1. Is Medicine at Universidad Europea taught in English?
+A: No. The official curriculum lists nearly every subject as Spanish-medium; only English for Health Sciences II is taught in English.
The Faculty of Medicine, Health and Sports of Universidad Europea de Madrid is one of the new medical schools in Spain. Despite the fact that the Medicine programme was launched in 2008, the first graduation of this programme took place in 2014. In comparison with many Spanish medical schools which have centuries of history, this is relatively a new institution. Nevertheless, in quite a short period, it became a well-equipped private medical university.
Education consultants present Universidad Europea de Madrid as an already existing medical destination where the teaching takes place in English. However, in reality, although the university offers a number of English-taught programmes in other disciplines, its Medicine degree is taught in Spanish. Therefore, students should consider the programme from the point of view of the university's official curriculum, not relying on marketing materials of some companies.
The Bachelor's Degree in Medicine, a six-year programme, is taught mainly in Spanish. Courses such as Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Paediatrics, and Clinical Medicine are all taught in Spanish. Despite the fact that there are such courses as English for Health Sciences, it does not mean that the programme is bilingual. In fact, this is a Spanish medium medical programme.
This aspect can also be seen from the requirements to applicants. Those applicants who are not native Spanish speakers should show their Spanish proficiency level approximately B2. Applicants are also supposed to pass English and general aptitude tests. The knowledge of English will not be the main criterion to be admitted and to succeed in the programme.
Universidad Europea de Madrid provides a private Spanish medical education with an international look. The biggest advantage of this school is its practical training environment. The campus in Villaviciosa de Odón has a very modern Simulated Hospital accredited by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare as one of the best simulation centres in Europe.
The practical training begins already in the first year and takes place in simulation wards, consultation rooms, operating theatres, intensive care units, and anatomy laboratories. From the third year, practical rotations take place in hospitals in Quirónsalud and Vithas healthcare networks as well as some public hospitals in Madrid. Besides, there is a clinical student-to-teacher ratio approximately 2:1, which allows close supervision during practical training.
As a private university, the tuition cost is significantly higher than those in Spain's public medical schools. Applicants pay approximately €3,500 reservation fee, €800 one-time registration fee, and annual tuition fee €20,760 according to the standard 60-credit academic load. In total, only tuition in the six-year programme costs more than €125,000, not counting accommodation, insurance, travel, and other expenses. It is more expensive than any programme at public universities in Spain and many programmes in private medical schools in Central Europe.
The degree is a regulated Spanish medical degree according to Orden ECI/332/2008. Graduates can take MIR examination and get postgraduate residency training in Spain and can work anywhere in the European Union and European Economic Area under appropriate regulations. Although from the publicly available data it is not clear whether the programme currently has WFME International Quality Label, this university has a great academic reputation. It is rated among the leading private universities in Spain in Medicine in the QS Subject Rankings and got five stars in the QS Stars in multiple categories.
The campus of the university is situated in the suburb town Villaviciosa de Odón, located approximately 40 minutes from Madrid's centre. Therefore, students can enjoy quiet campus environment and not city-centre life. Accommodation arranged by the university starts from approximately €1,270 per month with full board, while shared private accommodation costs between €450 and €700 per month, not counting food and other living expenses.
All things considered, Universidad Europea de Madrid is the university for those students who are ready to study medicine in Spanish and whose families are able to afford a premium private European medical education.
