Study Dentistry in Skopje (International Balkan University): Rules, Costs and Transfer (2026)

Can you study dentistry in Skopje at International Balkan University, and what does the university offer?

International Balkan University, known as IBU, is a private university based in Skopje. It has faculties in the natural and social sciences and health units: Dentistry, as well as a vocational school of health with Midwifery and Nursing programmes.

Dentistry is a first-cycle programme lasting five years, with 300 ECTS credits. The structure of the university also mentions a dental clinical centre. The 2026/27 programme is declared as English-language.

We did not find Medicine or Pharmacy programmes at IBU in the current enrolment announcement. If you are looking for the other health programmes of the country, read our comparison article on the universities of North Macedonia.

How long does Dentistry take at IBU and what is taught each year?

The published content of the programme shows a structure that resembles other European dentistry programmes. The first two years include Medical Chemistry, Biophysics, Cell Biology, Anatomy, Microbiology, Pharmacology and Physiology, together with Medical Ethics, Biostatistics and early pre-clinical prosthodontics.

• Year 3: Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Neurology with Psychiatry, Paediatrics and the first course in clinical caries and restorative dentistry.
• Year 4: Oral Medicine and Pathology, Endodontics, Oral Surgery, Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Gnathology, Anaesthesia and Sedation.
• Year 5: Orthodontics, Periodontology, Maxillofacial Surgery and advanced clinical Endodontics and Prosthodontics.

Electives such as laser applications in the facial and oral region are mentioned. The exact distribution of ECTS credits per course is set by the current curriculum, which you should request in writing.

How much does Dentistry cost in Skopje at International Balkan University?

The prices apply to the academic year 2026/27 and are reviewed every year. Before you calculate costs, check in writing which category applies to you, because the difference between the two prices is €3,000 per year, which is €15,000 over a five-year programme.

If you do not pass the English exam, the university provides preparatory courses for up to two years at an additional charge. Add dental materials and instruments, accommodation in Skopje and the cost of repeated courses. That gives you the real total cost until graduation, which is worth comparing with alternatives in Europe.

What is the maximum study duration at IBU, and does the Greek n+ rule apply?

In Greece the n+ rule leads to deletion when a set number of years is exceeded. This rule is not applied at a university in North Macedonia, and readers from other countries can treat it as a side note.

The unified first-cycle regulation of IBU sets the maximum duration at twice the normal one: six years for three-year programmes, eight for four-year programmes and ten for five-year programmes. For Dentistry this means 10 years. Anyone who finishes within that period keeps their student status.

The regulation we reviewed contains no explicit provision for deletion because of academic failure. The relevant provisions concern the repetition of courses, the inactive status after two consecutive years without enrolment and disciplinary expulsion, which is governed by a separate regulation. A long limit does not mean that progression is free of pressure, because every semester has rules on workload and prerequisites.

How are exams graded and what special requirements apply in Dentistry?

The IBU scale maps 90 to 100 points to A (10), 80 to 89.99 to B (9), 70 to 79.99 to C (8), 60 to 69.99 to D (7), 50 to 59.99 to E (6) and 0 to 49.99 to F (5, fail). To pass a course, a student generally needs at least 30 points from midterms and activities, at least 40 in the final exam and at least 50 overall.

In Dentistry stricter minimums apply: 30 from midterms and activities, 50 in the practical part, 50 in the final exam and 50 overall. This means it is not enough to be good at theory, because the practical component is judged separately.

For each course a make-up exam is provided, which replaces the final exam grade for students who scored below 50. A student with 30 to 49.99 overall can take an improvement exam covering 80% of the grade, limited to two courses per semester, with a final result even in case of failure. If you also fail the make-up exam, you repeat the course and enrol again.

How do attendance, course repetition and the summer school work?

The regulation sets a general minimum of 70% attendance at lectures, exercises and other activities. In Dentistry, Pharmacy and the health sciences the figure rises to 80%. For repeated or overlapping courses the limit is 50%, and a medical certificate does not lower it further.

Attendance is a condition for taking the final or the make-up exam. If you exceed the allowed absences, you lose the right to sit the exam, and the course has to be repeated in full. In Dentistry, where clinical hours cannot be made up, this carries a lot of weight.

The second summer school offers an additional opportunity. It covers up to two courses, runs only when at least ten students enrol and lasts five weeks. Students who are in a graduation position and have one or two failed courses can be directed there.

What applies to progression, ECTS load and the thesis?

The regulation sets a standard load of 30 ECTS per semester and 60 per year. After the first year, with an average above 8 and no failed courses, a student may enrol in up to 36 ECTS per semester and 72 per year. In the graduation position up to 45 ECTS per semester are allowed, provided at least 80% of the ECTS of the programme have been collected.

Failed and pending courses are enrolled first, and the prerequisites have to be passed. To start the thesis a student needs 240 of the 300 ECTS and has to have passed all courses of the first and second semester.

All incoming students, and those who transfer in, must pass the English exam or attend preparatory courses of up to two years. This adds time and cost that is worth budgeting for from the beginning.

What applies to a pause in studies and to inactive student status?

A student may freeze their studies for up to two semesters by notifying the faculty through the Student Affairs Office. The pause does not count towards the maximum study duration. If a student does not enrol in any semester of an academic year, the studies freeze automatically and can be reactivated in the next year or semester.

If a student does not renew enrolment for two consecutive years, the status becomes inactive. Unpaid tuition also leads to a freeze and, if it continues in the second year, to deletion from the register. Unpaid obligations also block access to exams.

This is a frequent source of misunderstanding: a student who leaves temporarily without activating the pause correctly may find themselves with an inactive status. Always ask for written confirmation that the pause has been registered.

Why do some dentistry students struggle or want to continue elsewhere than Skopje?

In our experience, the quality of teaching at universities in North Macedonia is lower than at comparable European universities. We say this as a professional assessment from our daily work with students, not as a ranking, and it does not concern any individual lecturer. The students who write to us describe four recurring themes.

• Language of instruction: students expect a fully English-taught course and find that part of the material is taught in Macedonian or in a mix of languages.
• Staff: lecturers who are comfortable teaching in English are in short supply, so the material is passed on with less depth than students hoped for.
• Practical training: places in laboratories and clinics are limited compared with the number of students, and groups are large.
• Progression: courses pile up, exams are repeated and there is little academic guidance along the way.
• Personal reasons: cost, distance and the wish for a degree from a university in an EU member state.

Personal reasons often come on top: distance from family, the cost of living, or the wish to build a career in another European country. For anyone who plans to work abroad, the university that awards the degree matters in practice, because it decides which recognition procedures the graduate has to follow later.

None of this means that every student is unhappy or that every course is weak. It means that if you recognise several of these points in your own situation, it is sensible to look at your options calmly and early rather than at the last exam attempt.

In dentistry, practical training determines the level of the graduate. Before you decide, ask in writing how many hours of clinical work on real patients are planned per year and with what ratio of lecturers to students.

Why do so many students transfer out of North Macedonia every year?

Every year we accompany students from North Macedonian universities to other universities in Europe. This is not a statistic or a ranking. It is simply our daily work: the enquiries we receive and the files we prepare.

In dentistry the motive is often twofold: fuller clinical experience and the prospect of working in another country. A dentist usually has to register with a professional body in the country of work, and that route is more predictable when the degree comes from a university in an EU member state.

A transfer does not mean that everything you have done is lost. The courses you have passed are reviewed by the receiving university, and in many cases part of them can be credited. There is no promise of recognition or admission, because the decision belongs to the university and depends on the case.

How do you decide between staying, pausing and transferring?

There is no single right answer for everyone. A first-year student with one failed course has different options from a fourth-year student who is already facing clinical duties. Three questions help most.

• How far away is the degree? The more years you have completed, the more it is worth checking how a new university would credit your courses.
• Is the problem temporary or structural? A hard period may be solved by a pause in studies. The language of instruction or limited clinical training, by contrast, does not change from one semester to the next.
• What is your professional plan? If you want to work in another country, the university that awards your degree has practical consequences.

In every case the first move is to get the written facts in your hands: the regulations, your enrolment status and your transcript. Then compare the options calmly. Medschool Experts helps at exactly this stage, so that your decision rests on documents and not on rumours or time pressure.

How does a transfer from Skopje to a European university work?

A study transfer is a complex process, because it combines credit recognition, the right year of entry, documents from two countries and deadlines. The experts at Medschool Experts have almost ten years of experience with study transfers worldwide and take over the whole process.

• Review: we examine your transcript, ECTS credits, curriculum and study history and the clinical hours you have completed.
• Selection: we suggest universities from our 25+ partners in Europe that fit your profile and your budget.
• File: we prepare the documents, the translations and the communication with the receiving university.
• Decision: the receiving university decides on credit recognition and the year of entry, depending on the case.

Ask the school, besides the transcript, for a certificate of the practical exercises and clinical cases you have completed. In dentistry this documentation can influence your year of entry. Do not wait until you have used up every semester or every exam attempt before asking for information. The earlier the review, the more options you have and the more calmly you can decide without time pressure.

How do you read your transcript and ECTS credits when you think about a transfer?

A transcript lists every course you have taken, the grade, the ECTS credits and the semester. In a transfer, the receiving university does not only look at the total number of credits. It examines the content of each course, the number of hours and the level.

For this reason it is useful to ask the student office not only for the transcript but also for the description of the courses you have passed. Basic subjects such as anatomy, physiology and biochemistry are usually credited more smoothly when the content and the workload are documented.

Failed attempts, pauses and repeated courses also appear in your history. They are not a reason for concern, but information that has to be presented correctly and clearly. Our experts help with the precise wording of the file.

What do professional recognition and Directive 2005/36/EC mean for you?

Directive 2005/36/EC governs the recognition of professional qualifications between the member states of the European Union and the European Economic Area. For professions such as dentist it sets minimum training requirements, which allow a degree to be recognised under common rules.

North Macedonia is not a member state of the EU. For degrees awarded there, each destination country applies its own procedure with its own conditions, which may include an additional check of documents or examinations and differ considerably from country to country. We do not judge any programme here. We describe the framework.

If your goal is to work as a dentist in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands or elsewhere in Europe, think early about which university will award your degree. This is exactly where a study-transfer consultation helps.

What can you do if you have lost your student status?

If your studies in Skopje have been interrupted or you have lost your student status, the first step is to find out exactly what happened. Ask the university in writing for the decision, its legal basis and your transcript, and ask whether there is a procedure for appeal, review or reactivation and which deadline applies.

In parallel, we look at alternative routes with you. First, we check which courses you have passed and which years you have completed. Second, we look for universities in Europe where your case can be examined. Third, we prepare the file and take over the communication with the institutions.

We cannot promise re-admission, admission to another university or the recognition of all your courses. In some cases the new route starts in a lower year than you would like, and it is important to know that from the beginning. In our experience, students who ask for help early have more options.

Which documents do you need and which mistakes should you avoid before you decide?

• Transcript with courses, grades and ECTS credits
• The current curriculum for your intake year
• Certificate of clinical and laboratory exercises
• Identity card or passport and school-leaving certificate
• Your student status (active, frozen or inactive), confirmed in writing

Ask the student office to issue the documents in English and with a stamp. You do not have to have everything ready before you contact us, because we guide you step by step.

The usual mistakes: waiting until all attempts are used up, giving up your student status before an alternative exists, deciding on the basis of rumours or verbal assurances, and paying a deposit to a new university before the year of entry and the total cost have been checked. A calm, early review of your options saves time and money.