Exams in Medical School in Bulgaria: The Examination System Explained

How is the examination system in medical school in Bulgaria structured?

At the medical universities in Bulgaria there are two examination periods per academic year, referred to as sessions. The winter session usually falls in January and February, the summer session in June and July. Both normally run for around four weeks. Three attempts are usually available for each examination.

How many attempts do you get per examination?

There are two dates within a session. Anyone who fails both has a further date in September at the start of the new academic year, the so-called liquidation session. That adds up to three attempts per subject. Examinations from the winter session that remain open are usually retaken in September as well.

One important point: each university sets the details in its own study regulations. Anyone relying on a figure from a forum may be wide of the mark. The regulations of the faculty you are enrolled at are always the authoritative source.

Why are the examinations predominantly oral?

The oral examination is the traditional form of subject assessment at many European faculties, and it suits small seminar groups. In Sofia I studied in groups of at most ten students per teacher; the examiner knew the class.

In practice that means working through a catalogue of questions, drawing a topic in the examination and explaining it. A written free-text examination is often followed by an oral part. In practical subjects you are examined on the specimen or with a patient.

I consider this format good preparation for the profession, because as a doctor or dentist you also have to explain things day to day. To name the flip side honestly: oral examinations are less standardised than a multiple-choice paper, and anyone who performs poorly under the pressure of speaking has a harder time here. That is worth knowing before choosing a location.

What replaces the Physikum in Bulgaria?

There is no central intermediate examination in Bulgaria in the form of the German First Medical Examination (Physikum). The same preclinical material is examined over a longer period in individual assessments: anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, histology and the other basic-science subjects each in their own subject examination.

One point that repeatedly causes confusion among students who intend to transfer: on a return to Germany these individual examinations do not automatically replace the Physikum. The receiving German university, or the competent State Examination Office (Landesprüfungsamt), decides on credit transfer case by case.

What does that mean for study planning?

From my own time as a student: the rhythm is different from Germany, but it is not more relaxed. Two sessions a year mean two intensive phases of around four weeks each, in which several subject examinations sit close together. Anyone who keeps up during the semester gets through comfortably; anyone who pushes everything into the session has a problem.

A rough calculation of my own on that: with around four to five subject examinations per session and a four-week period, that leaves an average of five to six days per subject. This is an estimate based on my own timetable in Sofia, not a figure that holds for every academic year and every university.

Which examination culture suits you can be discussed before you decide. You are welcome to arrange a free consultation on that at any time.