Medical schools in Bulgaria are popular among students, because of their affordability (7000-8500€ per year of studies). Generally speaking, students can transfer to the 2nd and 3rd year and complete their clinical subjects in Bulgaria. Transfers are possible only before start of the Winter Semester, so transfers in the middle of the academic year are not allowed. Documents can be firstly sent by email and after a positive response from the study office, also as original documents.
Bulgarian medical schools are run by the European system for the accumulation and transfer of credits, providing an opportunity to choose disciplines, forms of study and forms of independent training, as well as for mobility on the basis of mutual recognition of separate training periods as part from the curriculum of the specialty and educational qualification degree. The credit is a numerical expression of the student employment required to acquire certain skills and knowledge in the learning process. Credits are awarded to students who have received a grade (not lower than an average of 3.00) for acquired knowledge and skills provided for in the curriculum major plan, by exam or other form of assessment. Each main unit shall adopt a system for the transfer of credits developed in dependence on the specifics of training.
We cover transfer conditions to Medical University Trakia in Stara Zagora, Medical University Sofia, Sofia Medical University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. Currently, transfers to Plovdiv Medical University and Varna Medical University are not allowed. All universities provide medical studies in the English language (6-year program, 360 ECTS), Sofia Medical University, Varna Medical University, and Plovdiv Medical University provide also a Dentistry course (5-year course).
Transfers to Trakia Medical University in Stara Zagora
Transfers are possible to the medical program of General medicine and veterinary medicine. Documents must be submitted from the 15th of July to the 30th of July. Transfers are allowed only during the Winter semester. Students cannot have more than 3 failed subjects at the previous studies.
The student submits the following documents:
- Application to the rector of the University according to a model and signed by the candidate;
- Academic transcript of records with syllabuses- translated into Bulgarian and legalized, certifying that the student has successfully passed exams in the relevant disciplines with the awarded credits and horary. With that, the student must present an official document certifying the results of successfully passed candidate student exams if the specialty in which they wish to be transferred requires it;
- Copy of secondary education diploma;
- Copy of personal document.
Candidates’ documents are sent ex officio to the dean’s office for consideration management of the respective faculty. The documents of applicants for transfer from foreign higher education institutions shall be checked by the commission to recognize completed periods of training in compliance of the established requirements for acquiring higher education in the same field specialty from specialized commissions for the examination of diplomas and academic references for recognition of study periods based on the credit transfer system in the main unit. Based on the decision of the specialized commission, the head of the main unit makes proposal regarding transferring year. When determining the course of study, the transfer student must have more than 3 not passed semester exams from the previous years. Approved candidates may be transferred to the first, second, or third course of study in the relevant specialty. The transfer is not allowed for applicants from foreign higher education institutions in the fourth and higher courses of study.
Transfers to the Medical university in Sofia
Applicants for transfer must complete at least 1 academic year in their home university. Transfers are possible to the 2nd 3rd year of studies.
Candidates must submit the following documents to the Education Department of the Rectorate when they request to be transferred to Medical University-Sofia:
- Application form to the Rector of Medical University-Sofia according to a sample.
- Academic transcript of records from the current studies. (The academic transcript is an official educational document, which contains: data about the educational institution; level of educational qualification degree; certified semesters or periods of study; hours on the studied disciplines and/or the acquired credits, and form of assessment of the passed exams. The academic transcript must also be legalized with a certified translation into Bulgarian. If the academic transcript does not contain hours for the studied disciplines and / or the acquired credits and form of assessment of the passed exams, must be submitted a copy of the programs for the studied disciplines with the topics of the practical exercises and lectures, and / or credits and form of assessment. The programs must be certified with a signature and seal by the respective university and legalized with a certified translation into Bulgarian)
- All necessary documents for admission of foreign citizens and EU and EEA citizens for students at Medical University-Sofia, listed on the official website of the university, and a document for accreditation of the Higher Medical School in which the student studied. Any documents regarding student transfer at Medical University-Sofia must be submitted in person or by an authorized person in Education Department in the Rectorate Building. Documents submitted by fax, e-mail or by post shall not be considered and remain without any further consequences! Note: If one of the components of the entrance exam is not passed, the exam is considered failed.
For the continuation of training in a specialty from regulated professions and specialties (transfer) completed periods of study and received credits shall only be recognized from conducted training in the same specialty from the same regulated profession and specialty, as well as at the same level of higher education. The Dean of the Faculty of Medicine takes into account the approved capacity of the professional field and the periods of training submitted for recognition by the Commission in “Preliminary Protocol for determining the course of study”. The course of study for each student is determined individually, according to his Academic report and other documents proving the educational process by appointed, by Order of the Rector, Working Commission for recognition of periods of study at the Faculty of Medicine, by preparing a “Preliminary protocol for determination of the course of study’. In the preliminary protocol for determining the course of study, the Commission assesses the correspondence between the successfully passed exams and/or conducted training in separate disciplines for the respective course, with those for the same course in the Curriculum for the specialty “Medicine” as the list of hours can be recognized in accordance with the Decree for Approval of a Classifier of Higher Education and Professional Fields for Bulgaria.
If the Dean decides to approve the request the following procedure is followed:
1. On the specified date, applicants who have transferred from overseas medical universities must take an English-language combined exam in Biology, Chemistry, and English. An order is issued for enrollment in the course selected by the Dean of the respective faculty after passing the combined English, biology, and chemistry exam.
2. The documents are submitted to the Ministry of Education and Science to issue Type E Visa Certificates when the candidate-student is from a nation that is not a member of the EU or the EEA. In this instance, the student’s accepted course of study should be predetermined so that the duration of their stay in the country can be specified.
The student is also registered to take a combined English, Biology, and Chemistry exam if the Ministry of Education and Science has issued a Visa E Certificate. For each year of study in Bulgarian or English, transferred foreign students are required to pay the full standard fee for foreign citizens. A fee of BGN 120 per failed exam is added to the transferred foreign student’s tuition bill outside of the statutory tuition fee if the student has failed or not taken any exams. In addition to the standard tuition, the transferred foreign student must pay an additional fee if he or she has not studied a discipline or studied a discipline but did not complete all of the required study hours. The amount paid for additional training complies with Section VIII, item 36, of the Regulations.
Fees: Document submission: BGN 80.00, payable at the Rectorate’s cash desk. The combined English, Biology, and Chemistry exam fee is BGN 400.00, payable at the Rectorate’s cash desk. Pay the BGN 200.00 VAT transfer fee at the cash desk of the Rectorate to transfer foreign students from other higher medical schools abroad to Medical University -Sofia for the medical, dental, and pharmacy specialties.
Transfers to Sofia Medical University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
Transfers are possible for the 2nd and 3rd years. Applicants should submit the following documents:
1. Application form ;
2. Original Diploma for higher education / equivalent document, issued by an educational institution, legally recognized by a competent state institution as a part of the education system of the respective country or a copy of the applicant’s higher education diploma notarially attested and legalized as stated in the Legalization Regulations;
3. Original of the applicant’s Academic transcript of records or a copy notarially attested and legalized as stated in the Legalization Regulations, as well as an original and copy of the European diploma supplement, if available;
4. Original and copy of personal identification document, as well as a document that states the change in the applicant’s name, if any;
5. Other documents relevant to the recognition procedure according to an applicant
6. Document for a paid administrative fee for the recognition procedure (270 BGN ) in cash or via a bank transfer to the account of Sofia University: The documents, required under Items 2 to 5 must be legalized, translated, and certified according to the provisions of the international treaties between Bulgaria and the country of their issuance, or in other cases according to the general procedure for the legalization, translation and certification of documents and other papers. The document stating changes in the applicant names presented in a foreign language, must be accompanied by a respective translation in Bulgarian.
The documents, required under Items 2 to 5 must be legalized, translated, and certified according to the provisions of the international treaties between Bulgaria and the country of their issuance, or in another case according to the general procedure for the legalization, translation and certification of documents and other papers. The document stating changes in the applicant names presented in a foreign language, must be accompanied by a respective translation in Bulgarian. The documents stated under Items 2 and 3 must also have simple copies.
Allowance to the evaluation of compliance with the state regulations for acquiring higher education in Bulgaria is denied in the following cases: a document presented for recognition is not a diploma or equivalent higher educational document and is not issued according to the conditions under Art. 4, Item 1 of the Regulations; a diploma, issued by a foreign higher educational institution, recognized by a competent state institution of the respective country as a part of the secular system of higher education, but the education was provided by structures in the territory of another country which have not been identified and do not function under the statutory established by the law; a higher education document which, after verification, is identified as being not issued by the respective higher educational institution.
The applicants, seeking recognition by Sofia University shall submit the following documents to Boryana Vaneva (Information centre), Phone: (+359 2) 9308 522, E-mail: bvaneva@admin.uni-sofia.bg and Annik Teodosieva (Information center), Phone: (+359 2) 9308 522, Email: ateodosieva@admin.uni-sofia.bg Transfer is not allowed for applicants from foreign higher education institutions in the fourth and higher courses of study. Students that transfer in the second course – for example: must have proof (grades in) that they passed – Physics, Chemistry, Latin, Biology, Social Medicine, Medical Ethics, Disaster medicine, Biostatistics, Biophysics, Cytology and Histology, Anatomy, Physiology, Sports and elective subjects ( at least two) – so that the student can continue the studies in the next (third) course.
Transfers to Plovdiv Medical University
Transfer to the Medical Faculty of Plovdiv is possible after a finished semester or year in a foreign educational system, meaning transfer mid-semester is not possible at the moment. Documents for student transfer are being reviewed up to two weeks before the beginning of the new semester and are being requested with the addition of a permitted request and an official document by the rector of Plovdiv University. Two weeks to starting the new semester students have to send these documents needed for applying: application form for transferring academic reference (translated and legalized) – stating how many subjects the student has successfully passed, the horarium, and the credits of the passed subjects legalized translation of the secondary education diploma by the Ministry of education and science Academic transcript of records. (The academic transcript is an official educational document, which contains: data about the educational institution; level of educational qualification degree; certified semesters or periods of study; hours on the studied disciplines and/or the acquired credits, and form of assessment of the passed exams. The academic transcript must also be legalized with a certified translation into Bulgarian. If the academic transcript does not contain hours for the studied disciplines and/or the acquired credits and form of assessment of the passed exams, must be submitted a copy of the programs for the studied disciplines with the topics of the practical exercises and lectures, and/or credits and form of assessment. student card with the grades and credits from the previous University copy of a personal document All documents must have an Apostil, be translated to Bulgarian by a certified Bulgarian translator, and be certified in the embassy department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The transfer is not allowed for applicants from foreign higher education institutions in the fourth and higher courses of study.
Transfers to Varna Medical University
The following documents need to be submitted for transfer application:
- Application to the Rector for recognition of a completed period of study An original of an academic report for a completed period of study or another similar document from a foreign higher education institution recognized by a competent authority as part of the system of secular higher education of the respective country in which the person studied until now. The academic report must contain information about the horarium, the acquired credits and the grades of the successfully passed exams in each academic discipline studied. (The documents under item 2 are presented as legalized, translated, and certified following the provisions of the international treaties of the Republic of Bulgaria with the country in which they were issued. In the absence of such provisions, documents are legalized according to the general procedure for legalizations, translations, and certifications of documents and other papers.)
- Copy of identity document
- A document certifying the change in the name of the applicant, if there is such a change (typically Indian students)The documents under item 3 and item 4, submitted in a foreign language, must be accompanied by an official translation into Bulgarian. Declaration of the truth of the specified data and that they are aware of the responsibility for presenting false data, which is borne according to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Bulgaria. Document for paid administrative fee for carrying out the procedure for recognition of completed training periods in the amount of 50 euros (100 leva). The fee can be paid by bank transfer to the account of MU – Varna. Study programs for the studied disciplines (stamped with the official seal of the university/department; Study programs must be translated into Bulgarian or provided in English. Only applications are accepted, to which all the documents required under paragraph 1 are attached.The official in the Academic Department checks the documents when they are submitted. After accepting all the required documents, the person receives an incoming application number. Transfer is not allowed for applicants from foreign higher education institutions in the fourth and higher courses of study. For the recognition of a completed period of study in foreign higher schools, other documents relevant to the recognition may be additionally requested. They must be submitted within one month from the date of receipt of the notification. The notification of the students approved for transfer, as well as of those who have been denied recognition of completed periods of study in foreign higher schools, is carried out by an official from the Education Department within a period of one month.
