Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice (UPJŠ)

Why students choose it

• The strongest faculty of medicine in eastern Slovakia — general medicine, dentistry, physiotherapy, public health; its own clinical base at the Košice university hospital.
• The only faculty of law and faculty of public administration in the region — a route into legal professions and the public sector.
• Faculty of Science — informatics, data analysis and AI, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics; admission mostly without exams.
• A classical university with a research reputation: laboratories, international projects, Erasmus+ exchanges.
• Košice is an affordable city with a large Ukrainian community; the Ukrainian border is about 90 km away.
• University dormitories within walking distance of the medical campus.

Faculties and programmes

How international students apply

Application deadlines

Faculty of Medicine — usually by the end of February — March, tests in June; other faculties — mostly by the end of March — April, some open a second round in summer. Exact dates — on the faculty website.

Entrance exams

• Medicine and dentistry — written test in biology and chemistry (in Slovak, or in English for the English-taught programme).
• Psychology and some Faculty of Arts programmes — entrance test or ranking by school grades (depends on the year).
• Science, law, public administration — usually by certificate, no exams.

Documents

• online application and the application fee;
• nostrified school certificate — the recognition decision (or proof of filing) by the faculty deadline;
• official translation of the certificate into Slovak;
• proof of Slovak level as required by the faculty (a solid B2 matters for medicine).

International students apply on the same terms as Slovak citizens. We choose the faculty, handle the nostrification of the certificate and the application — see turnkey admission and the route after the 11th grade.

Based on upjs.sk and the faculty websites as of 08/2026 — check the 2027/2028 deadlines and requirements before applying.

Dormitory and costs

UPJŠ has its own dormitories in Košice (Medická and Popradská streets) next to the medical campus. A place for a first-year student costs roughly 80–150 € per month (2026, check the dormitory website). The application is filed after admission, usually in summer; international students get places on equal terms.

Estimate a year's budget in Košice — housing, food, transport — in the cost calculator.

Medicine at UPJŠ: what international applicants should know

General Medicine at UPJŠ in Slovak is tuition-free, but the competition is high and the entrance test in biology and chemistry requires serious preparation. The English-taught programme (General Medicine) is paid and designed for international students — it is easier to get in, but each year of study costs a fee set by the faculty (check the website). Some of our students choose this route: enrol in the English programme and learn Slovak in parallel for clinical practice.

• Test in Slovak: biology and chemistry at secondary-school level, usually 6 years of study to the MUDr. degree.
• Dental Medicine is a separate programme with even higher competition.
• Neighbours in the city: TUKE for engineering and IT and the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy for pharmacy or veterinary medicine.

FAQ