Medicine (in English)

About the course

A full-time, six-year medical degree taught in English at the Medical University of Pleven. The English-language programme admits students for a February intake.

Entry requirements for Irish students

• The university assesses the Irish Leaving Certificate individually and does not publish a fixed Irish requirement. Its published rule for all EU/EEA applicants is that the school-leaving mark in the official language of the country where you finished school must be at least 62% of the maximum. Ranking combines that language grade (converted to the Bulgarian six-point scale) with the Biology and Chemistry entry test results, each multiplied by three, out of a maximum of 42. Contact admissions to confirm how your Leaving Certificate is treated.
• Entry exams in Biology and Chemistry, set by MU Pleven and held face to face or online. Syllabi and sample tests are published on the university website.
• An English certificate at level B2 or above is required from applicants coming from countries where English is not an official language.

Working in Ireland afterwards

Because your medical degree comes from an EU/EEA country, the Medical Council of Ireland can recognise it automatically under EU Directive 2005/36/EC, as long as it is listed in Annex V (point 5.1.1). If that listing says the degree must come with an internship or state-exam certificate from your home country, you need to have that too, and you must also show your current professional standing and meet the English-language requirements. Graduates of EU/EEA medical schools may apply to the HSE for Irish intern posts, but only if their home-country degree does not already count as complete training. In older HSE intern guides (e.g., the 2022 guide), only graduates from medical schools in Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Iceland and Slovenia could apply. Graduates from other EEA countries (and Italians holding the ‘abilitante’ degree) were told they are not eligible, because they qualify directly for General registration. Applicants who need no work permit were matched before those who do. Please check the current eligibility list in the HSE intern guide for the year you apply. We could not confirm it for the July 2027 intake because the current HSE guide pages are password-protected.

How to apply

1. Register onlineCreate an application at application.mu-pleven.bg. For the February 2027 intake the window is 1 June to 1 October 2026.
2. Sit the entry examsRegister by email at least one week in advance and sit the Biology and Chemistry exams. Remaining 2026 dates: 8 October, 28 October and 17 November.
3. Send documentsBy 30 November 2026 (February 2027 intake), send the required hard copies: school-leaving certificate with validation, legalised Bulgarian translations, photos and ID, as listed in the EU/EEA admission guide.
4. Ranking and enrolmentApplicants are ranked out of 42 points. If admitted, pay the first-semester fee to enrol.

Costs

• EUR 9,000 per year for Medicine in English, paid in two equal parts at the start of each semester. The fees page lists one rate for this English-language programme and no separate EU/EEA rate. One-off fees: EUR 40 non-refundable registration fee and EUR 200 non-refundable entrance exam fee. An optional English preparatory course costs EUR 4,000.

At a glance