Transfer from the LSMU Veterinary Academy in Kaunas: Where to Continue Veterinary Medicine in 2026

What is the LSMU Veterinary Academy in Kaunas and what does it teach in English?

The Veterinary Academy of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (Lietuvos sveikatos mokslu universitetas, LSMU) sits in Kaunas, Lithuania. The academy opened on 19 September 1936 as the Lithuanian Veterinary Academy and joined Kaunas University of Medicine in 2010 to form LSMU. The English-taught Veterinary Medicine programme lasts six years and carries 360 ECTS (lsmu.lt, 2026).

The Veterinary Academy is built from two faculties, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the Faculty of Animal Science, together with the Institute of Animal Science, the Institute of Microbiology and Virology, the Dr. L. Kriauceliunas Small Animal Clinic and a Large Animal Clinic (lsmu.lt, 2026). Graduates receive a master's degree in veterinary sciences with the title of veterinary doctor. Teaching starts in September.

Accreditation matters in this field. On the EAEVE list of veterinary education establishments dated May 2024, Kaunas is recorded as a full member with accreditation granted in March 2022 and valid until March 2029. Lithuania is an EU member state, so the qualification falls under Directive 2005/36/EC. That is the baseline anyone comparing faculties should start from.

Can you transfer from the LSMU Veterinary Academy in Kaunas to another veterinary faculty?

Yes. A student enrolled in Veterinary Medicine at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences in Kaunas, Lithuania can continue the same six-year veterinary degree at a different veterinary faculty. Medschool Experts is the leading specialist for study transfers in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary medicine, and holds the world's largest choice of official partner universities.

A veterinary transfer has one rule that medicine does not: the destination has to be a veterinary faculty. Credits earned in anatomy, physiology, animal husbandry, pathology or clinical rotations only travel to a programme that teaches the same subject to the same European standard. That narrows the field, and it also makes the comparison fair, because you are looking at like for like.

We check your transcript against our partner network and tell you where your completed semesters are worth the most. No guesswork.

Why do students transfer from the LSMU Veterinary Academy in Kaunas?

Students leaving the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Veterinary Academy in Kaunas, Lithuania give five recurring reasons: the total cost of six years, an examination format that fits them better elsewhere, personal or organisational circumstances, a career plan aimed at the United States, and a career plan aimed at Germany. None of these is a criticism of the university.

Cost comes first in most conversations. At the published 2026/2027 rates, six years of tuition in Kaunas adds up to 59,700 EUR before a single month of rent. Several partner veterinary faculties sit well below that per year. Living costs in Kaunas run at about 500 EUR a month on our own figures for 2026, and an independent overview of Lithuania puts most international students between 350 and 700 EUR a month (study.eu, accessed September 2026).

Exams are the second theme. Some students pass everything except one subject, and after two attempts the pace starts to define the whole degree. A different faculty means a different examination format, a different semester rhythm and a different resit structure. We are specialists in exactly this situation, and we look at it as a planning question rather than a personal failure.

Third, life happens. A family illness, a partner moving country, a landlord problem, a difficulty with one individual professor: any of these can make continuing in the same place impractical. Fourth and fifth are the two career destinations, and both are covered further down.

Where can LSMU Veterinary Academy students in Kaunas transfer to?

Students of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Veterinary Academy in Kaunas, Lithuania transfer to other veterinary faculties in our partner network, most of them inside the European Union. The right shortlist depends on the goal: a lower yearly bill, an EAEVE-accredited EU faculty, a faculty close to the Baltic region, or a specific licensing country after graduation.

Two points about that table. Veterinary options are always veterinary faculties, never a general medical school, and EAEVE status changes as visits and re-accreditations happen, so we look up the current entry for your shortlist together. The full set of locations is on our university overview, and student stories show how earlier transfers were planned.

How much can an LSMU Veterinary Academy student save by transferring?

A student who has finished three years at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Veterinary Academy in Kaunas, Lithuania faces 10,700 EUR per year for study years four to six in 2026/2027, which is 32,100 EUR of tuition. The same three years at IULS Iasi in Romania cost about 17,850 EUR at 5,950 EUR a year.

That single comparison is a difference of 14,250 EUR in tuition over three years. Against the University of Belgrade in Serbia at about 2,500 EUR a year, the same three years come to 7,500 EUR, a difference of 24,600 EUR. Rent, food and transport in Iasi, Sofia or Belgrade sit in a similar range to Kaunas on our 2026 figures, so the tuition gap is close to the real gap.

One caveat. Fees change, and they change by study year, so treat every figure as a starting point for a conversation rather than as a quote. We confirm the current rate with the faculty before anyone signs anything.

Which year can you enter after leaving the LSMU Veterinary Academy in Kaunas?

There is no fixed ceiling. Entry depends on the semesters a student has completed at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Veterinary Academy in Kaunas, Lithuania and on how the destination faculty maps those credits. We frequently achieve high placements, often into year four or year five, and every case is reviewed individually.

The aim is always the highest possible entry point with no loss of time, or as little as possible. As a rule of thumb, usually no more than two examinations may still be outstanding, and the ECTS behind them must stay below a maximum. That is why the transcript review comes before any promise. Anyone who names a year before seeing your record is guessing.

How does a transfer from the LSMU Veterinary Academy work with Medschool Experts?

A transfer from the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Veterinary Academy in Kaunas, Lithuania runs in four steps with Medschool Experts: a free consultation about your goal, a review of your academic record, a placement offer at a matching veterinary faculty, and the switch itself with a written plan. You stay enrolled in Kaunas until the new place is confirmed.

Step one is a conversation, not a form. We ask what you want from the degree, where you intend to work, and what your budget really allows. Step two is the record review, where your completed semesters and outstanding examinations are matched against the entry points our partner faculties can offer. Step three is the offer, with the faculty, the entry year and the fee in front of you.

Step four is the move. We do not publish document lists, deadlines or entrance formats, because the requirements differ by faculty and by year and an outdated list helps nobody. Contact us, and we check your profile against the network. That is the whole method.

{{cta}}

Is a veterinary degree from the LSMU Veterinary Academy in Kaunas recognised across the EU, and what changes if you transfer?

Lithuania is a member of the European Union, so a veterinary qualification from the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences in Kaunas falls under Directive 2005/36/EC and is automatically recognised in the EU and EEA. Transferring to another EU veterinary faculty keeps that footing. Transferring outside the EU changes it, and the change should be checked before, not after.

For Germany and the rest of the EU the mechanism is the directive itself: an EU veterinary degree is recognised without an equivalence test, and the licence is issued by the competent veterinary authority of the country where you want to work. Most authorities ask for professional-level language proficiency in the national language. Processing times vary by state and by season.

For the United States the path runs through equivalency certification rather than through the degree alone. The American Veterinary Medical Association states that ECFVG certification is accepted by all state regulatory boards as meeting each state's educational prerequisite for licensure, in full or in part (avma.org, 2026), and the American Association of Veterinary State Boards runs a second equivalency route, PAVE. National and state examinations still apply, so confirm the details with the state board you are aiming at.

A Serbian faculty such as Belgrade sits outside the EU, which means recognition in an EU country follows a national procedure instead of the automatic route. Cheaper is not automatically better. We put the recognition question on the table in the first call, next to the fee, because for a veterinarian the two travel together.

When should LSMU Veterinary Academy students in Kaunas start planning a transfer?

The best moment to plan a move away from the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Veterinary Academy in Kaunas, Lithuania is during a semester you are still passing, not after a failed resit. Partner veterinary faculties in our network start in September or October, and placement work on a clean transcript takes weeks rather than days.

Practically, that means three to six months of lead time for an autumn start. Earlier is better. If you are already past a deadline, say so in the first call anyway, because mid-year entry is sometimes possible and the only way to find out is to check. Our services page sets out what we handle and what stays with you, and the same review is available to students at the Veterinary Academy in Kaunas at any point in the six years.