General Veterinary Medicine (6-year study programme)

About the course

A 6-year (12-semester) veterinary medicine programme taught in English that leads to the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree. The early years cover theoretical and preclinical subjects such as biochemistry and physiology. The later years move on to health, hygiene and clinical veterinary subjects across different animal species. The university says the study plan complies with EU Directive 2005/36/EC.

Entry requirements for Irish students

• The university asks for a full upper secondary education qualification and lists examples including GCE, the International Baccalaureate and Leaving Certificates. It does not publish a separate Irish requirement, grade threshold or minimum points, so the Irish Leaving Certificate is assessed individually. Contact admissions to confirm. School documents from abroad must be apostilled or legalised, and may need a Slovak translation. If you are still finishing school, you can be conditionally accepted after passing the exam, as long as you submit an officially verified and certified original of your leaving certificate before registration in September.
• Written online entrance exam in Biology and Chemistry, taken in English and set at the level of the Slovak school-leaving exam. It mixes single-choice, multiple-choice and open-ended questions. If you send written confirmation of at least 6 months’ work in a veterinary-related organisation with your application, you get 5 extra points on top of your exam score. This is optional.
• The university does not publish a formal English-language test requirement for this programme. The entrance exam itself is in English. Ask the Study Office (zas@uvlf.sk) whether any English certificate is needed.

Working in Ireland afterwards

Veterinary degrees from EU member states listed in Annex V (point 5.4.2) of Directive 2005/36/EC are recognised qualifications you can register with at the Veterinary Council of Ireland, which in effect means automatic recognition. You still need to apply to the VCI to register before you can practise. Check the VCI’s list of recognised qualifications to confirm your specific degree is on it.

How to apply

1. Prepare documentsGather the signed personal data consent form, the application form (completed in capital letters and signed), a copy of your passport or ID, the receipt for the application fee, and your school leaving certificate with transcripts for all secondary school years (apostilled). You also need a CV and a confirmation email sent directly by your school.
2. Send your applicationEmail everything to the Study Office at zas@uvlf.sk, or post it, before the deadline for your chosen exam session. In the 2026 cycle the first deadline was 27 March and the last was 29 May.
3. Sit the online examTake the online Biology and Chemistry exam on your chosen date. In 2026 the sessions were on 25 April, 23 May and 27 June. You get an email saying whether you are accepted within 5 working days, and a letter by post within 30 days.
4. Accept and registerIf you receive an acceptance letter, pay the 800 euro deposit by the deadline given and provide your verified original documents. Then register in Košice in September.

Costs

• The university’s fees page lists tuition of 10,000 euro per academic year for the English-language General Veterinary Medicine programme. No lower rate is shown for EU students, so Irish students should expect to pay the full amount. After admission you pay a non-refundable deposit of 800 euro, which counts towards first-year tuition. Tuition can be split into at most two equal instalments: the first is due before registration day and the second before the end of the first semester. There is also a 50 euro application fee, which is not refunded if you cancel or do not sit the entrance exam. The fees page does not say which academic year these figures apply to, so confirm the 2027/28 amounts with the university before applying.

At a glance