It has become increasingly popular for students to pursue 4-year medicine programs in Europe in English. In Europe, these are usually referred to as the advanced medicine (MD) program, fast track medicine, accelerated medicine program, graduate entry medicine, or graduate entry program, or graduate medical program abroad.

Ehsaan’s story

Ehsaan could not gain entry into a medicine course after high school, so he pursued a course in Science as a last resort. After completing his Bachelors (BSc), he decided that he was only studying Biomedical Science as a stepping stone into medicine. The student did not enjoy the course, but he passed with 60%. His whole life, he had dreamed of becoming a doctor, and he did not see himself settling into a limited career as a laboratory worker.

Ehsaan continued to work in a laboratory, but without telling anybody that he’s applying for graduate entry medicine courses in the UK. He wrote a killer personal statement, prepared for months for the universities’ tough entrance exams, demonstrated his thorough knowledge in the interviews, yet he still wasn’t good enough to be offered a place. Ehsaan did the same for 2 years in a row, even paying interview-coaches to improve his interview skills but to no avail. He had already heard that people have been going to pursue medicine in Europe but did not dare to go through with it. After all, it is indeed tough to move abroad all alone.

Ehsaan was fed up with a job that he did not enjoy, so he began thinking about the options of graduate entry in Europe. He learned about his options via the Medlink Students advisers. He considered the advanced 4-year medicine program in Poland, the 4-year graduate entry program in Cyprus, and Ukraine and Georgia.

Ehsaan weighed his options by considering finances and narrowed his options down until he made a decision. Then he jetted off to Europe and was helped with every step of the way by Medlink Students.

Advanced medicine program in Poland

Several universities in Poland offer the fast-track medicine course. The prices range from around £10,000 to £15,000 per year. The minimum duration for studying medicine is 4 years in Poland. This is only applicable to students who have studied the pre-clinical subjects at university level. Pre-clinical subjects include Biology, Chemistry, and Biochemistry. Universities such as Poznan University of Medical Sciences, and Warsaw Medical University – located in the capital of Poland and Medical University of Lodz, all offer the advanced medicine course. Generally, this program works by allowing students to transfer into the third year of what is usually a 6-year medical course in Europe.

Graduate Medicine Abroad

In addition to Poland’s advanced programs, another 4-year MBBS graduate entry program exists in Cyprus at the University of Nicosia‘s Faculty of Medicine. This medical school is affiliated with St George’s University of London and requires a whopping tuition fee of EUR 30,000 per year. Students can also go to St George’s University in Grenada, in the Caribbean and gain entry into 4-year fast-track medicine. The tuition fees for this university are between EUR 60,000 to 68,000 per year. Students can also opt for more affordable graduate medicine (MD) schemes by studying medicine in Ukraine or studying medicine in Georgia.

Advanced dentistry program in Europe

Poland offers a 5-year long course in Dentistry (DDS or DMD). The minimum duration of the dentistry courses is 5 years in Poland, and 6 years in other countries. However, there are graduate dentistry courses in Europe that can be completed faster by graduates who hold a Science Bachelor’s degree.

There are no graduate entry courses in Bulgaria or Romania. Students will not be able to study the 4 year medicine courses in these countries and must be present for 6 years in total.

Find out about your options of studying medicine or dentistry in Europe by submitting a free application online.