Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy: Fees, Admission and Review for Indian Students

Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMFCD, also styled UMPCD) is Romania's best-known medical university and runs one of the largest English-taught medicine programmes in South-Eastern Europe. It offers an EU medical degree at about half the tuition of Hungary or the Czech Republic. The trade-offs are bureaucracy and a thin FMGE track record. Facts below come from the university's official documents as of November 2026; for the country picture see MBBS in Romania.

Carol Davila at a glance

Medical education in Bucharest began in 1857, when Carol Davila and Nicolae Kretzulescu founded the National School of Medicine and Pharmacy. The university has four faculties: Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Midwifery and Nursing. Its "UMPCD in numbers" page (2023 data) reports:

• 13,436 students and 2,136 teaching staff;
• 7,018 students in Medicine (Romanian) and 1,527 in Medicine (English), both six years;
• ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects: 101–150 in Clinical Medicine (first in Romania), 151–200 in Public Health and Medical Technology;
• Times Higher Education World University Rankings: 801–1000.

The Faculty of Medicine's maximum enrolment capacity is 300 seats a year; the University Senate sets the actual number annually.

Fees and total cost

Non-EU students pay €10,000 a year for English-taught medicine in 2026/27. Converted at the ECB rate of 13 November 2026 (€1 ≈ US$1.105; €1 = RON 5.35) and US$1 ≈ ₹94:

EU citizens pay the same amount in lei. The full first-year tuition must be paid before the visa is issued. Six years of tuition plus low-end rent comes to about $78,000 (≈ ₹74 lakh); food, utilities and travel are extra. Plan with our cost calculator.

Admission process

Admission to the English programmes has three stages and no written science exam. Under the 2026/27 methodology:

1. Online registration: create an account on the admission platform, upload all documents and pay RON 2,500. The International Students Office checks the file and asks for corrections if needed; incomplete files are invalidated after the deadline.
2. Online interview: 15–30 minutes in English, with questions drawn from the published "scientific topics for the interview". You are responsible for a working camera and internet connection.
3. File completion and ranking: candidates are ranked by interview score and school performance. Provisional lists are published on the university website (in 2026: 21 July, 4 August and, for the second session, 24 September).

Documents: all except the passport and language certificate must be translated into Romanian, and study documents must be apostilled or legalised. You also upload a notarised declaration agreeing to pay tuition in foreign currency. Documents sent by post or email are not accepted.

English: a B2 certificate (maximum two years old), an English-medium school certificate, or B2 English in the school-leaving exam.

Enrolment needs the Ministry's Letter of Acceptance, payment of fees (including the seat confirmation fee), the physical file submitted in person, and a signed study contract.

Indian applicants also need a qualifying NEET-UG result for FMGE eligibility later (NEET for MBBS abroad).

Visa and residence

The Romanian embassy issues a 90-day study visa on the Letter of Acceptance and proof of full tuition payment. Within those 90 days you must obtain a residence permit from the General Inspectorate for Immigration and send a copy to the International Students Office. Romania has been a full Schengen member since 1 January 2025. See our student visa guide.

FMGL 2021 check and FMGE

The programme is six years and English-medium; two FMGL points still need checking. NMC does not approve foreign universities (FMGL guide):

• 12-month internship in the same institution: ask how the final year's clinical training is organised and confirm it takes place in Carol Davila's own teaching hospitals.
• Licence on par with a citizen: ask what a non-EU graduate must do to register and practise in Romania.
• In India: a 12-month internship and an FMGE pass.

The NBEMS FMGE Performance Report 2025 lists one Carol Davila graduate, in the June 2025 session, who did not pass. One candidate tells you nothing about quality, but it does mean you cannot rely on a track record of Indian graduates. Read the FMGE exam guide.

Who should choose Carol Davila?

Carol Davila suits students who want an EU degree in a capital city at moderate cost, are comfortable with interview-based selection and heavy paperwork, and will learn Romanian. Compare it with Bulgaria's Medical University of Varna, which costs about the same, and with the higher-priced Semmelweis University in Hungary.

Pros and cons of UMFCD

Advantages

• Romania's oldest and largest medical university, with a large English programme
• Tuition about half that of Hungary or the Czech Republic
• Interview-based admission with published science topics
• Capital-city location with an international airport; full Schengen membership since 2025

Drawbacks

• Heavy paperwork: apostilled, Romanian-translated documents and a Ministry Letter of Acceptance
• Full first-year tuition must be paid before the visa
• Romanian is needed in clinical years
• Very little FMGE track record for Indian graduates