Transfer from the University of Crete: Where to Continue Medicine in 2026

What is the University of Crete, Faculty of Medicine, and what does it teach?

The University of Crete, Faculty of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Crete in Heraklion, Greece. The University of Crete was founded in 1973 and began teaching in the academic year 1977 to 1978. Its School of Medicine was established in 1983 and admitted its first students in 1984. Medicine lasts six years.

Teaching takes place on the Voutes campus, and clinical training is closely tied to the University Hospital of Heraklion. Two routes into medicine exist side by side. The regular Greek national programme is taught in Greek. Alongside it, the faculty runs the International Program in Medicine, an English-taught six-year course of 12 semesters and 360 ECTS with 30 places per academic year, open to international students who completed secondary school outside Greece.

The university charges EUR 15,000 per academic year for that English-taught programme in 2026. Greece is a member of the European Union, so a completed Greek basic medical qualification sits inside the European recognition system described in Directive 2005/36/EC.

Can you transfer from the University of Crete to another medical university?

Yes. A student who has already started medicine at the University of Crete, Faculty of Medicine in Heraklion, Greece can continue at another medical university instead of starting again from scratch. Medschool Experts is the leading specialist for study transfers in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary medicine, and works with the world's largest choice of official partner universities.

What a transfer is really about is credit. Semesters you have already passed in Heraklion are examined subject by subject, and the question is how far into a new curriculum they carry you. That answer is never a guess. It comes from reading your transcript against the curriculum of the receiving faculty.

Medschool Experts does that review for you and then puts a concrete placement and a concrete year in front of you. You can see the countries and programmes we cover on our universities page, and how we work on our services page.

Why do students transfer from the University of Crete?

Students leave Heraklion for planning reasons, not because of the teaching. Four motives come up again and again at Medschool Experts, and each of them is a question of fit between a student and a faculty. None of them is a criticism of the University of Crete, Faculty of Medicine or of Greek medical education.

• Cost. Tuition of EUR 15,000 per academic year plus living costs in Heraklion adds up over six years. A more affordable partner university keeps the same goal within reach on a smaller budget.
• Specific exams. Some students hit one or two subjects that refuse to fall. A faculty with a different exam format and a different pace can change that. We help with exactly this, and it is one of our specialities.
• Personal or organisational reasons. Problems with an individual professor, a family situation at home, a change in circumstances. Sometimes continuing in the same place simply stops working.
• Career goal United States. Students who want to practise in the United States need a route built around the USMLE and United States clinical rotations.

Where can University of Crete students transfer to?

A transfer from the University of Crete is possible, and Medschool Experts offers it. We have 25+ partner universities in Europe specifically for students in this situation. Where a University of Crete student can continue depends on the goal, not on the origin: a lower total cost, an exam format and pace that fit, a career in the United States, or a degree that stays inside the European recognition system.

That is why we check every profile individually and free of charge, and why we do not publish lists of universities that accept transfer students. The right place is the one that fits your transcript, your budget and the country you want to work in later.

A study transfer is a complex undertaking. Our experts have almost 10 years of experience in study transfers worldwide, which is why they plan and carry it out confidently. The consultation is free.

You can read what students who made the move say on our student stories page. Short version: pick the goal first, then let us find the faculty.

How much can a University of Crete student save by transferring?

A student at the University of Crete, Faculty of Medicine in Heraklion, Greece pays EUR 15,000 in tuition per academic year on the English-taught International Program in Medicine, plus roughly EUR 750 a month to live, about EUR 24,000 a year in total. At our European partner universities, English-taught medicine starts from EUR 1,750 tuition per semester, so from EUR 3,500 per year.

Run that across the years you still have left and the gap becomes the price of a car, or several. On tuition alone, the difference can reach up to EUR 11,500 a year, or up to EUR 34,500 over three remaining years. That is not a reason on its own to move. It is a number worth knowing before you decide.

Costs are not the only variable, of course. Some students move to a more affordable university and use the saved budget for exam preparation, electives or a longer clinical placement abroad. Others simply finish without debt.

Which year can you enter after leaving the University of Crete?

There is no fixed ceiling on the entry year for a student leaving the University of Crete, Faculty of Medicine in Heraklion, Greece. Medschool Experts frequently achieves high placements, often into year 4 or year 5. Every case is reviewed individually, and the aim is always the highest entry possible with no or minimal loss of time.

As a rule of thumb, usually no more than two exams may still be outstanding, and the ECTS attached to those exams must stay below a maximum. That is why the transcript review matters so much. Two students from the same semester in Heraklion can land in different years, because what they have passed differs.

How does a transfer from the University of Crete work with Medschool Experts?

A transfer from the University of Crete, Faculty of Medicine in Heraklion, Greece runs in four steps with Medschool Experts: a free consultation, a detailed review of your academic record, a concrete placement offer with the entry year, and then the switch itself, planned so that you stay enrolled until the new place is confirmed.

That last point is the one students most often get wrong on their own. Do not withdraw early. You keep your current student status in Heraklion until the new university has confirmed you in writing, which means you are never in the gap between two enrolments.

We do not publish document checklists, deadlines or application formats here, because they differ by faculty and by year and they change. Talk to us instead. We check your profile against our partner network and tell you what applies to your case.

Is medicine at the University of Crete taught in English or in Greek?

Both, on two separate tracks. The regular undergraduate medical programme of the University of Crete, Faculty of Medicine in Heraklion, Greece is taught in Greek and follows the Greek national admission route. Separately, the faculty runs the International Program in Medicine, where all basic, pre-clinical and clinical courses are taught and assessed in English.

The English-taught programme is open to international students who are not Greek citizens and who finished secondary education outside Greece. It runs 12 semesters, 360 ECTS, six years, with 30 places per academic year and tuition of EUR 15,000 per year as published by the university in 2026.

One detail that matters for planning. Students on the English-taught programme also receive Greek language teaching, with the stated aim of reaching B2 level so they can communicate with patients during clinical training in Heraklion. That is normal for a medical degree taught in a language other than the local one, and it is worth knowing before the clinical years begin. Several Medschool Experts partner universities teach medicine in English throughout, including the clinical years, in countries where the same patient-communication requirement applies in the local language.

Does a medical degree from Greece still count if you transfer to another country?

Greece is a member of the European Union, so a basic medical qualification completed in Greece falls under Directive 2005/36/EC and is recognised automatically in other EU and EEA member states. If you transfer to another EU university, the finished degree sits in the same automatic recognition system.

That is why the EU or non-EU question deserves an early answer. If your plan is to practise in an EU country, a degree from an EU member state is the most direct route, and we take that into account when we look for the right partner university.

If your plan is the United States, the logic changes. There the relevant path runs through the USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK, ECFMG certification and United States residency, and some of our partner universities build their teaching around exactly that route. Recognition rules differ by country and change over time, so check the current position with the competent authority in the country where you intend to work.

When should University of Crete students start planning a transfer?

Earlier than most people do. A student at the University of Crete, Faculty of Medicine in Heraklion, Greece should speak to Medschool Experts as soon as the thought appears, because entry year depends on what has been passed, and the picture changes with every exam session. A conversation in October is worth more than one in August.

Waiting has a cost. If two exams are outstanding now, that is workable. If five are outstanding after another year of drift, the achievable entry year drops and time is lost that nobody gets back. The review is free and it commits you to nothing.

So the advice is simple: ask early, decide slowly. Book a free consultation and find out what your Heraklion transcript is actually worth.