General Medicine (Doctor of General Medicine, MD)

About the course

A 6-year (12-semester, 360-credit) single-cycle degree leading to the Doctor of General Medicine (MD), taught in English in Budapest. It moves from theoretical and pre-clinical modules to clinical training and ends with state exams.

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. Semmelweis says there is no minimum grade average: admission is based on your background, previous studies and performance, and mainly on the entrance exam. You can apply while in your final school year.
• Entrance exam: an online written test via Moodle (which you can take on your home computer) with 20 questions each in Medical Biology, Medical Chemistry, General English and Biomedical English, followed by an interview (in person or on Zoom) covering motivation, professional attitude, English communication and subject knowledge.
• English: upper-intermediate level plus basic biomedical English terminology, tested in the entrance exam. Applicants should preferably be under 30 and must be at least 18 by the end of the spring semester of Year 1.

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. Apply onlineCreate a SEMAPHOR account, upload your CV, motivation letter, passport copy, photo and school certificates, and pay the USD 400 fee, by 31 May 2027.
2. Sit the entrance examBook an exam date (early March to end of June) and take the online written test in Biology, Chemistry, General and Biomedical English, then the interview.
3. Accept your offerResults come within 2 weeks. Pay the USD 2,000 deposit within 14 days of being notified of admission.
4. EnrolUpload your Leaving Certificate by 21 August 2027, provide a medical certificate, pay the USD 230 enrolment fee and enrol in Budapest before the September start.

Costs

• EUR 9,340 per semester (about EUR 18,680 a year), as listed on the 2027 intake programme page; the page does not say which academic year the fee applies to. The university charges fees to all applicants on its English-language programmes, including EU students. One-off costs: USD 400 admission procedure fee when you apply, a USD 2,000 non-refundable deposit within 14 days of being told you are admitted (deducted from the first semester’s tuition) and a USD 230 enrolment fee.

At a glance