UMF Carol Davila

🏛️ Overview

The Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest (UMFCD) is Romania’s oldest and largest medical training institution. It originates from the National School of Medicine and Pharmacy founded in 1857 by the physician Carol Davila — a founding figure of modern Romanian medicine — and Nicolae Kretzulescu. In 1869 it became the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Bucharest, before gaining its autonomy in 1948.

Based in the Romanian capital, UMFCD is an academic heavyweight with close to 11,000 students and a teaching body of more than 1,000. It trained the Nobel laureate in medicine George Emil Palade (1974) and the discoverer of insulin Nicolae Paulescu. Its university hospital network — more than 20 hospitals — is the country’s largest.

Essential to note: contrary to a widespread belief, UMFCD does not offer a French-language stream in general medicine. The medicine programme in French does not exist in Bucharest. The French stream covers pharmacy only. General medicine is taught in English (the international stream) and in Romanian. This fact sheet covers both to give you the full picture.

That said, Bucharest remains a strategic choice for students who are comfortable in English: the capital offers the country’s largest patient population, the most modern facilities (particularly within the private sector and the national institutes), and direct access to national health institutions. UMFCD is also a major research centre: it houses laboratories affiliated with the Romanian Academy and takes part in numerous European projects.

The university has been training doctors for more than 165 years. Its record speaks for itself: George Emil Palade (Nobel 1974), Nicolae Paulescu (discoverer of insulin), and many other figures of Romanian and international medicine studied or taught there.

📊 By the numbers

📋 Programmes available by language

Bucharest is the most widely misunderstood faculty in the country. The rule fits in one sentence: in French, there is only pharmacy. All international medicine here is taught in English.

⚠️ Quotas not published. Unlike Cluj or Iași, UMFCD does not publish a number of places per international stream: recruitment proceeds application by application, within a cifră de școlarizare set by the ministry after the fact. The figures of 985 / 274 / 114 places widely reported in the Romanian press relate to the Romanian-language stream, not the international ones — don’t mistake them for a French or English quota.

What that means in practice:

• You are a French speaker aiming for medicine → Bucharest is not an option in French. Your French-language options are Cluj, Iași, Timișoara or Târgu Mureș.
• You are aiming for pharmacy in French → Bucharest and Cluj are the country’s only two ways in.
• You are willing to study in English → Bucharest becomes highly competitive again: Romania’s largest hospital network, and the prestige of the country’s oldest faculty.

Veterinary: no veterinary programme at UMFCD. It falls under USAMV Bucharest, a separate university offering French and English streams.

Structure of the medicine programme (6 years):

• Years 1–2: preclinical cycle — anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, histology, biophysics, cell biology. Taught in English for the international stream.
• Year 3: clinical transition — medical and surgical semiology, pharmacology, pathophysiology, introduction to clinical procedures.
• Years 4–6: clinical cycle — rotations through the capital’s hospital departments. Placements in internal medicine, surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, psychiatry, neurology, emergency medicine and intensive care.

Structure of the pharmacy programme (5 years, French stream):

• Basic sciences, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacognosy, pharmacology, pharmaceutical law. Placements in community pharmacy and in industry.

Distinctive features:

• Patient volume in Bucharest’s hospitals is unmatched in Romania — maximum clinical exposure.
• UMFCD has research centres affiliated with the Romanian Academy and works with many European partners.
• A language test is run by the university if you have no formal certification (€500 for non-EU applicants).

📝 Admission

Type of admission: on application (no written exam)

UMFCD admits international students on the strength of their application. School marks in biology and chemistry, together with a CV, a motivation letter and any reference letters, determine the ranking.

Documents required:

• School-leaving certificate (or equivalent), legalised and translated
• Complete secondary-school transcripts
• Birth certificate
• Valid passport
• Medical certificate of fitness
• Proof of language: B2 in English for the medicine stream, B2 in French for the pharmacy stream
• Motivation letter
• Online application form

Typical 2026 timetable:

Additional fees:

• Application fee: 1,500 RON (~€300, non-refundable)
• Language test (if needed): €500 (non-EU)
• Place confirmation: 50% of the annual fee

⚠️ The timetable above is indicative, based on 2025–2026. The official 2026–2027 methodology has not yet been published. Check the UMFCD site regularly.

🏥 Clinical placements

UMFCD’s hospital network is the country’s most extensive, with more than 20 clinical hospitals across Bucharest:

• “Elias” University Hospital — multidisciplinary
• “Dr. Carol Davila” Clinical Hospital of Nephrology
• Fundeni Clinical Institute — the national reference centre for transplantation
• “Marius Nasta” Institute of Pneumology
• “Grigore Alexandrescu” Children’s Emergency Hospital
• “Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia” Psychiatric Hospital
• “Dr. Carol Davila” Central Military Emergency Hospital
• “Prof. Dr. Panait Sârbu” Clinical Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

From which year: hospital placements begin in year three and intensify through to year six.

Quality of placements: the volume and diversity of clinical cases are exceptional — Bucharest concentrates the country’s most complex cases, particularly in oncology, transplantation, cardiovascular surgery and rare diseases. Some hospitals (Elias, Fundeni) have modern equipment and an international reputation. Others, though, are run-down public facilities where supervision can be uneven from one department to another — the quality of your training will depend a great deal on where you are placed. The language barrier can be a challenge: even in the English stream, nursing and support staff mostly speak Romanian, and you will need to acquire a working medical Romanian vocabulary to function effectively on placement. Students report that the immersion is intense but that the independence it builds is an asset for later practice.

🏠 Student life in Bucharest

Bucharest is a metropolis of two million people, and the country’s political, economic and cultural capital. What’s on offer for students is vast but spread across the city, unlike Cluj where everything is concentrated.

Housing:

• UMFCD hall of residence: ~€100–200/month (very limited, often run-down)
• Sharing a flat: €200–350/month per person
• Studio flat: €300–500/month

Estimated monthly cost of living: €600–900. Cheaper than Cluj for housing, comparable for everything else.

Transport: metro (4 lines), buses, trams. Student pass ~€10/month. Henri Coandă international airport (OTP) with direct flights to every European capital.

Atmosphere: a big, fast-moving city with plenty of cultural and nightlife options. The downside: pollution, chaotic traffic, intense summer heat. The international community has a strong presence.

✅ Recognition

The UMF Carol Davila degree is recognised automatically throughout the EU under Directive 2005/36/EC. The university is accredited by ARACIS and its programmes conform to the European ECTS framework.

International graduates of the English-language medicine stream enjoy the same automatic recognition as graduates of the Romanian programme. For pharmacy in French, recognition is likewise automatic under the same directive.

⭐ Strengths and things to watch

✅ Strengths:

• The oldest and largest Romanian medical faculty
• A vast and varied hospital network — unmatched clinical exposure
• Moderate cost of living for a European capital
• Access to national public health institutions
• A major international airport with direct links across Europe
• Admission on application, with no entrance exam

⚠️ Things to watch:

• No French-language stream in medicine — pharmacy only. French speakers must follow the programme in English
• A dense city, with traffic jams and air pollution
• Some public hospitals are underfunded and run-down
• The language barrier is real: English is spoken in the academic setting, but Romanian dominates on the wards
• Hospitals are scattered across Bucharest — travel times can be long
• Heavier administrative procedures than at the provincial UMFs
• No unified “campus life” of the kind found in Cluj or Iași

🔗 Official links

• University website: umfcd.ro
• International student admission: umfcd.ro/en/education/admission/international-students
• International office contact: [email protected]
• English-stream admission 2026-2027: umfcd.ro — Limba Engleză
• French-stream pharmacy admission 2026-2027: umfcd.ro — Farmacie Franceză
• Romanian Ministry of Education: edu.ro

🧭 To place this university against the other five: see the comparison table of every route — every programme, in every language, at every UMF, with 2026–2027 places and fees.

📚 Sources and methodology

Our method: we don’t copy recruitment agency fact sheets, which routinely present Bucharest as offering “medicine in French”. We start from UMFCD’s official admission pages, faculty by faculty. Where the university does not publish a figure (here: the international quotas), we say so rather than filling the gap with an estimate.

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Last verified: August 2026.