Plovdiv Medical University
Bulgaria
The Medical University of Plovdiv, situated in the second biggest city in Bulgaria, Plovdiv, was founded in 1945 and has been accommodating international students for over 30 years. The University consists of four Faculties – Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Healthcare and has its own Medical College, Department of Languages and St Georges Academic Hospital.
The Medical and Dentistry programs are offered to almost 3,800 local and international students and include Bachelors, Postgraduates, Doctorate and Post Doctorate Programs.
The Medical University of Plovdiv, situated in the second biggest city in Bulgaria, Plovdiv, was founded in 1945 and has been accommodating international students for over 30 years. The University consists of four Faculties – Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Healthcare and has its own Medical College, Department of Languages and St Georges Academic Hospital.
The Medical and Dentistry programs are offered to almost 3,800 local and international students and include Bachelors, Postgraduates, Doctorate and Post Doctorate Programs.
The doctorate programmes include Immunology, physiology, orthopaedics, traumatology, ENT, orthopaedics, paediatric surgery, Microbiology, dermatology and number of other programmes. The university employs 730 highly trained professors, deputy and assistant professors. Some are highly acknowledged scientists who have/had research published in prestigious scientific magazines.
The university library contains 120,000 volumes in various languages; with a vast majority of these books written in English.
The sports facilities are of a very high standard; with an in-door multifunctional sports hall, volleyball/basketball courts, tennis courts, football fields and swimming pool.
The Youth and Science Annual Competition is held; in order to encourage and gives young doctors the opportunity to join the world of medical research, with the best research papers being awarded and published.
Key Information
Course Duration:
Medicine: 6 Years
Dentistry: 5 years 7 months
Fees:
Medicine: 9,000 Euro / year
Dentistry: 9,000 Euro / year
Student Loan: Yes (?)
Course Information http://meduniversity-plovdiv.bg/images/MU_PLOVDIV_TEXT/UCHEBNA%20DEINOST/Admission/I-IIk.pdf
Medicine
The English Medicine course runs for six years; with the first two years focusing on theory and the next three years focusing on clinical study. The final year is spent completing an internship before graduation. During the final year, students take the state exam in order to achieve their license to practice. This leads to students achieving the professional qualification of Doctor of Medicine (MD) or physical and are awarded with a Master’s Degree. The course meets the EU requirements throughout its duration and is GMC recognised in Europe.
Dentistry
The dentistry programme lasts for six years; with 5.5 years of academic course and an internship lasting a period of roughly 6 months. The first two years involve students learning theory and the fundamental aspects of medical and biological knowledge. The third and fourth year involves general clinical practice and apprenticeship; with special training in dentistry (pre and post-clinical).
Internship
The internship period involves paediatrics, oral and maxillofacial surgery experience, denture dentistry, paradantology and orthodontist and conservative dental treatment. Dentistry students also require passing the state exam at the end of the final year, in order to gain a licence. Successful students are awarded a Master’s degree and titled as a Dentist.
Course Duration:
Medicine: 6 Years
Dentistry: 5 years 7 months
Fees:
Medicine: 9,000 Euro / year
Dentistry: 9,000 Euro / year
Student Loan: Yes (?)
Living in Bulgaria:
General life in Bulgaria
Bulgaria is a rapidly developing Eastern European country bordered by turkey, Romania, Greece, Serbia and Macedonia, it favours a temperate climate, reaching 30-40 degrees in the summer and upto -10 in the winter; this plethora of climates makes Bulgaria an ideal tourist hotspot, whether it be for the sandy beaches and water sports in Varna, ski slopes In Sofia or the rich history and culture in pleven and Plovdiv. The population of Bulgaria is relatively small when compared to other countries of similar size, due to its ottoman rule, it boasts a trove of different cultures and religions, although Christianity is the predominating religion of Bulgaria. The people of Bulgaria are generally very friendly and accepting of foreigners, making it an ideal place to live and study for foreign students.
In comparison to the UK, the living standard in Bulgaria is lower, meaning you are able to find good quality accommodation a lot cheaper compared to its equivalent in the UK. Have a look at our price table below to compare for yourself!
UK | BULGARIA | |
Accomodation (one month rent) | £400 for one room | £200 for one bed apartment |
Utility bills (one month) | £50.00 | £20.00 |
Wifi for one month | £20.00 | £8.00 |
Milk (2L) | £1.50 | £0.85 |
Loaf of bread | £1.00 | £0.40 |
Mcdonalds large meal | £4.00 | £2.50 |
Restaurant meal (for one person) | £10.00 | £4.50 |
Find some useful links below to help you learn more about life in Bulgaria:
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/bulgaria
http://www.visitbulgaria.com/about-bulgaria
Health Insurance:
Healthcare in Bulgaria is provided by the National Health Insurance Fund. It is compulsory for all residents to contribute to this fund and is essential for obtaining a National Health Insurance card. The cost of Healthcare of individuals is normally split between the state, the employer and the individual.
European nationals are therefore qualified to receive free healthcare from state owned institutions in Bulgaria. For this, an EHIC (european health insurance card) is required. This card is used by the hospital in the case of claiming payment for treating you, sometimes you may have to pay yourself and reclaim the money afterwards.
See link below for more information and to apply! (UK residents)
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/EHIC/Pages/about-the-ehic.aspx
Student visa (non eu applicants)
Bulgarian id card:
‘Foreigners who wish to reside in Bulgaria on a long-term basis (in any case more than three months within each six-month period) should apply for and obtain a residence permit.
European citizens who intend to stay in Bulgaria longer than three months are issued residence certificates.
It is advised to make a bulgarian ID card for all eu students studying in bulgaria on a long term basis.
Will I be able to come back and practice in the UK upon completion of my degree?
ALL of the courses we offer in medicine and dentistry are GMC/GDC approved, meaning that upon returning to the UK, you are fully qualified to apply for a job, essentially placing you in the same position as medical and dental graduates from the UK.
If I am from the UK, will I have to sit an exam when I have completed my degree and return to the UK?
No. ALL of the courses we offer and universities we work with are approved by the GMC/GDC and hence you will not be required to sit extra exams that other international graduates normally sit (eg PLAB test)
How quickly will I need to learn the language of the country?
The fact that you are doing an English course means you are not expected to know the language. All lectures and labs will be taught in English. However you will have separate language lessons as part of your degree to learn the new language. It is normally required to have a basic understanding of medical terms in the countries native language by the time you reach your clinical years. (3rd year onwards). This has never been a problem for international students from the UK.
How does the style of teaching compare to that of medical schools in the UK?
The first 2 years of your education will be heavily theory based (classroom teaching and lectures).The reason for this is to build a strong base and thus allow for your learning in the clinical years (3rd year onwards) to be as effective as possible. In general, the clinical years are a lot more hands on when compared to clinical years in the UK.
Will I be able to take a loan for my tuition fees?
Many of our universities offer a student loan and we can assist you with the relatively simple process of taking one if required. Please refer to our university info section for more information about which universities offer a loan.
Will I be able to take a maintenance loan to cover my living costs?
European universities currently do not provide a maintenance loan to international students.
What kind of accommodation do most students stay in?
The vast majority of international students stay in private accommodation/ apartments. Support with securing accommodation is included in our transition support. We work exclusively with legitimate estate agents to help you find the highest quality and cheapest accommodation. (see: accommodation support)
How long will my application take to process?
Once you have provided us with the required documents, we will deal with your entire application. We liaise closely with the admissions departments at our partner universities to ensure you will have an offer from the university within 3-6 weeks of submitting your documents!
How challenging are the entrance tests that are required by some universities?
The entrance tests are considered very much do-able if you prepare beforehand. Not only do we offer for you to sit your entrance test in the UK (as opposed to sitting in the country of your chosen university), we also exclusively offer preparatory courses tailored specifically to the content of the entrance tests. Our pass rate among students who have undertaken the preparatory course is 100%.
