About Lithuanian University of Health Science (LSMU)
LSMU is one of the biggest medical universities in the Baltic countries, which is internationally recognized in the whole European Union and most countries of the world. It is located in Kaunas, Lithuania and offers medical studies of General medicine (the Faculty of medicine), Dental medicine (the Faculty of Odontology), and Veterinary medicine (the Faculty of veterinary medicine) in the English language. Medical education and research are mainly based on assistance with the prime health care establishment in the Baltic States – “Kauno klinikos” and Kaunas Clinical Hospital (Kauno Ligonine). Veterinary Academy is the only founding in Lithuania to train veterinary surgeons. A number of other programs (Pharmacy, Food Sciences, Public Health, Nursing, etc.) are offered to international students as well. Studies at the University are run by 78 structural units: 20 Departments, 44 Clinical Departments (2 of which are Veterinary Clinics), 9 faculty institutes and 5 research institutes.
LSMU is an active participant in the ERASMUS exchange program. Students may study at foreign universities or go abroad for practice for a period of up to one year. Over 170 partner universities in more than 40 countries. There are over 95 different nationalities study at LSMU.
Study system at LSMU
Foreign students form study groups that serve for facilitating practical classes and lessons. There are approximately 8-10 foreign students in one group. Lithuanian and foreign students have also the opportunity to study in one group since 2021/2022 intake. The group will only be taught in English and will have the same number of Lithuanian and foreign students.
The study programs at LSMU meet university education standards applied in EU countries and graduates are eligible to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and the PLAB examination of the General Medical Council in the UK.
University hospitals
The University has successfully integrated the clinical work of clinical departments in both Kauno Klinikos and Kaunas Clinical Hospital into the activities of studies and research. Close cooperation between the University and Kauno Klinikos and the highest potential of biomedical scientists in the country together with health care activities result in the unity of studies, research and clinical practice. This creates the conditions necessary to train scientists and academics of the highest international level, to conduct the analysis of research and experimental development, to cooperate with businesses and the public sector, to create innovations and successfully apply them in clinical practice.
Kauno Klinikos comprises 38 clinical departments, 17 outpatient divisions, 4 branches, and it has 2,300 hospital beds. Kauno Klinikos employs 2,200 medical doctors and 2,400 members of the nursing staff. Annually, 1,300,000 outpatient consultations take place, inpatient care accounts for almost 95,000 patients, and more than 68,000 surgical operations are performed. The advanced technologies and minimally invasive interventions applied in Kauno Klinikos as well as the widening spectrum of analyses lead to much more successful treatment of the patients and improve both qualitative and quantitative indicators of the hospital. The biggest multifunctional institution of health care in Lithuania plays an important role in the national health care system. It is the biggest base of residency (with almost 1,000 residency students) and professional development of health care specialists. Besides, more than 180 clinical and biomedical scientific studies are conducted in Kauno Klinikos every year.
Kaunas Clinical Hospital (or Kauno Ligonine) has more than 800 hospital beds. Annually, there are 360,000 outpatient consultations, 36,000 patients are hospitalized and almost 14,000 surgical operations performed. Kaunas Clinical Hospital includes five clinical departments of the University. The clinical department of the Behavioural Medicine Institute provides rehabilitation services for patients with heart diseases and stress-related diseases. Apart from that, there are multiple more facilities in the hospital with more than 20 plus better and modern equipment.
Study programs
General medicine
Study program: General medicine
Length of the program: 6 years
Degree after graduation: Msc in Health Sciences, Doctor
Number of credits needed for graduation: 360 ECTS credits
Tuition fees: 12500€ for the 1st to 4th year, 13,000€ for 5th and 6th year
Language of instructions: English
The degree program in Medicine aims at educating medical doctors capable of entering residency programs or having the necessary skills to provide emergency aid and health care services under the supervision of a physician specialist. There are 90 places offered per intake.
The Study Programme in Medicine provides the maximum of 360 credits enacted for the integrated study programs. There are mandatory and optional courses. The offer of the elective courses is very satisfactory and the students may freely make choice of the optional courses, according to their own interests. The volume of clinical practical skills is 30 ECTS. For the lectures, students are divided into groups of up to 50 students, while for the practical training these groups are further divided forming subgroups of 7-10 students. The practical work is organized throughout the studies, with the clinical practical education starting from the 4th year, and the final part is the six-month clinical internships that take place in the health institutions. The students choose among the six main areas of medicine, for example, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Paediatrics.
The clinical skills to be acquired during internships are defined by the Medical Association. During the internships, students are monitored by the hospital management. All the hospital personnel taking part in students ‘practical education must have at least 5 years of experience.
Curriculum
YEAR 1
Anatomy, Histology, Genetics, Physics, Chemistry, Lithuanian Language
YEARS 2 – 3
Reproduction and Inheritance, Professional Competence, Basics of Neurosciences, Immune Response and Infection, Respiration and Circulation, Metabolism and Homeostasis, Basics of Preclinical Studies and Locomotion, Lithuanian Language
YEARS 4 – 6
Clinical Modules, Clinical Medical Practice
Dental medicine
There are 35 places offered per intake for Dental medicine program. The program takes 5 years and cost 13500€ per one year (2 semesters) for 1st to 4th year and 14.000€ for 5th year. The language of instruction is English with total load of 300 ECTS credits. The program is offered by the Faculty of odontology, which is part of Medical academy of LMSU (founded in 1921). Is is popular because of great results in fields of specialist training, research work, and clinical practice. Program for international students is opened since 1990, dental hygienists can join since 2004. The LSMU MA Faculty of Odontology is a member of the Association of Dental Education in Europe (ADEE). The Faculty consists of over 100 highly qualified teachers, including 12 professors, 18 associate professors, 20 lecturers, and 59 clinical instructors.
Study plan of Odontology at LSMU: https://lsmuni.lt/media/dynamic/files/21511/odontologijaenstudijpalnas2021202220201001.pdf
Admission to LSMU
Applicants to LSMU must submit documents and pass the entrance exam. Good results in Biology, Chemistry and English are expected as well. . In case, these subjects courses are not studied in high school, certification of related supplementary courses is highly recommended. Entrance test (Biology and Chemistry) is obligatory. It could be substituted by SAT Subject Tests done in the related subjects or other medical entrance tests: lsmuni.lt/en/activities/degree-studies/admission/exemptions-from-entrance-exam/. Documents must be either in English or translated to English / Lithuanian. You can find the list of specific documents by countries: https://lsmuni.lt/en/study-at-lsmu/degree-studies/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications-2/
Basic numbers about the Faculty of medicine LSMU
A total of 852 teachers are engaged in the Integrated Study Programme of Medicine at LUHS: approximately 129 professors, 149 associate professors, 238 lecturers, and 345 assistants. The maximum workload for the teachers is 30 hours per week, which is below the legal maximum of 40 hours per week. The total percentage of full-time professors is 17.6%. The recruiting procedure for the teaching positions at the faculty is enacted by the Law of Higher Education and the concordant university legislature. The turnover of teaching staff and the number of the staff is adequate to ensure the proper conduct of the Study Programme and the fulfillment of the learning outcomes. During the last three years Faculty of Medicine certified and hired 284 teachers.
Theses at LSMU
The procedure for choosing the topics of the theses, performing the research itself and reporting and the defense of the theses is strict and well-founded. The students chose the topics at the beginning of the 4th year. At the end of the 6th year, they prepare results and publish them in the proceedings (both paper and electronic versions) and present them at the students’ conferences. The results are assessed by teachers who do not belong to the team which was engaged in the research and creation of the publication. The final theses are based on the student’s research work and demonstrate the student’s competencies in line with the learning objectives of the programme. Research work of the students is properly evaluated in two main ways: the final thesis is evaluated during the course of the Integrated Study Programme, but also after graduation – the points for the residency studies entry are dependent on the quality of research work during the integrated studies. However, the master theses should be written according to standards used for scientific papers, including the discussion part. Also, the anti-plagiary system should be further developed.
International cooperations and students of LSMU
Since 1990, LSMU has been the Alma Mater of many international students. Currently, there are more than 1300 full-time foreign students from 76 countries (mainly from Sweden, Israel, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Lebanon, India, South Korea) enrolled. It comprised over 20 % of the total student body at LSMU.
The number of studying internationally is increasing every year. Germany, Italy, France, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Finland, and Norway are the most popular Erasmus partner countries among LSMU students. LSMU collaborates with more than 140 European, American and Asian universities for study and research purposes. The University is a member of numerous international organizations, such as the European University Association (EUA), Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER), Association of Medical Schools in Europe (AMSE), Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE), Baltic Sea Region University Network (BSRUN), Organisation for PhD Education in Biomedicine and Health Sciences in the European System (ORPHEUS), European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE), World Veterinary Association, etc. LSMU is also a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO), where it fulfills the role of a collaboration center for research and training in epidemiology as well as for the prevention of cardiovascular and other chronic non-communicable diseases.
Employability
The community of LSMU university alumni has high career and employment rates: within 12 months after graduation in 2014, 77% of the first cycle graduates, 88% second cycle graduates, 87% of the graduates of integrated studies and 94% of the graduates of residency studies, signed employment contracts.
About the City of Kaunas
Kaunas is the second largest city of Lithuania with almost 300.000 inhabitants. It was the first city in central and eastern Europe with the award Unesco City of design. It will be also European Capital of Culture in 2022. It is student city as there are the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, the Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas University of Technology, the Vytautas Magnus University. Most of inhabitants are from Lithuania 94%, only 4 % are Russians, rest minorities has less than 1%.
