Studying medicine in Lithuania
Two Lithuanian universities teach medicine in English. This page sets out what each costs, how admission works, and — the part most pages leave out — what happens to the degree afterwards. Figures are the universities' own published rates as of October 2026.
Since a Turkish regulation amended on 15 March 2024, applications for recognition of medical, dental, pharmacy and law degrees are refused where the institution was not within the top 1000 of at least two of ARWU, CWTS Leiden, QS WUR and Times Higher Education WUR in the year the student enrolled. Vilnius University currently meets this. The Lithuanian University of Health Sciences does not clearly meet it: it sits at 1001–1200 in THE WUR 2027 and has no overall QS WUR position. Anyone advising a Turkish applicant should check all four rankings for the specific year of enrolment.
Where it is taught
Two universities, two quite different offers
The Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU) in Kaunas is the country's dedicated health sciences university, with medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary medicine under one roof and 28 per cent international students. Vilnius University, founded in 1579, is the oldest university in the region; its English-taught medicine programme began in 2012 with a single group of twelve students.
Both are six years and 360 ECTS, and both award a Master in Health Sciences together with the qualification of medical doctor. Lithuanian language appears in both curricula but is not an admission requirement; at Vilnius University it is optional and free. B1 Lithuanian is, however, required for an internship in Lithuania and for a Lithuanian medical practice licence.
On recognition outside the EU the position is good and worth stating precisely: the World Federation for Medical Education recognised Lithuania's quality agency, SKVC, as competent to assess medical education, and Lithuanian medical programmes accredited on that basis have been recognised since 2024 in countries that use the WFME benchmark. Neither university cites Directive 2005/36/EC automatic recognition on its own pages.
Cost
Tuition and the fees around it
Both universities publish 2026/2027 rates. Neither has published 2027/2028 figures; expect an increase — Vilnius University's medicine fee rose by €1,100 in a single year.
- LSMU€12,800 (years 1–3), €13,300 (years 4–6)
€78,300 over six years at current rates. Application fee €150 and registration fee €250, both non-refundable. The deposit is unclear: LSMU's admission-process page says half a year's tuition for non-EU applicants, while its application portal says €1,000. That is a difference of about €5,400 and should be confirmed in writing before budgeting.
- VU€14,100 per year
€84,600 over six years at current rates, up from €13,000 the previous year. Application fee €100, payable only through Flywire, plus a one-off €200 entrance examination fee.
- +Living costs
Around €6,900 a year in Kaunas or Vilnius — accommodation, food, transport, phone and personal spending. Six years therefore comes to roughly €120,000–126,000 all in, before any increase.
Admission
Both run an entrance examination
Neither university exempts Turkish school certificates, so a Turkish applicant will sit the examination in both cases.
- LSMUInterview plus written test
Online: 30 biology and 30 chemistry questions in 90 minutes, preceded a few days earlier by a separate interview. Missing the interview cancels the written test automatically. English requirement: IELTS above 5.5, or a certificate at B1; applicants without one sit the university's own English test.
- VUWritten examination only
Online over Zoom, 60 minutes, 50 points across chemistry and biology. The pass mark is 30; a score of 40 or above means acceptance subject to the remaining steps, 30–39 places the applicant on a waiting list. One sitting per application period. English requirement is higher: IELTS Academic 6.5, TOEFL iBT 81, or B2 equivalent, all within a single test report.
- !Exemptions and a time limit
A Levels, IB, German Abitur, French Baccalauréat, MCAT, UCAT, IMAT and NEET all earn exemption from the entrance test at one or both universities. Turkish secondary qualifications appear on neither list. Vilnius University also refuses applications where more than five years have passed since secondary education; work experience does not offset it.
Calendar
Deadlines for the 2027/2028 intake
The two calendars differ sharply. An applicant targeting both should plan around Vilnius University's earlier deadline.
- LSMUOpens 1 November 2026, closes 6 July 2027
Review from 10 November; interviews and entrance tests run from 12 January to 15 July 2027. Applications go through the university's own portal.
- VUOpens 1 December 2026, closes 1 May 2027 for non-EU applicants
EU and EFTA applicants have until 1 July. Entrance examination sessions run through the spring, and non-EU applicants must sit one well before the deadline.
- →Then the residence permit
Full-time degree students cannot enter Lithuania on a national visa; a temporary residence permit must be obtained before travelling, and for Turkish citizens that means applying from Türkiye through the service provider in Istanbul or Ankara. Allow three months for the decision on top of the admission timeline.
Advising a Turkish applicant?
If you are a university, partner or family weighing these two options, tell me the circumstances and I will set out what the current rules require and where the risks sit.