Study Transfer from Slovenia: Switch to Foča, Niš or Malta

Which medical faculties exist in Slovenia?

Two, both state-run:

Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ljubljana — for non-EU nationals without a bilateral agreement: €15,000 per academic year. EU citizens in the regular programme pay nothing.

Faculty of Medicine of the University of Maribor — for non-EU nationals: €9,160 per academic year; EU citizens likewise tuition-free.

Both offer a six-year integrated master’s programme with 360 ECTS and the degree “doktor medicine”. A third state faculty is planned at the University of Primorska in Izola, with an anticipated start no earlier than 2027/28.

There are no private providers of human medicine in Slovenia.

The decisive point: the language

There is no English-language medical programme in Slovenia. Recruitment portals that list Slovenia as an English-language option are simply wrong. Ljubljana states it unambiguously: both programmes are conducted exclusively in Slovenian, with proof of B2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference.

Why do students transfer from Slovenia?

Almost always for one reason: the language. Bringing Slovenian to B2 is achievable; sustaining it at a level that carries lectures in anatomy, pathology, and daily ward life is another matter. Those who realize in the third or fourth semester that the language is consuming more capacity than the subject matter face a real decision.

This is not a criticism of the faculties. Ljubljana and Maribor deliver high-quality training and make no secret of their language policy. It is a question of fit.

The second reason, less common, is the numerus-clausus-like selection pressure: places are limited, and those who do not obtain a place in the regular programme end up in the fee-paying variant.

How the study transfer works in five steps

1. Gather documents. Transcript of records with ECTS and grades, study plan, enrolment certificate, school leaving certificate. Slovenian transcripts are consistently documented in ECTS — this greatly facilitates credit recognition.

2. Free initial assessment. We check which academic year is realistic.

3. Formal review by the target university. The faculty makes the binding decision.

4. Application and acceptance. Certifications, translations, deadlines.

5. Enrolment and arrival.

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Where you can transfer to

Faculty of Medicine Foča (Bosnia and Herzegovina) — one of our core locations, around €3,500 per academic year, English-language programme. Foča generally grants very high year placements.

University of Niš (Serbia) — around €6,000 per academic year, English-language, six years.

MediCampus Europeo Malta — around €14,500 per academic year, English-language, EU member state. Here you retain the advantage you had in Slovenia: the degree is automatically recognized in Germany. For those transferring from Slovenia, this is often the most coherent choice, because they do not give up their EU status.

How high the year placement turns out depends on the individual case

All three locations enable the highest possible placement with no or minimal loss of time through us. Each case is assessed individually. General rule of thumb: usually no more than two examinations may be outstanding, and the ECTS credits of those examinations must not exceed a maximum.

What the transfer costs

If you are studying as an EU citizen in the regular Slovenian programme, you pay nothing there. A transfer therefore means paying tuition fees for the first time — that is worth stating openly. Foča costs €3,500, Niš €6,000, Malta €14,500 per academic year.

The honest calculation is therefore not “cheaper”, but: what is it worth to continue the programme in a language you can genuinely work in? Those who lose a year or drop out end up paying more than the fee difference.

If, on the other hand, you are studying in the fee-paying variant in Ljubljana, €15,000 per year is the benchmark — and every one of the three locations is cheaper.

Why early advice pays off

With Slovenia, the conversation is particularly valuable because the outcome is often “stay”. A Slovenian degree is automatically recognized in Germany — only a handful of locations can offer that. Before giving up this advantage, we should jointly assess whether the language hurdle is truly insurmountable, or whether an intensive course and one planned buffer semester could resolve it.

The initial consultation is free of charge and non-binding.