Not everyone starts physiotherapy in year one. Can a student who changes university or a graduate of other studies join a higher year? Sometimes: the university compares your earlier credits with its own programme and admits you to the second year or, at the most, the third. Physiotherapy lasts five years in Poland, and in Georgia and Ukraine it is a four-year bachelor’s degree, so after joining the third year you have two to three years left. Below are the rules that the universities in our offer publish about transfers, and what we know from our own practice. We collected the rules for medicine in the article Graduate entry medicine abroad.
Key points
- The university sets the year, after comparing your transcript and course descriptions with its programme. Nobody can guarantee it before the university decides.
- In our experience physiotherapy is entered in the third year at the most.
- Tbilisi State Medical University admits to physiotherapy through mobility only after the end of one academic year of study, twice a year, and Collegium Medicum UMK in Bydgoszcz has a separate intake of transfers to physiotherapy.
- Start with your transcript and course descriptions: send them to us and we will check whether a transfer is possible.
Who can join a higher year of physiotherapy
We distinguish two groups of people.
- A physiotherapy student from another university. You transfer and the new university credits the subjects you have already completed. Tbilisi State Medical University writes in its English physiotherapy programme that admission through mobility concerns people who studied and earned credits at a foreign higher education institution.
- A graduate or student of other studies. In our experience graduates of any higher studies can apply for a higher year at selected universities, and we check every case separately. Semmelweis University allows an upper-year application from candidates with a bachelor’s degree in medicine, dentistry or pharmacy or a higher degree in these or related fields, but it does not name physiotherapy in that sentence.
What decides the year of entry
The universities write about it rarely, but the same factors come back in their transfer rules and in the programmes.
- A completed year of study. Tbilisi State Medical University writes that admission through mobility is allowed after the end of one academic year of study.
- Match of subjects. The university compares the subjects you have completed with its own programme. Semmelweis asks for an official transcript and syllabi of the courses to be recognised, takes the admission decision first and conducts the recognition of courses after an offer of admission.
- Approval and language. In Tbilisi the application for mobility is made to the Georgian ministry of education, and after its approval you must prove English at least at B1 level.
- Deadlines. Tbilisi State Medical University admits through mobility twice a year, within the deadline set by the ministry, and Collegium Medicum UMK in Bydgoszcz accepted transfer applications for 2026/27 from 1 to 31 August 2026.
- Fees. LSMU in Kaunas states on its tuition page that transfer students pay the tuition of the current year plus, if there are any, a fee for additional courses or exams.
- The highest year. In our experience physiotherapy is entered in the third year at the most.
What the universities in our offer publish
The table collects the rules from the universities’ official pages, read in November 2026. It contains only the universities in our offer that run physiotherapy and have something about transfers on the pages we read. The rules change with every intake, so we confirm them with the university before you apply.
| University | What it publishes about the higher years |
|---|---|
| Tbilisi State Medical University, physiotherapy in English | The “Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation” programme is a bachelor’s degree: four years (eight semesters), 240 ECTS credits, taught in English. The programme says that admission through mobility is allowed after the end of one academic year of study, for people who studied and earned credits at a foreign higher education institution. Mobility is available twice a year, within the deadline set by the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth of Georgia; the application is made to the Ministry, and after its approval you must prove English at least at B1 level. The document does not describe the recognition of prior learning or admission to a later semester or year. |
| Collegium Medicum of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Bydgoszcz | A separate intake of transfers from universities in Poland and abroad to studies in English: medicine, pharmacy and physiotherapy (nursing is not among the regulations). For 2026/27 it ran from 1 to 31 August 2026. The rules are in the regulations in PDF files on the page, and the page itself does not state the years of entry. |
| Semmelweis University in Budapest | The admission rules for the academic year 2027/28 allow an upper-year application from candidates who have completed a B.Sc. in medicine, dentistry or pharmacy (or a higher degree in these or related fields) and from people who studied abroad in an undivided one-tier programme in one of these fields. An official transcript, syllabi of the courses to be recognised and the diploma are required. The admission decision is made first, the recognition of courses is conducted after an offer of admission, and the year of entry is determined by the competent university body on the basis of the recognised courses and credits. Eligibility to apply does not guarantee a higher year, an offer of admission does not guarantee recognition of any particular course or credit, and if the recognised studies do not allow placement in a higher year, the applicant may begin in the first year. Physiotherapy is not among the fields named in that sentence; whether the university would count it as related has to be agreed with it. |
| Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU) in Kaunas | The tuition page for 2026/27 has one sentence about transfers: transfer students pay the tuition of the current year plus, if there are any, a fee for additional courses or exams. The page does not describe the procedure, the semester or the year of entry. |
The other universities in our offer that run physiotherapy either do not state transfer rules on the pages we read, or we have not yet checked this topic. In that case we ask the university about your case.
Documents you will need
The list depends on the university. From the universities in the table:
- Semmelweis asks for an official transcript, syllabi of the courses to be recognised and the diploma;
- in Tbilisi the application for mobility is made to the Georgian ministry, and after its approval you must prove English at least at B1 level;
- Collegium Medicum UMK gives the rules in the regulations on its transfer page.
If you have a bachelor’s diploma or another diploma, send us the diploma and a list of subjects and we will check which universities can consider it.
Step by step
- Send your documents Send us your transcript and course descriptions and we will check whether a transfer is possible. The consultation and the assessment of documents are free.
- Choosing a university We point out the universities that admit people in your situation to the higher years of physiotherapy and tell you which year and which costs are realistic.
- Application We prepare the request for the recognition of subjects, the translations and the deadlines, and where needed also the entrance exam.
- The university’s decision The university recognises subjects and names the year of entry. It may also set additional subjects to catch up on.
- Departure We help with tuition, the visa where one is needed, accommodation and travel.
- Studies from a higher year Your adviser stays with you until graduation. This care is free for students because it is sponsored by the universities we have agreements with.
Pros and cons of a shortened route
Pros
- You have fewer years to complete: after joining the third year of a four-year bachelor’s degree you have two years left, not four, so you also pay tuition for fewer years.
- Subjects that the university recognises count as completed, so you do not repeat that material.
Cons
- You have no guarantee of the year or of admission: the university may recognise fewer subjects than you expect.
- In Tbilisi mobility requires first completing one academic year, approval by the ministry and English at B1 level, and the intake takes place twice a year.
- Not every university describes its transfer rules for physiotherapy, so we ask some of them directly.
- Studies from a higher year still last several years, so you need to plan living costs and tuition for that time.
After graduation: the right to practise
Where you can work as a physiotherapist depends on the country where you graduate and the country where you want to work. The physiotherapy programme in Tbilisi says that graduates can proceed to studies at master’s level. We check the rules for recognising your diploma with you before you choose a university.
Frequently asked questions
Can I join physiotherapy straight away in a higher year?
Yes, if the university recognises your earlier credits or education. The university sets the year, and in our experience physiotherapy is entered in the third year at the most. There is no guarantee, so we start by checking your documents.
How does admission through mobility work in Tbilisi?
The English physiotherapy programme of Tbilisi State Medical University says that admission through mobility is allowed after the end of one academic year of study, that mobility is available twice a year within the deadline set by the Georgian ministry, and that the application is made to the ministry. After its approval you must prove English at least at B1 level. The document does not describe the recognition of prior learning or admission to a later semester or year.
Does Collegium Medicum UMK accept transfers to physiotherapy?
The university has a separate intake of transfers from universities in Poland and abroad to studies in English, and physiotherapy is among the three programmes with regulations on transfers. For 2026/27 the intake ran from 1 to 31 August 2026. The page does not state the years of entry, so we agree the year with the university.
How many years of study will I have left?
As many as remain until the end of the programme. Physiotherapy lasts five years in Poland, and in Georgia and Ukraine it is a four-year bachelor’s degree, so after joining the third year you have two to three years left, but the university may add subjects to catch up on.
How much does your help with entering a higher year cost?
The consultation and the assessment of documents are free. We set the price of a transfer and of admission to a higher year individually because it depends on the case. Care during the studies is free for our students because it is sponsored by the universities we have agreements with.
Read also: graduate entry medicine abroad. You can find all the universities in the list of universities.
Official sources
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