MU Varna: The Medicine Curriculum

Six years on the Black Sea, taught in English: which subjects you take each year, how clinical training at St. Marina works and what the state exams cover.

Overview

Studying medicine in Varna at a glance

The Medical University of Varna teaches according to the Bulgarian unified curriculum, which is valid throughout the EU. Two pre-clinical years, a bridge year with pathology and pharmacology, two clinical years at St. Marina University Hospital and an internship year that ends with the state examinations.

Duration

6 years, 360 ECTS

Ten semesters of teaching plus an internship year.

Language

English

Plus Bulgarian for patient contact.

Clinical training

St. Marina

One of the largest university hospitals in Bulgaria.

Exams

Semester exams

Written, oral and practical, graded from 2 to 6.

Internship year

In year 6

Fully or partly possible at hospitals in other EU countries.

Graduation

5 state exams

Internal medicine, surgery, paediatrics, gynaecology, social medicine.

Tuition fees, recognition and life on the Black Sea are covered on the MU Varna university page.

Curriculum

The medicine curriculum year by year

Open a year to see its subjects.

Year 1: Foundations

Anatomy is the central subject of the first year, alongside the science foundations and the Bulgarian language course.

Subject	Focus
Anatomy I	Bones, muscles, organs with dissection course
Cytology, Histology, Embryology	Cells and tissues under the microscope
Medical Chemistry and Biology	Molecules, cell biology, genetics
Medical Physics	Biophysics and imaging basics
Bulgarian, Latin	Language for everyday life and medical terminology

Year 2: Function and metabolism

You complete the pre-clinical phase and learn how the healthy body works.

Subject	Focus
Anatomy II	Nervous system and sense organs
Physiology	Organ functions from heart to kidney
Biochemistry	Metabolism, enzymes, hormones
Microbiology	Pathogens and laboratory diagnostics
Bulgarian	History taking in the local language

Year 3: Pathology and propaedeutics

The bridge year between theory and clinical practice: how diseases develop, how drugs work and how to examine patients.

Subject	Focus
Pathological Anatomy	Diseased organs
Pathophysiology	Disordered body functions
Pharmacology	Drug classes and treatment principles
Propaedeutics of Internal Medicine and Surgery	Examination technique at the bedside
Immunology, Hygiene	Immune defence, infection prevention

Year 4: Clinical subjects I

From now on you learn mainly in the clinics of St. Marina, in small groups directly with patients.

Subject	Focus
Internal Medicine	Cardiology, pulmonology, gastroenterology
Surgery	General and abdominal surgery
Neurology, Psychiatry	Neurological and mental illness
Radiology, Dermatology	Imaging, skin diseases
Clinical Laboratory	Reading and interpreting results

Year 5: Clinical subjects II

The fifth year completes the clinical subjects and prepares you for the internship year.

Subject	Focus
Paediatrics	Paediatrics and neonatology
Obstetrics and Gynaecology	Women's health, labour ward
Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology	Infections in everyday clinical practice
ENT, Ophthalmology, Urology	Smaller clinical specialties
Forensic Medicine, Social Medicine	Law, ethics, health systems

Year 6: Internship year and state exams

In the final year you rotate through the main subjects and work as part of the ward team. At the end you sit the state examinations.

Rotation	State exam
Internal Medicine	Yes
Surgery	Yes
Paediatrics	Yes
Obstetrics and Gynaecology	Yes
Social Medicine and Family Medicine	Yes

Exams and graduation

How you are assessed in Varna

Tests during the semester

Short tests in seminars and practicals keep you on track and count towards your admission to the exam.

Semester exams

At the end of each subject: written, oral and often practical. Grades run from 2 to 6; you pass from 3.

Resits

Every exam has regular resit dates before the start of the next academic year.

State exams

Five exams in the sixth year. You then receive the Master of Medicine diploma with EU-wide recognition.

FAQ

Questions about the curriculum in Varna

How much Bulgarian do I need to learn?

Bulgarian is a compulsory subject in the first years. The goal is that you can take patient histories and communicate on the ward. Teaching and exams remain in English.

Can I do the internship year abroad?

Yes, the sixth year can be completed fully or partly at hospitals in other EU countries. You then sit the state examinations in Varna.

How is the dentistry curriculum structured?

Dentistry also takes six years including the internship. After the medical foundations come restorative dentistry, prosthodontics, periodontology, orthodontics and oral surgery with your own treatment chairs, and the degree ends with the dental state examinations.