Most of this guide is for students who are already here. This page is for the ones deciding whether to come.
We are not an agent and we are not the university. We don’t process applications, we don’t take a commission, and we have nothing to sell you. What follows is a plain-English map of the process, with links to the official pages that are the actual authority. Where the university’s own information disagrees with ours, believe the university.
What’s taught in English
- Medicine (МD) — the six-year programme. MU-Pleven was the first medical school in Bulgaria to teach medicine in English, and has admitted international students since 1997.
- Nursing — English-language teaching added in 2025, so it’s a much newer programme.
Around 300 new international students join each year, and roughly 1,500 international students from 53 countries are enrolled at any one time. It’s a genuinely international campus rather than a handful of foreign students in a Bulgarian cohort.
The broad shape of it
- Apply through the university’s international admissions route, with your school-leaving certificate and its subject grades.
- Sit the entrance exam — for Medicine in Bulgaria this is normally biology and chemistry. The university runs an online preparation platform for applicants.
- Get your documents legalised. This is the step that catches everyone out: diplomas usually need an apostille and official translation into Bulgarian. It takes weeks and it’s done in your own country, not in Bulgaria.
- Receive your acceptance, then apply for a student visa (type D) at the Bulgarian embassy in your country.
- Arrive, enrol (записване) and get your student book and ID card.
- Apply for your residence card within your first weeks. This one has a legal clock on it. Visas & paperwork →
What we deliberately won’t state here
Tuition fees, exam dates, minimum grades and document lists change every year, and a guide that quotes last year’s figure is worse than no guide at all. These belong on the official pages, which are kept current:
- Admission for foreign students — mu-pleven.bg — the authoritative page
- Online preparation for applicants
- International Students Center — Room 138, answers in English: +359 64 884 153
Write to the International Students Center directly. They answer applicants, not just enrolled students, and it costs you nothing.
About agencies
Plenty of agencies recruit for Bulgarian medical schools. Some are useful, particularly for document legalisation and visa paperwork in your own country. Others charge four figures for forwarding an email.
Two things worth knowing before you sign anything:
- You can apply directly. The university has its own admissions office and accepts direct applications. An agency is a convenience, not a requirement.
- Ask what exactly you’re paying for, itemised, and whether the university charges that fee too. Compare the agency’s quote against the fees published on mu-pleven.bg.
We have no relationship with any agency and we don’t recommend one.
Once you’re accepted
- Your First Week in Pleven — SIM, money, supermarkets, the paperwork clock
- Housing — dorms vs renting, and why most students rent
- The University: library, canteen and campus
- Your first day — what to bring and the white coat question
- Visas & paperwork — the residence card deadline