Faculty of Medicine Foča

Foča is the most unusual location in this series. The city has around 20,000 inhabitants and lies roughly 80 kilometres south-east of Sarajevo on the river Drina — and yet its Medical Faculty is home to several hundred international students from 38 countries, with the largest groups coming from India, Greece, Germany, and Italy. For a city of this size, that is remarkable, and it explains why Foča has come to be regarded as a regional centre for education and healthcare.

The Faculty at a Glance

The Medical Faculty was founded in 1993 and is part of the University of East Sarajevo. It offers Medicine and Dentistry as six-year integrated degree programmes worth 360 ECTS each, alongside a nursing science programme; both Medicine and Dentistry are also available in English. The faculty states that it was the first in Bosnia and Herzegovina to successfully complete accreditation for its medical programme. It maintains Erasmus partnerships and participates in exchanges with European universities. Clinical training takes place at the University Clinical Centre Foča, which provides the standard specialist departments for student clinical rotations. International students have access to a dedicated support office that assists with accommodation and visa matters, as well as a buddy programme to help with the transition.

Studying on Location

All teaching and examinations in the international programme are conducted entirely in English; the faculty also strongly recommends learning the local language — and this is not merely a polite suggestion, as patients at the clinical centre speak Serbian. Year groups are small, which means direct, accessible contact with lecturers, and students on placement are rarely left standing at the back of the room. The flipside is that the university hospital is a mid-sized facility in a small city. Rare conditions and highly specialised disciplines are encountered less frequently here than in Sarajevo, Belgrade, or a German university hospital. Those who want to offset this should plan clinical electives abroad — which simultaneously helps build contacts for later junior doctor positions.

Who This Location Suits

Foča is an option for you if tuition costs are the decisive factor: fees are significantly lower than those of English-taught programmes within the EU. The trade-off is not only the remoteness — Foča is not a city with a nightlife, concert venues, or direct flights — but above all the path to obtaining a licence to practise medicine in Germany. Bosnia and Herzegovina is not an EU member state, so automatic recognition does not apply. Anyone seriously considering this location should work out the recognition pathway before applying, if necessary with professional guidance from Medschool Experts, and not only after completing their sixth year of study.

The Entrance Examination

The examination covers Biology and Chemistry, each with 20 multiple-choice questions offering four possible answers; the syllabus is based on the secondary school curriculum. In addition, applicants submit a personal statement, which the faculty scores with up to 10 points. A total of 50 points is available; a score of 26 points — i.e. 51 per cent — is required to pass. Both the examination and the personal statement are conducted in English, and the tests are taken online via the faculty's portal. Applicants must hold a secondary school leaving certificate with a grade point average of at least 3.0 on the local scale; foreign certificates must be nostrified.

Deadlines

The faculty does not publish fixed annual application deadlines on its English-language pages. It operates with several enrolment windows per academic year; the specific date for your intake must be confirmed directly with the student admissions office. Allow several weeks for the nostrification of your certificate and the visa application process.

Costs

In the 2025/2026 academic year, tuition fees were 7,000 Convertible Marks per year, payable in two equal instalments. The Convertible Mark is pegged to the euro at a fixed rate; one euro is equivalent to approximately 1.96 Marks. Application and entrance examination fees amount to 400 Marks, and enrolment materials in the first semester cost 140 Marks. A place in the student halls of residence, including meals, costs around 110 Marks per month.

Programme Structure and Language of Instruction

Medicine is an integrated six-year degree programme worth 360 ECTS. All teaching, seminars, and examinations in the international programme are conducted entirely in English. Serbian is not formally required, but is virtually indispensable during the clinical semesters, as patient contact takes place in the local language.

Clinical Training and Practical Work

Practical training takes place at the University Clinical Centre Foča, which maintains departments covering the standard specialist fields. Small group sizes mean extensive direct patient contact, though the range of cases seen at a facility in a small city is more limited than at a large university hospital. Clinical electives at other institutions are therefore sensible planned fixtures rather than optional extras.

Recognition in Germany

This is the critical point. Bosnia and Herzegovina is not an EU member state, so automatic recognition under Directive 2005/36/EC does not apply. For a licence to practise medicine under § 3 of the German Medical Licensing Act (Bundesärzteordnung), the competent regional authority will assess whether your training is equivalent to a German medical degree. If the equivalency assessment is negative or significant differences remain, you will be required to sit a knowledge examination (Kenntnisprüfung) — an oral and practical examination at the level of the Second State Medical Examination. Until that point, only a time-limited provisional work permit is typically possible. This process costs time, money, and considerable effort, and the outcome is not guaranteed. Anyone choosing Foča must factor this pathway in from the very beginning.

The City

Foča is small, quiet, and set in spectacular natural surroundings: the rivers Drina and Tara, together with Sutjeska National Park — home to one of Europe's last primeval forests — are right on the doorstep. Rafting, hiking, and mountain sports are part of everyday life here; an urban leisure scene is not. Those who need city life will feel its absence after a few months.

Accommodation and Daily Life

There is a modern student hall of residence with 340 beds, where accommodation and meals together cost around 110 Convertible Marks per month; private flats and hostels that have adapted to the needs of international students are also available. The cost of living is among the lowest in Europe. Health insurance is compulsory.

Getting There and the Student Community

There are no direct flights to Foča. The usual route is via Sarajevo, from which the city is around 80 kilometres by bus or car. The German-speaking community at the faculty exists but is small — daily life is international, and English is the common language among students.

Is a degree from Foča recognised in Germany?

Not automatically. Bosnia and Herzegovina is not an EU member state, so Directive 2005/36/EC does not apply. In the licence to practise medicine procedure under § 3 of the German Medical Licensing Act (Bundesärzteordnung), the regional authority assesses whether your training is equivalent; if significant differences remain, a knowledge examination is required. This is an additional step with an uncertain outcome that you should factor in before applying.

What is the knowledge examination (Kenntnisprüfung)?

It is an oral and practical examination at the level of the Second State Medical Examination, which you must sit if your training is not recognised as equivalent. The subjects examined are primarily Internal Medicine and Surgery, along with one further discipline. Until you pass, only a time-limited provisional work permit is typically possible — not full licensure to practise medicine.

What language is used for teaching?

All teaching and examinations in the international programme are conducted in English. Serbian is not formally required, but you will need it during the clinical semesters, as patients at the University Clinical Centre Foča do not speak English. The faculty therefore explicitly recommends learning the local language.

How much does the programme cost?

In the 2025/2026 academic year, tuition fees were 7,000 Convertible Marks per year, payable in two instalments; the currency is pegged to the euro at a fixed rate. In addition, there is a 400-Mark fee for the application and entrance examination, plus 140 Marks for enrolment materials in the first semester. The halls of residence cost around 110 Marks per month including meals.

How difficult is the entrance examination?

It consists of 20 multiple-choice questions each in Biology and Chemistry at secondary school level, plus a personal statement — 50 points in total. A score of 26 points is required to pass. The bar is lower than at many other institutions; the real consideration is whether you are prepared to navigate the recognition pathway after graduation.