Affordable Medical Schools in Europe: 20 Universities from €2,000 per Semester in 2026

Top 20

The lowest tuition in this list is charged in Banja Luka in Bosnia and Herzegovina: €2,000 per semester at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Banja Luka. Galați in Romania and Niš in Serbia follow with €3,000 per semester each. After that come the Bulgarian universities from €4,500 and further Romanian universities between €3,250 and €5,000.

The order reflects value for money. It takes the tuition fee, the cost of living and the facilities of the university into account. That is why the Bulgarian universities sit ahead of several Romanian ones with a slightly lower fee. All figures are for medicine taught in English.

Banja Luka

The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Banja Luka belongs to the state university of the city and charges €4,000 per year, or €2,000 per semester, for medicine in English. Over six years that adds up to €24,000. That is the lowest fee in this list.

The English programme has run since the 2022/23 academic year and takes around 100 international students per year. Admission works through an online entrance exam in biology and chemistry (multiple choice), with rounds in June, August and September. The university is state-accredited.

Banja Luka is the second-largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with around 220,000 inhabitants, and it lies on the river Vrbas. Rents are far below Western European levels: around €450 a month covers a room, food and daily life. More on the page Study medicine in Banja Luka.

Galați

In Galați you pay €3,000 per semester at the “Dunărea de Jos” University, so €36,000 over six years. That makes Galați the cheapest place to study medicine inside the European Union in this comparison.

The city lies on the Danube in south-eastern Romania, about 80 kilometres from the Black Sea, and has just under 218,000 inhabitants. The Faculty of Medicine was founded in 2004. The English programme started in 2021 with 45 places for international students, so small groups are the norm. Plan around €500 a month for rent, food and bills.

Niš

The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Niš in Serbia costs €3,000 per semester and €36,000 for the full degree. The fee can also be paid quarterly, at €1,500 per quarter. Families who prefer not to transfer large sums at once appreciate that.

Niš is the third-largest city in Serbia and a real student city with its own airport. Rooms are easy to find and living costs are around €450 a month. The faculty has trained doctors for more than six decades. Details on the page Study medicine in Niš.

Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, medicine in English costs between €4,500 and €5,000 per semester. Pleven and Stara Zagora are the cheapest at €4,500. Varna, Burgas, Plovdiv and Sofia charge €5,000. Bulgaria has been an EU member since 2007 and has used the euro since 1 January 2026.

Two things speak for Bulgaria. Living costs outside Sofia are low, and the medical universities are well equipped. In the full calculation Bulgaria often beats a Romanian university with a slightly lower fee.

• Rank 4, Pleven (€4,500): The Medical University of Pleven is known for its centre for robotic surgery. The city is compact and rents are among the lowest in the country.
• Rank 5, Stara Zagora (€4,500): The Faculty of Medicine of Trakia University sits in the centre of Bulgaria, with short distances between lecture hall and hospital.
• Rank 6, Varna (€5,000): Studying on the Black Sea. After lectures students go windsurfing or sailing. More on Study medicine in Varna.
• Rank 7, Burgas (€5,000): The youngest medical faculty in the country, also on the coast, with small year groups.
• Rank 8, Plovdiv (€5,000): The second-largest city in Bulgaria, with a large international student community and one of the oldest old towns in Europe.
• Rank 9, Sofia (€5,000): The capital and home of the oldest medical university in the country. Same fee as Varna, clearly higher rent.

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Romania

Besides Galați, ten more Romanian universities teach medicine in English. Fees range from €3,250 per semester in Sibiu to €5,000 in Cluj-Napoca, Târgu Mureș and Bucharest. Romania has been an EU member since 2007 and the academic year starts in October.

• Rank 10, Sibiu (€3,250): Lucian Blaga University in the historic Transylvanian city once called Hermannstadt.
• Rank 11, Arad (€3,500): “Vasile Goldiș” Western University, close to the Hungarian border and the main transport hub of western Romania.
• Rank 12, Constanța (€3,500): Ovidius University has taught in English since 1993. More than 600 students are enrolled in the English programme, and the beach of Mamaia is on the doorstep.
• Rank 13, Brașov (€3,500): Transilvania University, in the middle of the Carpathians. In winter the ski slopes are 20 minutes away.
• Rank 14, Oradea (€4,000): Ten kilometres from the Hungarian border, more than 500 students in the English section, living costs around €400 a month.
• Rank 15, Craiova (€4,250): The University of Medicine and Pharmacy works with around 300 teaching staff. Rents are among the lowest of all Romanian university cities.
• Rank 16, Iași (€4,500): “Grigore T. Popa” University is one of the most traditional in the country and takes large international year groups.
• Rank 17, Timișoara (€4,500): “Victor Babeș” University in the west of the country, a day’s drive from Vienna or Munich.
• Rank 18, Târgu Mureș (€5,000): “George Emil Palade” University in Transylvania, a quiet city with low-cost dormitories.
• Rank 19, Cluj-Napoca (€5,000): “Iuliu Hațieganu” University has the largest international student community in Romania and the highest rents outside the capital.
• Rank 20, Bucharest (€5,000): “Carol Davila” University in the capital, with the widest choice of teaching hospitals and the most expensive housing market in the country.

Total cost

Tuition is only half the bill. Over six years you pay 72 monthly rents, and they weigh as much as the semester fee. In Banja Luka the full degree including living costs comes to around €56,400. In Sofia it is around €117,600, although the fee is the same as in Varna.

Living costs are a planning figure for a shared flat, food, phone and local transport. Two numbers deserve a second look. The complete degree in Banja Luka costs less than the tuition alone in Sofia. And between Banja Luka and Sofia lie around €61,200 over six years.

Beyond Europe

One of our partner universities undercuts every European fee in this list. The International Higher School of Medicine (IHSM) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, charges €3,250 per year, which is €1,625 per semester and €19,500 for six years. Medschool Experts is an official contracted partner of IHSM.

IHSM was founded in 2003 and has taught medicine in English since 2006. Besides the central campus in Bishkek it runs a second campus in Cholpon-Ata, directly on the shore of Lake Issyk-Kul. Dormitory places can be arranged through us. They are in high demand because they are so inexpensive, so early registration pays off. We also take care of the visa. More on the page Study medicine at IHSM.

Price comparison

A look at other countries shows how affordable the universities in this list are. In Hungary, the English programmes in Budapest, Pécs and Szeged cost roughly €7,000 to €9,000 per semester. Katowice in Poland and Valletta in Malta are at around €7,200. The University of Nicosia in Cyprus charges €12,000 per semester, six times the fee in Banja Luka.

In England, international students often pay more than €40,000 per year. Private medical schools in the United States charge over €55,000 per year, after a four-year bachelor’s degree. The tuition for a complete medical degree in Banja Luka therefore costs less than a single year at an American medical school.

Which university fits you depends on your profile, your budget and your plans. We check every case individually in a free consultation.