Guide to choosing universities, Clinical hospitals, Lists & Duration of Medical Specialisations, Masters & Ph.D
Guide to Choosing Universities and Specialisations
*In compliance with the Romanian health law, all Romanian Medical Universities offer Specialisation programmes only in Romanian language. Postgraduate(PG): Medical, Dentistry or Pharmacy Specialisations can apply for either October or March session. Programmes start in October or March of every year.
Romanian universities offer several options for medical specialisations. The official language of instruction is Romanian. However, English can be used between you and your specialist in charge (in case the specialist in charge of the programme speaks English). The specialisation student should learn Romanian as soon as possible. We assist candidates with preparing their application and getting accepted into the programme they desire. We will provide information on the level of English the professor in charge of the postgraduate programme has, thereby allowing you to make a more informed decision. When the professor in charge of the programme speaks good English, the English speaking postgraduate candidate will be at an advantage.
Postgraduate studies involves mainly clinical work (80% of specialty/residency work is hospital work & rotations!!!) and hence much interaction with patients and other medical staff. Foreign doctors are allowed to practice in Romania, under the supervision of the Head of the Department where they are enrolled in the specialty. Specialisation students are required to do the Romanian language proficiency exam and it is their responsibility to learn Romanian. Some universities requires a compulsory 9 months Romanian language course (at a Romanian language university) before beginning the specialisation programme. Whereas some universities do NOT require 9 months Romanian language course but conduct the Romanian examination by themselves within 1-3 months of your arrival in Romania. In such case, it is your duty to learn the Romanian language before the examination by hiring a private Romanian language tutor (SMA can help you) in order to pass the Romanian language examination. After passing it, you will qualify to enrol for the specialisation programme. In case a student fails the Romanian language examination, they can always enrol again to re-write the examination for either March or October session (depending on the time of initial enrolment attempt). Theoretical or personal studies carries only 20-30%, hospital work/rotations carry about 80%!! There are no examinations during the years of residency. Only daily/weekly assessment (of your patients/work at the hospital) by the head Specialist of your department would be conducted. Specialist examinations are held only after the completion of the specialty programme.
The application process is very similar to undergraduate applicants. All postgraduate applicants, must get approval from the university, head of department for their specialisation and from the Romanian Ministry of Education. In addition the candidate must provide a CV, internship letter (if applicable), letters of experience or recommendation from academics (if applicable), copies of their transcripts and MD certification.
The fees for all postgraduate programs are between €3420 – €5000 (EUR) per annum (depending on the University).
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You have made a wise choice to enrol at a Romanian Medical University for your Specialisation, or Postgraduate programmes (Ph.D or Masters). The low and affordable yet quality medical postgraduate education is a bonus. Besides, you will be an European Union certified Specialist: Specialist Medical doctor, Specialist Dental doctor or Specialist Pharmacist.
Lets face it, choosing a Romanian Medical University can be a daunting task and sometimes confusing for the applicant(s) especially with many misinformation on the internet. A fact that is interesting to know is Romanian Medical Universities are almost 95% identical in terms of: curriculum, mode and structure of teaching (theoretical & practicals), examination, etc. All Romanian Medical Schools have EQUAL recognition and standard in Europe and all other countries of the world.
The choice of medical university in Romania is rather based on certain criteria like: the reputation of the medical school among Romanian citizens (mostly due to year of establishments), the population of the city, social life, etc. (as they are all EQUALLY accredited and recognized locally and internationally).
If you are the type that prefers bigger cities in Romania, e.g., Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Iasi or Constanta, you may go for the medical schools in these cities with population ranging from 400,000 to 2 million people (Bucharest-Capital city). You should also bear in mind that these 'bigger cities' also come with their challenges of high living costs (especially accommodation). You may also apply to universities in 'smaller cities' like: Targu-Mures, Arad, or Oradea. (population less than 300,000).
In a nutshell, the decision is yours to make, and ofcourse with our guidance. Romanian medical universities allow you to choose only one (1) university of your choice for your Specialisation or PG programme before we process your application. Therefore you have to decide early about the choice of your university. However, SMA can also help you change your univesity (in case you want to change to another university) only after your acceptance letter has been issued for your university of choice. This may attract an extra service fee. Always feel free to contact us via email or telephone regarding your choice of university or any other related questions.
Lists of Medical, Dental, Pharmacy Specialisations & Duration
I. Surgical specialties (For: Medical doctors only)
- General surgery 6 years
- Orthopedics and Traumatology 5 years
- Cardiovascular surgery 6 years
- Neurosurgery 6 years
- Ear, Nose & Throat- Otorhinolaryngology (E.N.T) 4 years
- Urology 5 years
- Oral & Maxillo-facial Surgery 5 years
- Pediatric Surgery 5 years
- Plastic Surgery - Reconstructive Microsurgery 5 years
- Thoracic Surgery 5 years
- Vascular Surgery 5 years
- Obstetrics-Gynaecology 5 years
- Pediatric orthopedics 6 years
II. Medical Specialties (For: Medical doctors only)
- Internal medicine 5 years
- Cardiology 5 years
- Haematology 4 years
- Gastroenterology 4 years
- Diabetes, Nutrition and metabolic diseases 4 years
- Pneumology 4 years
- Nephrology 4 years
- Allergology and Immunology 4 years
- Endocrinology 4 years
- Rheumatology 4 years
- Rehabilitation, physical medicine and balneology 4 years
- Infectious Diseases 4 years
- Neurology 4 years
- Dermatovenerology 4 years
- Family Medicine/General Practice/Primary Care 3 years
- Pathology 4 years
- Forensic/Legal Medicine 4 years
- Anaesthesia and Intensive Care 5 years
- Medical expertise of working capacity 3 years
- Clinical Pharmacology 4 years
- Medical Genetics 4 years
- Geriatrics and Gerontology 4 years
- Emergency Medicine 5 years
- Occupational Medicine 4 years
- Sports Medicine 4 years
- Neonatology 4 years
- Pediatrics Neurology 4 years
- Medical Oncology 5 years
- Pediatrics 5 years
- Psychiatry 4 years
- Pediatric Psychiatry 4 years
- Radiotherapy 4 years
- Ophthalmology 4 years
- Epidemiology 3 years
- Hygiene 3 years
- Laboratory Medicine 4 years
- Nuclear Medicine 4 years
- Radiology & Medical Imaging 4 years
- Pubic Health & Management 4 years
III. Dental Specialties (For: dental doctors only)
- Dentoalveolar surgery 3 years
- Orthodontics and dento-facial orthopedics 3 years
- Endodontics 3 years
- Parodontology 3 years
- Dental Prosthetics 3 years
IV. Pharmacy Specialties (For: Pharmacists only)
- Clinical Pharmacy 3 years
- Laboratory Pharmacy 3 years
*Important: The Medical, Dental or Pharmacy specialisations curriculum can be sent to the applicant via email on request.
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Medical Ph.D Courses/Research Work
*In compliance with the Romanian health law, all Romanian Medical Universities offer medical Ph.D programmes only in Romanian language. The duration for Medical Ph.D courses is between 3-6 years.
- Infectious Diseases: HIV infection
- Inferior digestive endoscopy: The colon pathology.
- Neurology: Therapeutic actualities
- Internal Medicine: Diabetology, HTA, the myocardium reperfusion
- Pharmacology: The study of drugs
- Oral-maxillofacial: Oral Cancer
- Obstetrics-gynecology: Laparoscopic surgery.
- Psychiatry: Schizophrenia.
- Emergency Medicine: the phase before hospital, emergency management
- Anesthesia: news
- General Surgery: Laparoscopy gallbladder removal
Who qualifies to Apply for medical Ph.D programmes?
Medical and dental doctors as well as pharmacy graduates from a medical university, must complete a master or specialisation programme in a medical, dental or pharmacy field in order to pursue a Ph.D degree in their respective fields. Ph.D degree for medical and dental doctors as well as pharmacy graduates in Romania ensures that the medical doctor, dental doctor or pharmacist can be involved in academic activities e.g. as a lecturer or assistant lecturer at any of the medical universities in Romania. *For specialist medical and dental doctors, the Ph.D degree is actually a 'fourth degree'.
In Romania, according to the law, doctoral studies are the highest form of education and research. All educational institutes in Romania and doctoral advisors, must according to this same law, be certified and accredited to offer and participate in doctoral studies.
In Romania doctoral studies take on two forms: Full time studies and part time studies, with a length of 4 years or more, out of which 1 year for exams and 3 years or more for reports. Candidates complete their degrees under the supervision of specialists in the respective fields of research, certified as doctoral advisor by the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research. The research topic and the aims of the project available for supervision are matched with the candidate's own preferences and background.
Doctoral studies have two components, a general one consisting of the courses that one has to follow in order to complete his studies and an individual one, which is connected with the proposed subject of the doctoral thesis, consisting of specific exams to be passed and specific research reports to be presented and defended. In order to be awarded a Ph.D./doctoral degree one must fulfill the following requirements: Candidates who have completed all exams, reports and course must submit a thesis, which, in a public meeting, is evaluated by an officially appointed commission. The officially appointed evaluation commission proposes whether the candidate be awarded the title of “doctor” (Ph.D.) or not. Then, according to Romanian legislation, a dossier containing the required documents and a copy of the thesis are sent, to the National Council for Attestation of Academic Titles, Degrees and Certificates. Upon written confirmation by the above named institution the candidate will be awarded the doctoral degree.
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Masters for Medical, Dental & Pharmacy graduates
*In compliance with the Romanian health law, all Romanian Medical Universities offer Medical Masters programmes for medical graduates only in Romanian language.
I. Public health and Management 1-2 years (duration depends on the university enrolled to)
II. Epidemiology 1-2 years (duration depends on the university enrolled to)
III. Toxicology 2 years
Clinical Hospitals and Rotations
There are many clinical/teaching hospitals in every Romanian city offering health services.
Regardless of the city you do your medical residency/specialisation, you will do clinical rotations in most of the following clinical/teaching hospitals during your training as a medical, dental or pharmacy specialist. Clinical rotations for specialist in training carries 70-80% of the whole curriculum. Theoretical or personal studies carries only 20-30%. There are no examinations during the years of residency. Only daily/weekly assessment (of your patients/work at the hospital) by the head Specialist of your department would be conducted. Specialist examinations are held only after the completion of the specialty programme.
The following are the lists of the teaching/clinical hospitals:
*Spitalul Judetean (The City Hospitals Complex with various departments imaginable):
Emergency Room unit, Cardiology, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Pediatric unit. Surgery, ophthalmology, oncology, Endocrinology, Clinical genetics, Diabetology and nutrition, Plastic/Microconstructive and Aesthetic surgery, Pediatric surgery & Orthopedics, orthopedics and traumatology, ENT (Ear,Nose&Throat), Pathology, Nephrology, Radiology, Urology, Haematology, Dermatology
*Family doctor's office (For part of the family medicine residency)
*Spitalul de Copii (Children's/Pediatric hospital)
*Spitalul CFR/ Spitalul Militar (City Hospitals Complex with various departments imaginable)
*Spitalul Psihiatrie si Neurologie (Psychiatry & Neurology hospital)
*TBC Hospital (Pneumology hospital for respiratory diseases e.g Tuberculosis, etc)
*Immunology hospital (blood/organ donation, blood test, etc)
*Maternitate (Maternity Hospital)
*Spitalul de boli infectioase (Infectious diseases hospital)
*Forensic/Legal medicine hospital
*Spitalul Medicina Dentara (Dental hospital)
*Pharmacy dispensaries & laboratories (for: pharmacy specialisations)
.......and a few more hospitals.
*Important: The Medical, Dental or Pharmacy specialisations curriculum can be sent to the applicant via email on request.