MBBS in University of Thessaly Faculty of Medicine

Larissa is an important figure in the history of medicine. Hippocrates, who is known as the "Father of Western Medicine," helped people and then died in this city. That link between place and job still shapes the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Thessaly today. It is in the same city as the school that medicine as we know it today got its start.

The University of Thessaly as a whole is still pretty new. It was set up in 1984. The first kids went there during the 1988–1989 school year. The city of Volos is where its main office is located. Still, the school has spread to cover the whole area of Thessaly. At this point, it has sites in Volos, Larissa, Lamia, Karditsa, and Trikala. It now has eight schools and 35 degree programs, plus a lot more at the graduate level. It is one of the busiest and fastest-growing public universities in Greece.

A little later came the Faculty of Medicine. In 1985, staff set it up. In the 1990–1991 school year, thirty students were the first to start going to school. It was the first school to be built in Thessaly's School of Health Sciences. In 1995, it split off into its own department. Docs graduated in groups for the first time in June 1996. In December 1999, the school gave out its first PhD. A new building was built for the school in February 2008. These can be found on the Biopolis building in Larissa. The building has 6,500 square meters of lab space and 4,500 square meters of classroom area. There is a big hall with 250 seats, two smaller halls with 100 seats each, and four classes with 60 seats each.

The training for clinical work is right next door. In September 1999, the University General Hospital of Larissa opened on a large plot of land next to the medical school. The hospital is on land that is about 100,000 square meters, and the buildings their selves are about 90,000 square meters. Because the classroom and hospital are so close to each other, it's easy for students to do clinical work every day. They don't have to go across the city to get training in person. Aside from that, it's the main hospital for people in Central Greece and the wider Thessaly area.

The Faculty of Medicine only taught in Greek for a long time. In 2024, things changed. This was the school's first English-language course. It was called the Medical Degree English Program. This made Thessaly the fourth university in Greece to offer a medical degree taught in English. The other three were in Athens, Thessaloniki, and Crete. Forty kids from other countries came to the school for the first time in October 2024. Few of them were from the same country. Many of them were from Cyprus, but some were from France, the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Slovakia, Bulgaria, India, Saudi Arabia, and the US. One hundred eighty people applied for those forty spots in the school's first year, which is a strong sign of early demand.

It takes six years to finish, with twelve classes. points work like they do in Europe, and you get sixty points every year. There are three main parts to the lesson. Before clinical study, there is study in semesters one through five. This includes basic science, the structure of the human body, social medicine, and medical work done in a lab. From semester six to ten, you will be doing clinical work. A lot of what the students learn here takes place in real clinics and labs, where they learn how diseases start, grow, are diagnosed, and are treated. Almost all of the last two semesters are spent on hands-on clinical practice, which puts students right into hospital situations before they graduate.

There are two ways to get in. Some applicants don't have to take the full entrance test. This is for students who got good scores on the BMAT, the MediTest-EU, or had grades of AAB or higher in Chemistry, Biology, and one other topic besides English. A test is given to everyone else instead. There are sixty multiple-choice questions on this IB-level test that cover biology, chemistry, and general knowledge. Everything on the test is done online, and it is closely watched. You need to be good at English for both options; usually, you need an IELTS score of at least B2 or a TOEFL score of at least 79 out of 120. After that, qualified applicants will have a short online interview where they will talk about their motivation, character, and academic experience.

Cost sits at a clear, fixed level. Tuition for the English-taught program runs at twelve thousand euros a year. Students split this into two payments each year, with the first payment due right after acceptance and the second due partway through the school year. A small, non-refundable fee of around two hundred euros applies early on, covering interview and exam processing. As of now, the university does not offer scholarships for this program, so students should plan for the full cost across all six years.

For a program this new, praise is very important. The Hellenic Authority for Higher Education, which is in charge of inspecting French universities across the country, has given the Faculty of Medicine its seal of approval. A listing with ECFMG, the US group that licenses medical graduates from other countries, is also linked to the school. This status helps people who want to practice medicine in the US take later steps toward the USMLE. As it comes from a public university in Greece, the degree is recognized all over the European Union. It can also be used to get licenses in other parts of the world.

The city of Larissa is an excellent option for students who are looking for a home base that is less expensive and more tranquil than either Athens or Thessaloniki. With a population of approximately 200,000 inhabitants, the city is the fourth largest location in Greece. In the region around Thessaly, there are more than one million people that call it home. Two of the most prominent university campuses are located in Biopolis and Gaiopolis. In order to go to class, the majority of students either walk, ride their bikes, or take a brief bus ride. For the purpose of representing medical students, a group of students known as ASCLEPIOS has been present here since the year 1991. Prior to the existence of the English track, they have been organizing events and providing support services for a very long time. In addition to educational institutions, the city is home to parks, historic theaters, and a well-known monument known as Hippocrates. Every day, this serves as a gentle reminder of the context in which medicine was first developed.

For students who are interested in actual Greek history, a new but rapidly expanding English program, and practical training directly next to a large regional hospital, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Thessaly offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to begin their medical education in Europe. For students who wish to arrive at the hospital earlier than usual, there is a hospital ward located just next door. In Greece, the city is quite small and is welcoming to students.