.E.O by 25 November at 12:00). You must register by 25 November at 12:00.
• 3^rd EDITION: 17 December (for all students who have taken or not taken TE.L.E.MA.CO and who have completed PER.S.E.O by 12 December at 12:00). You must book your place by 12 December at 12:00.
• 4^th EDITION: 20 January 2027 (reserved for students who have obtained their secondary school leaving certificate abroad). You must register and have completed PER.S.E.O. by 15 January 2027.
• 5^th EDITION: 24 February 2026 (reserved for students who have obtained their school-leaving qualification abroad or for students coming from the Medicine and Dentistry preparatory semester). You must register and have completed PER.S.E.O. by 17 February 2027.

Booking for TE.S.E.O. must be made via this link:

https://testingresso.aulaweb.unige.it/course/view.php?id=149

The structure and requirements for passing TE.S.E.O. are similar to those specified for TE.L.E.MA.CO.

Those who do not pass TE.S.E.O. are not obliged to retake the PER.S.E.O. self-study remedial course.

What should you do if you fail all TE.S.E.O. exams?

If a student fails all TE.S.E.O. assessments, in order to fulfil the O.F.A. requirements, they must earn at least 12 CFU by passing the exams for the priority modules listed in the appendix for each degree programme. The student’s study plan may be submitted in full, but the student will only see the modules identified as priority by the degree programme for fulfilling the O.F.A. requirements.

Once the O.F.A. requirements have been met, the study plan will be fully unlocked and the student will be able to sit any scheduled examination.

The O.F.A. requirements must be met within the first year of the degree programme.

Students who do not fulfil the O.F.A. requirements by the deadline set for the submission of the study plan must enrol in the 2027/28 academic year as repeat students and will not be able to include second-year modules.

Can I attend lectures and sit exams?

Students who have not yet completed the O.F.A. may submit their study plan (opting for part-time enrolment if necessary), attend lectures and sit any mid-term exams. Students who have not yet sat the TE.L.E.MA.CO exam may also attend lectures and sit any mid-term exams, but may not submit their study plan, at least until after the final November sitting. Immediately after the November session, they will be subject to the O.F.A. requirements in the same way as those who have not passed TE.L.E.MA.CO and will therefore be able to submit their study plan.

However, they cannot sit any exams before January 2027. From January 2027, priority must be given to sitting the exams that allow the O.F.A. requirements to be fulfilled. The other exams will be temporarily suspended.

Below is a list of degree programmes with all the necessary information.

In particular, you will find:

• Name and code of the degree programme
• Type of exam: tells you which extension you will need to sit
• Extension threshold: tells you the minimum mark you need to achieve to pass the module (for the foundation level, the threshold is 12)
• Related subject: if you are transferring from a course related to the course in question and do not have an O.F.A., you may be granted (upon request) an exemption from TE.L.E.MA.CO.
• Priority modules: these are the modules you will have to take if you fail to pass either TE.L.E.MA.CO. nor the TE.S.E.O.

Here you will find the syllabuses for the core and extension modules of TELEMACO, accompanied by some explanatory examples.

• BASIC SYLLABUS             
• SYLLABUS_TELEMACO_EXTENSION_M       
• SYLLABUS_TELEMACO_EXTENSION_T

Students with disabilities and DSAs can find details of how TE.L.E.MA.CO. at this link

To take the TE.L.E.MA.CO. test, you simply need to be provisionally enrolled; you do not need to have confirmed your enrolment or paid the first instalment. 

To sit the test , you must book a place . To do this, you must access the relevant Aulaweb application via the link https://testingresso.aulaweb.unige.it/course/view.php?id=144

You can choose the day, session and area where you would prefer to sit the exam (for Genoa, the two areas are: “Darsena-Albergo dei Poveri” or “Albaro”)

Bookings for the first two sittings (September) will open around the end of June 2026

You must book by:

• 12.00 on 9 September for the first edition
• 12.00 on 23 September for the second edition
• 12.00 on 23 October for the third edition
• 12.00 on 13 November for the fourth edition
• 12.00 on 15 January 2027 for the fifth edition (reserved for students from the foundation semester)

The attached files contain the answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding the test and how it is conducted.

For any information not covered in the FAQs, or to report issues relating to bookings, careers, etc., please complete the form available at TELEMACO’s Aulaweb page. You will receive a reply shortly.