Study Transfer: from Online Studies to a Higher Semester in Niš or Foča

Why many students start with online study

No numerus clausus, teaching in English, multiple intake dates throughout the year, and a start from home: for anyone who doesn't want to lose a year after finishing school, or who is coming from a healthcare profession, this is a realistic way into medicine. The pre-clinical subjects can be built up solidly this way — anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and histology are largely consistent across Europe.

The clinical phase belongs at the bedside

From the third year of study onward, teaching moves to the university hospital: examination courses, day-to-day ward work, clinical placements, and later the final clinical year. The German licensing authorities specifically assess this practical portion, and it can only be completed in person. Anyone who started online should therefore sensibly transfer to an in-person university by the start of the clinical phase at the latest. Planned early, this transfer is straightforward.

The best-known online options via Ukraine

These universities come up most often when an online-format medical degree is offered:

• International Academy of Ecology and Medicine (IAEM), Kyiv — offers human medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and nursing explicitly in two modes, online and on campus, with separate fee schedules for each. By far the most common choice.
• International European University (IEU), Kyiv — a dedicated online and distance program across several faculties, with live lectures and permanent access to materials.
• Kyiv Medical University — a private medical university with an English-language curriculum, largely remote since 2022.
• Odesa International Medical University — also private, English-language, and in high international demand.
• State universities offering remote study — such as Kharkiv, Ternopil, Uzhhorod or Chernivtsi. Here the mode varies by cohort and faculty.

Which of these credits are transferable depends entirely on your transcript of records. We assess this individually in a free consultation.

Two destination universities for the transfer

Both are state, accredited universities that teach in English and admit students into higher years of study. We do not offer other locations for this particular pathway.

University of Niš, Faculty of Medicine (Serbia)

A large state university with its own university hospital. Human medicine taught in English, six years, 360 ECTS, MD degree. Strong clinical exposure, a clear exam structure, and a predictable course of study. The transfer is worthwhile if you still have at least three years of study ahead of you.

University of East Sarajevo, Faculty of Medicine Foča (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

One of our core partner universities, where Medschool Experts holds official representation. A state faculty with its own university hospital, modern facilities, and an English-language program in human medicine and dentistry. Listed in ANABIN, EU-compliant accreditation through 2033. The academic year starts in November, and the final clinical year can optionally be completed entirely at a German teaching hospital. Twelve years of schooling are sufficient for admission. Placements here tend to be very high — transferring students usually enter a high year of study.

How high your placement is decided case by case

All of the pathways described here are designed to give you the highest possible placement through us — with no or minimal loss of time. This only becomes binding once your documents have been reviewed. As a rule of thumb, generally no more than two exams may still be outstanding, and their ECTS credit value must stay below a certain threshold, for a transfer into the next higher year to be possible. We'll clarify what's achievable in your specific case during a free consultation.

Tuition fees at a glance

All fees are paid directly to the respective university and are not part of our placement service.

• Online phase in Ukraine — around €1,800 per semester, so about €3,600 per year, plus a one-time registration and enrollment fee of around €1,100.
• Foča, Bosnia — €1,750 per semester, so €3,500 per year. The most affordable in-person location in our portfolio.
• Niš, Serbia — €1,500 per quarter, so €6,000 per year.

On top of this come living costs of a realistic €450 to €500 per month — roughly half of what you'd pay in a German university town. Our placement fee is success-based: if no study place comes about, you incur no costs. We'll share the exact figure during your first consultation.

Why the transfer often succeeds without losing time

Pre-clinical content is largely identical across Europe. What you were examined on in physiology, biochemistry, histology or pathology is, in principle, transferable at both Niš and Foča. As a rule, you re-enter in the same year of study you left your online program in — typically the third, fourth or fifth year. Where gaps remain, they tend to be individual exams, not a lost year.

Both Niš and Foča are outside the EU, so the degree counts as a third-country qualification in Germany. Since the reform of November 2026, that is no longer a disadvantage: the oral knowledge exam under Section 3 of the Federal Medical Licensing Act (Bundesärzteordnung) is now the standard route to nationwide licensure. Anyone who later wants to transfer back to a German university needs a general higher education entrance qualification (Abitur) for that — a Fachhochschulreife is not sufficient for this particular transfer.

Places in higher years of study are limited

A place in the third, fourth or fifth year only opens up where one becomes available at the faculty. These places can be counted on one hand per cohort and are awarded in the order in which complete documents are received — not by grade average. Foča's academic year starts in November, so document review needs to happen well ahead of that.

A lost year of study means licensure a year later, a resident's salary a year later, and another year of fees and living costs. Reviewing your documents takes us only a few days and costs nothing. So our clear recommendation: get advice before the next semester begins.