Medical University of Graz

About Medical University of Graz

Medical University of Graz is an autonomous public university established in its present form on January 1, 2004, when the former Faculty of Medicine separated from the University of Graz. Its institutional history reaches back to the establishment of a medical faculty in Graz in 1863. Austrian federal law lists it separately among the country’s universities, confirming that it is an independent degree-granting institution rather than a faculty or hospital department. The university concentrates on health and medicine rather than offering the broad subject range of a comprehensive university. Its three connected functions are education, research, and patient care. Academic and clinical staff work with University Hospital Graz, giving students access to an environment where teaching and research are linked to clinical practice. The university’s official 2026 facts page reports around 5,800 students, approximately 2,500 employees, and about 1,950 teachers. MED CAMPUS Graz brings together lecture halls, laboratories, seminar rooms, research centers, meeting areas, and university administration near the hospital complex. The campus’s first module opened in 2017 and its second in 2023. Research infrastructure includes the Center for Medical Research and Biobank Graz, alongside clinical departments and topic-based research units. This focused setting may suit students seeking sustained exposure to medicine, health sciences, or biomedical research. It is less appropriate for applicants who want extensive undergraduate choice outside those areas.

Admission depends strongly on the program. First-time applicants to the human medicine or dentistry diploma program for 2026/27 had to complete the centralized MedAT procedure. Online registration and payment ran from March 2 through March 31, 2026, and the entrance examination took place on July 3, 2026. Because that registration window has passed, a new applicant seeking a later intake should consult the next published admissions cycle rather than rely on the 2026 dates. For 2026/27, Graz offered 382 first-year places in human medicine and 24 in dentistry. Places are assigned by performance on MedAT-H or MedAT-Z, subject in medicine to Austria’s statutory quota rules. The examination is conducted in German. The university recommends C1 German for the test and requires C1 if an applicant is awarded a place. Successful candidates must also document an eligible school-leaving qualification or other recognized university entrance credential. Applicants educated abroad and third-country nationals have additional documentation and equivalency requirements. Graduate and doctoral admissions use program-specific routes rather than the MedAT. Master’s applicants should check the relevant curriculum, prior-degree requirements, and admission page. PhD recruitment may involve advertised research positions and application rounds, while the Doctoral Program in Medical Sciences uses assessment of a proposed thesis project and a personal interview in English. General university admission periods for winter 2026/27 and summer 2027 are published separately, but special procedures can carry their own earlier deadlines. International applicants should allow additional time for document review, legalization or translation, residence permission, and proof of the required teaching language.

The university’s principal professional programs are the diploma programs in human medicine and dentistry. The medicine curriculum combines biomedical and psychosocial knowledge, clinical skills, communication, ethics, prevention, rehabilitation, geriatrics, and palliative medicine. Its first phase lasts four semesters and establishes scientific and medical foundations. The second phase uses interdisciplinary, patient-oriented teaching and practical skills training. A final 48-week clinical practice year places students in University Hospital Graz or other approved teaching hospitals and practices in Austria or abroad. The portfolio also includes a jointly delivered bachelor’s program in medicine with Johannes Kepler University Linz. At graduate level, official listings include master’s study in psychotherapy and Interprofessional Health Care Studies. Applicants should inspect the curriculum and admission page for the particular program because prerequisites, teaching language, and selection arrangements differ. Diploma credentials and Austrian program structures should not be assumed to map directly onto degree labels used in other countries. PhD and other doctoral studies prepare researchers in medicine, life sciences, and nursing science through supervised research, seminars, journal clubs, workshops, and scientific networking. Active research areas include cancer, metabolism and circulation, neuroscience, microbiome and infection, sustainable health research, pediatrics, lung research, and high-technology methods. The international PhD program uses English, while the Doctoral Program in Medical Sciences also states that its courses are conducted in English. Across its degree portfolio, the university describes early practical experience, seminars, intensive small-group instruction, and progressive development of clinical skills. Facilities include a clinical skills center, research laboratories, the University Library, and clinical teaching sites.

Key Highlights

• Independent public medical university since 2004
• Approximately 5,800 students reported by the university
• Education, research, and patient care are linked with University Hospital Graz
• MED CAMPUS Graz combines teaching, research, and administrative facilities

Student Life & Environment

Student life is centered on a specialized medical campus and the adjacent university-hospital environment. This creates frequent contact with students, clinicians, researchers, and health professionals, but the experience is more professionally focused than at a broad multidisciplinary university. The campus provides lecture rooms, laboratories, seminar and meeting spaces, a multifunctional auditorium, and study facilities. The University Library and its Learning Center sit directly on the Medical University and University Hospital campus. They provide medical literature, search tools, learning resources, and study space. The university’s One-Stop-Shop handles common administrative matters, including confirmations, original documents, and campus locker keycards. Outside formal coursework, students can participate in the Austrian Medical Students’ Association, an international student congress, ultrasound and emergency-care initiatives, and the student-run cuddly toy clinic. Music opportunities include a big band, choir, and orchestra. Students can also use Graz University Sports, which serves students and graduates across the city’s higher-education institutions. ÖH Med Graz provides statutory student representation, while the Peer2Peer counseling service offers student-led support for study-related difficulties, crises, and personal concerns. International degree students can approach the Welcome Center for guidance on entry and residence formalities, campus life, local networks, and social contact. Mobility options include study periods, clinical rotations, traineeships, and selected research stays abroad.

Location & Surroundings

The university is in Graz, Austria, with its main campus at Neue Stiftingtalstraße and clinical teaching facilities around Auenbruggerplatz. The university’s research centers, institutes, administration, lecture facilities, and University Hospital sites occupy several nearby addresses rather than a single enclosed compound. This arrangement keeps much of the academic environment close to active clinical services. Official directions identify tram line 7 and bus routes 41, 58, and 64 as connections to the campus and hospital area, using stops around St. Leonhard/Klinikum Mitte and LKH Med Uni/Klinikum Nord. The University Library is located in the Center for Medical Research complex at Stiftingtalstraße 24. Visitor parking is available for a fee, but the university’s own directions make public transport the clearest routine option. Prospective students should arrange accommodation independently and consider travel time to both Neue Stiftingtalstraße and Auenbruggerplatz when comparing housing. Graz municipal housing services offer a separate application route for certain student apartments, but eligibility and availability must be checked directly. The university does not publish a guaranteed campus-housing arrangement on the profile sources reviewed.

Costs & Career Outcomes

The university’s tuition page, consulted in August 2026, states that regular students from Austria, the EU/EEA, and Switzerland generally pay no tuition while they remain within the standard program duration plus two semesters. After that allowance, the listed tuition is €363.36 per semester. Regular students from third countries are generally charged €726.72 per semester, although exemptions or equal treatment may apply according to nationality, residence status, or Austrian regulations. Non-degree students are generally listed at €363.36 per semester. Applicants should obtain an individual fee assessment because immigration status and statutory exceptions can change the amount due. Every student must also pay the Austrian National Union of Students contribution. The page still lists €26.20 per semester for 2025/26; no verified 2026/27 amount was displayed in the reviewed material, so that figure should be treated as historical rather than a current quote. The university does not provide a comprehensive 2026/27 budget for rent, food, insurance, transport, or clinical equipment on the sources reviewed. Students should therefore plan those costs separately and avoid treating tuition as the full cost of attendance. Career preparation is embedded in the curriculum. Medicine culminates in a 48-week clinical practice year, and dentistry and other health programs emphasize practical training. Doctoral programs prepare graduates for research careers in academia and industry. International mobility opportunities include clinical rotations, traineeships, and research stays. Professional recognition remains a separate consideration: graduates intending to practise a regulated health profession outside Austria should check licensing, language, and postgraduate-training requirements in the destination country before enrolling.