Medical Degree English Program (MEDICEN)

About the course

A six-year (12-semester, 360 ECTS) medical degree taught entirely in English at NKUA’s School of Medicine, open only to foreign nationals from EU and non-EU countries. Semesters 1 to 5 are preclinical, semesters 6 to 9 are clinical courses, and the final three semesters are full-time clinical practice in 16 hospitals in Athens.

Entry requirements for Irish students

• The university assesses the Irish Leaving Certificate individually and does not publish a fixed Irish requirement. Contact admissions to confirm. As a guide, the published benchmarks for other qualifications are high: A-Levels AAA minimum including Chemistry, Biology and one other science (standard offer likely A*AA), IB 36 points with two of Physics, Chemistry and Biology at Higher Level, or European Baccalaureate 85% with at least 8.5 in Chemistry and Biology. Applicants without final results can submit predicted grades.
• No written entrance exam is set by the university. The listed qualification routes include the UCAT (2024 or 2025 sittings) or MCAT (2024 to 2026 sittings). Qualified applicants are invited to an online interview before conditional or unconditional offers are made.
• English: TOEFL 80/120, IELTS 7.5 overall (at least 6.5 in each component) or Cambridge First (FCE) at B2. No exemption for native speakers is published, so check with md.admissions@uoa.gr whether Irish applicants need a test.

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. Check eligibilityEmail md.admissions@uoa.gr to ask how your Leaving Certificate (predicted and final grades) and English will be assessed. Ask whether sitting the UCAT would help your application.
2. Prepare documentsGather your passport, diploma and transcripts for the last two years of school (with English translation) or predicted grades, any admission test results, English certificate, CV and personal statement. Diplomas and transcripts need an Apostille.
3. Apply onlineApply through the MEDICEN application platform during the application window (18 Dec 2025 to 30 Apr 2026 for 2026 entry; 2027 dates not yet published) and upload all documents.
4. Interview and depositQualified applicants are interviewed online. If you get an offer, pay the EUR 5,000 deposit by the stated deadline, then pay the balance in September and January.

Costs

• EUR 17,000 for 2026/27, the same for EU and non-EU students, as set in the Greek Government Gazette, so EU students pay the full fee. After an offer you pay a EUR 5,000 non-refundable deposit to secure your place. It is deducted from the fee, and the remaining EUR 12,000 is paid in two instalments, in early September and mid-January. The deposit is refunded only if a conditional offer is withdrawn because you miss your predicted grades, or if visa problems prevent you enrolling. No application fee is published. The 2027/28 fee has not yet been published.

At a glance