Studying Medicine in Slovakia: Faculties, Entrance Exams, 2026/27 Fees and 2027/28 Dates

You can train as a doctor in Slovakia at the medical faculties of Comenius University in Bratislava and Martin, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University (UPJŠ) in Košice, and the Slovak Medical University (SZU) in Bratislava. Slovak-taught medicine is tuition-free, but you must pass a biology and chemistry exam and follow lectures in Slovak. English-taught General Medicine costs $11,411–14,834 (€10,000–13,000) a year in 2026/27 (SZU is the cheapest) and Dentistry $15,405–16,546 (€13,500–14,500). Comenius University's English-programme exams (Bratislava and Martin) are taken online, while Košice tests in person; Martin's first exam date for 2027/28 is 20 March 2027.

This guide compares the faculties, explains how each entrance test works, covers documents and recognition of your school certificate, sets out a 2027/28 timeline and estimates costs. It also flags what non-EU applicants, including those from Russia and other CIS countries, should plan for. Amounts are in US dollars with euros in brackets, at the ECB rate of 23 September 2026 (€1 = $1.1411).

Where you can study medicine and dentistry

Pharmacy is a close alternative: Comenius University's Faculty of Pharmacy runs a five-year Pharmacy programme in English for $8,558 (€7,500) a year. The University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice (UVLF) also teaches pharmacy and veterinary medicine.

How the programme works: at LF UK, years one to three cover theoretical and pre-clinical subjects, and years four to six are spent in clinical settings. UPJŠ teaches clinical subjects at the Košice teaching hospital. Graduates receive the title MUDr. (Doctor of General Medicine) or MDDr. (Doctor of Dental Medicine) and then enter specialty training.

Slovak-taught or English-taught: the trade-off

There is no free English-taught medicine in Slovakia. On a tight budget, the realistic route is an intensive year of Slovak plus exam preparation, then a Slovak-taught programme. See our guide to Slovak language preparatory courses.

Entrance exams, faculty by faculty

Comenius University, Bratislava: English-taught programmes

LF UK ran three rounds in 2026/27:

The test is delivered by SCIO online (in August it could also be taken in person in Bratislava) and lasts 180 minutes. Every question comes from the faculty's published booklets: 500 biology and 500 chemistry questions, each with eight true/false statements. The exam shows four randomly chosen statements per question, exactly one of them correct. From 2026/27 there is no negative marking: a wrong answer, or more than one option marked, scores zero.

Also note:

• the fee is $113 (€99) per programme, non-refundable, and you are admitted to the exam only if the money arrives before the round deadline;
• you can register once per programme per academic year;
• no English certificate is required;
• the faculty advises non-EU applicants to choose March or June, because the visa and residence process takes weeks;
• results are published within 30 days; enrolment in 2026 took place on 14 September.

Comenius University, Bratislava: Slovak-taught programmes

For 2026/27, applications ran from 1 December 2025 to 28 February 2026. The exam has two parts. SCIO's general study aptitude test (VŠP) is taken online or in person on several dates between December and April, with 33 verbal and 33 analytical tasks. The science test is in person only: 9 May for medicine and 10 May for dentistry, in several Slovak cities. It has 100 biology and 100 chemistry questions, lasts three hours and is scored out of 800; each question has zero to four correct options, and every option you judge correctly earns a point while every mistake costs one. The $113 (€99) fee includes one VŠP sitting. Applicants attach a doctor's certificate of fitness and, if educated abroad, a recognition document. Enrolment in 2026 was on 2 September.

Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Martin: English-taught programme

Martin has already published its 2027/28 dates. All exams are online and delivered by SCIO:

The online application opens on 1 December 2026, and the fee is $80 (€70). If you fail, you may register for a later date once the next scheduled exam has passed, with a new application and fee. Results take about seven working days, and the written decision arrives within 30 days. At registration you need a passport scan, your school-leaving certificate (no Slovak translation at this stage), a doctor's certificate of fitness in English or German, and proof of payment. Tuition of $13,123 (€11,500) is due before the semester starts in mid-September 2027.

UPJŠ, Košice: English-taught programmes

The written exam takes place in Košice. It has 200 questions, 100 in biology and 100 in chemistry, with two and a half hours in total. Each question has four options, zero to four of which may be correct; each question scores 0–4 points for a maximum of 800, with no negative marking. The faculty says the pass mark is usually 75%. The question bank is published online, and paid preparatory courses are available.

In 2026 the last dates were 12 August and 5 September, with document deadlines of 29 July and 22 August. The package goes by post: the printed AiS2 application, a doctor's certificate no older than three months (in English or Slovak), a passport copy, proof of the $34 (€30) fee, and a notarised copy of the apostilled school-leaving certificate with a sworn Slovak translation. The faculty requires the notarisation and translation to be done in Slovakia. Medical students pay 2026/27 tuition in two instalments, by 31 August 2026 and by 1 March 2027.

The faculty has also stated publicly that admission to English-taught programmes rests solely on the entrance exam; the only exemption is for applicants who previously passed biology and biochemistry courses at the same faculty. Any intermediary who claims to arrange admission for a fee contradicts these rules.

UPJŠ, Košice: Slovak-taught programmes

For 2026/27, applications for medicine and dentistry closed on 28 February 2026. The written test for medicine ran on 24–26 April or 8–12 June, and for dentistry on 8–12 June. The online application fee is $34 (€30).

Slovak Medical University (SZU), Bratislava

SZU is a state university under the Ministry of Health with four faculties: Medicine, Nursing and Professional Health Studies, Public Health, and Health Sciences in Banská Bystrica. It also teaches General Medicine in English. According to the annex to its fee rules, an English-taught year costs $11,411 (€10,000) in 2025/26 and 2026/27 for students admitted from 2024/25 (earlier cohorts pay $10,270 [€9,000]). That is the lowest English-taught medicine fee among the country's four medical faculties. The admission fee for a procedure with an entrance exam is $80 (€70). The exam covers biology and chemistry, and the preparation topics are posted on the faculty's English page.

The weak point is admissions information: when we checked, the Faculty of Medicine's English page still showed the 2024/25 admission terms, and no 2027/28 dates had been published. If SZU is on your list, ask the faculty's study department by email for the exam date and deadline and keep the reply.

Documents and recognition of your school certificate

You cannot enrol without recognition of your secondary education. The procedure depends on the issuing country:

• Countries with automatic recognition. LF UK states that applicants from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, the UK, Ukraine, Russia and China do not need nostrification if their qualification is listed in the Ministry of Education's online registry. They submit the recognition statement (uznávacia doložka) plus a notarised copy of the certificate with a sworn Slovak translation.
• Other countries, including Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, go through recognition at the Regional Office of School Administration (RÚŠS). The fee is $46 (€40), or $8 (€7) where a bilateral agreement applies, and you add a notarised, translated record of subjects and grades for all years.
• Timing. Comenius University estimates about a month. The recognition decision must be presented by enrolment day at the latest.

After admission, LF UK students also provide a notarised, translated birth certificate and proof of hepatitis B vaccination. Country-specific details are in our guide to recognition of school certificates in Slovakia.

A 2027/28 timeline

1. September–November 2026. Pick two or three faculties and a language. For the Slovak route, start the language and the question banks now. Order the apostille on your certificate or a school transcript.
2. December 2026–February 2027. Applications open (JLF on 1 December). Slovak-taught programmes at UK and UPJŠ closed at the end of February in the last cycle.
3. March 2027. Martin's first online exam is on 20 March. If LF UK keeps last year's pattern, Bratislava will also hold a March round.
4. April–June 2027. In-person tests for Slovak programmes and second English rounds. After the decision, apply for certificate recognition and prepare residence documents.
5. July–August 2027. Residence application, dormitory, first-year tuition or first instalment.
6. September 2027. Enrolment and start of classes.

What study and living cost

Add food, transport, insurance and phone: EUBA estimates $297–819 (€260–718) a month in Bratislava, housing included. Our cost of studying in Slovakia guide works through four full budgets.

Language requirements

LF UK does not require an English certificate, and UPJŠ asks for a good command of English; in practice the English-language test does the checking. For Slovak-taught study, Comenius University asks for no formal certificate but recommends B2. Treat that as the minimum: anatomy and biochemistry textbooks, seminars and exams are in Slovak, and clinical work follows from year four. Speakers of other Slavic languages usually learn Slovak faster than German or French, but a year of regular study is still needed.

What the degree gives you

According to LF UK, its General Medicine graduates meet the requirements of EU Directive 2005/36/EC and may work in any EU country once they complete that country's registration procedures. UPJŠ notes that EU member states must accept Slovak medical and dental diplomas regardless of the language of instruction. After graduation comes specialty training, which in Slovakia takes several years in a hospital.

If you plan to practise outside the EU, including in Russia, Kazakhstan or other CIS countries, check early how your home country recognises foreign medical degrees and which licensing exams apply. Those rules are set by your country, not by the Slovak university.

Notes for non-EU applicants, including Russia and the CIS

• Online exams save a trip. LF UK and JLF test online; UPJŠ tests only in person in Košice. For Russian citizens, travelling to an exam requires a Schengen visa, which is harder to obtain than before 2022, so allow extra time.
• Residence after admission. You apply for temporary residence for study at the Slovak embassy accredited to your country of citizenship or residence; the embassy in Moscow accepts such applications from Russian citizens. Since 15 July 2026 the police may take up to 90 days to decide on a student application, which makes an early exam round more valuable. See our guide to the student residence permit.
• Payment. Universities accept only bank transfers in euros to their own accounts. From Russia, use only lawful routes; see our guide on paying for studies abroad from Russia.
• Intermediaries. The exam and the dean's decision are the only way into a medical faculty. Do not pay for "places" or "guarantees".

For a neighbouring comparison, see studying medicine in Czechia.

Common mistakes

• Preparing from school textbooks instead of the faculty's published question banks.
• Applying to a single faculty: one bad day costs a year. Three faculties with different dates reduce the risk.
• Choosing the August round when you still need a residence permit: LF UK explicitly advises non-EU applicants to sit in March or June.
• Paying the fee on the last day: transfers take several days, and without payment you are not admitted to the test.
• Sending UPJŠ a translation made outside Slovakia when the faculty requires a Slovak sworn translator.
• Planning to learn Slovak during the first year of a Slovak-taught programme.

FAQ

Sources

• LF UK: English-programme admission, fees and 2026/27 dates and exam format — checked 24.09.2026
• LF UK: Slovak-programme admission 2026/27 — checked 24.09.2026
• Jessenius Faculty of Medicine: 2027/28 dates and conditions and FAQ — checked 24.09.2026
• Comenius University: programmes taught in English and fees and information for Russian-speaking applicants — checked 24.09.2026
• UPJŠ Faculty of Medicine: entrance exam, programmes in English, official statement on admission — checked 24.09.2026
• UPJŠ: Rector's Decision 3/2026 on fees (PDF) and medical fee deadlines (PDF) — checked 24.09.2026
• UPJŠ Faculty of Medicine: Slovak-programme admission and certificate recognition — checked 24.09.2026
• Slovak Ministry of Education: recognition statement (uznávacia doložka) — checked 24.09.2026
• IOM Migration Information Centre: temporary residence for study and changes from 15.07.2026 — checked 24.09.2026
• Slovak Embassy in Moscow: residence of foreigners — checked 24.09.2026
• Slovak Medical University: Faculty of Medicine, General Medicine programme and fees for English-taught students, 2025/26 and 2026/27 (PDF) — checked 24.09.2026
• Exchange rate: ECB reference rate of 23.09.2026, €1 = $1.1411

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