Not everyone starts nursing 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. Nursing is a bachelor’s degree that lasts from three to four years, so after joining the third year you have one or two years left. The pages of the universities that we read give few transfer rules for nursing, so below we combine them with what we know from our own practice. If you are a nurse and think about medicine, we describe it separately: from nurse to doctor. 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 nursing is entered in the third year at the most.
- The universities in our offer publish few transfer rules for nursing. The rules of Semmelweis University on the higher years do not name nursing, and LSMU in Kaunas writes only about the fees of transfer students.
- 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 nursing
We distinguish two groups of people.
- A nursing student from another university. You transfer and the new university credits the subjects you have already completed. How much it credits is decided by comparing the programmes, because nursing programmes differ in length and credits.
- 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 nursing 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.
- 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.
- Length of the programme. In Ukraine the first-cycle nursing studies have 240 ECTS credits and last about four years (we describe it in a separate article). Directive 2005/36/EC requires the training of a nurse responsible for general care to comprise at least three years of study or 4,600 hours of theoretical and clinical training, with clinical training making up at least one half of the minimum duration of the training.
- Earlier degree or field. Semmelweis names a bachelor’s degree in medicine, dentistry and pharmacy among the degrees with which one can submit an upper-year application; whether the university would count a higher degree in nursing as related has to be agreed with it.
- 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 nursing 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 nursing 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 |
|---|---|
| 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. Nursing is not among the fields named in that sentence; whether the university would count a higher degree in nursing 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 nursing 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;
- LSMU in Kaunas does not give a list of documents for transfer students on its tuition page, so we agree it with the university.
If you have a nursing 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 nursing 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 programme 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.
- Semmelweis University does not name nursing among the fields in its rules on the higher years, so the rules for nursing have to be agreed with it.
- Joining the third year at the most shortens the studies by two years at the most.
- Studies from a higher year still last several years, so you need to plan living costs and tuition for that time.
After graduation: the exam and the right to practise
Where you can work as a nurse depends on the country where you graduate and the country where you want to work. First-cycle nursing studies in Ukraine end with the KROK B test and a practical exam. Practice questions for the KROK B exam are available on Medmigrant, our learning platform. We describe the rules for the United Kingdom in the guide to working as a nurse in the UK.
Frequently asked questions
Can I join nursing 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 nursing is entered in the third year at the most. There is no guarantee, so we start by checking your documents.
Does Semmelweis University admit to a higher year of nursing?
The admission rules for the academic year 2027/28 allow an upper-year application from candidates who have completed a bachelor’s degree 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. The document does not name nursing in that sentence, so we agree the rules for nursing with the university. Eligibility to apply does not guarantee a higher year.
Do I pay the tuition of the year I join?
It depends on the university. LSMU in Kaunas writes that transfer students pay the tuition of the current year plus, if there are any, a fee for additional courses or exams. We confirm the rules of other universities before you apply.
How many years of study will I have left?
As many as remain until the end of the programme. Nursing is a bachelor’s degree of three to four years, so after joining the third year you have one or two 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: nursing studies in Ukraine. You can find all the universities in the list of universities.
Official sources
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