University of Pécs: English-taught medicine since 1984

Who Pécs actually suits

The University of Pécs was founded in 1367, which makes it the oldest in Hungary, and its medical school began teaching in English in 1984 — a long track record by the standards of this market, where many English-language medical programmes are barely a decade old. The city sits in the south-west, is small, walkable and cheap.

It suits a student who wants the medical route at a lower total cost than Budapest, or a non-medical student who values a quiet, inexpensive city. It does not suit anyone who needs an urban job market or a large Bangladeshi community.

Entry and cost at a glance

What it is genuinely strong in

General medicine, dentistry and pharmacy in English; health sciences including physiotherapy and nursing; engineering and information technology; business and economics; and a well-regarded music and visual arts faculty. The medical school is the reason most international students are there, and its length of experience with English-language teaching shows in how the programme is organised rather than in its price.

The entrance examination

Medicine, dentistry and pharmacy applicants sit an entrance examination in biology and chemistry in English, commonly with an interview component, which can usually be taken remotely or at a centre abroad. It is a genuine examination and it is where most unsuccessful applications end.

Practical advice that costs nothing: sit a timed practice paper in both subjects before you pay any application or examination fee. If you cannot pass one at home with a textbook beside you, the real exam will not go better.

Non-medical programmes generally admit on transcript, with an online interview for some. Read the individual programme page rather than a general admissions summary.

How you apply

1. 1Read the programme's requirements on the university's international admissions site.
2. 2Submit the online application with transcripts, passport copy, medical certificate and English evidence.
3. 3Sit the entrance examination where required.
4. 4Accept the offer and pay the first tuition instalment named in the letter.
5. 5Apply for the study residence permit — see the Hungary student visa guide.

Scholarship applicants go through Stipendium Hungaricum separately, via the Tempus Public Foundation and a Bangladesh-side nomination. Start with the Stipendium guide.

The honest part

⚠️ Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and nursing are regulated professions everywhere. A degree from Pécs is a qualification, not a licence. Bangladesh requires BMDC registration with an internship and a pass in the registration examination for foreign graduates; an EU country requires its own registration and, in practice, its language.

Two more honest points. Pécs is small. That is the source of its low costs and also of its limitations: English-language part-time work is close to non-existent, and the social circle is smaller than in Budapest. And the forint moves — tuition quoted in euros against forint living costs means a budget needs roughly ten percent of margin.

If a recruiter presents Pécs, Debrecen and Szeged as interchangeable, they are not being careful. They differ in city size, cost, faculty strength and programme mix, and the choice between them is worth a week of your own reading.

Before you apply

1. 1Sit a timed biology and chemistry paper before paying anything.
2. 2Get the current tuition figure from the university's own fee page in writing.
3. 3Compare the three Hungarian medical cities on cost and city size — start with the Pécs cost guide.