Comenius University Bratislava
Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave
Slovakia's oldest and largest university: free Slovak-taught degrees and fee-paying English medicine in Bratislava.
- Students
- 23,214
- 10,872 undergraduates
- International
- 16%
- of students
- Tuition
- €0
- From · 2026-27
- Founded
- 1919
About Comenius University
Comenius University Bratislava is Slovakia's oldest and largest university. It was founded on 27 June 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia, is named after the 17th-century educator Jan Amos Comenius, and sees itself as heir to the Academia Istropolitana founded in Bratislava in 1465. In 2024/25 it had 23,214 students, 3,800 of them international (about 16%, from 94 countries), and more than 800 study programmes across 13 faculties.
The faculties span medicine (the Faculty of Medicine in Bratislava and the Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin), pharmacy, law, arts, natural sciences, mathematics, physics and informatics, education, management, social and economic sciences, sport, and two theology faculties. It is not a campus university: faculties, teaching hospitals, the botanical garden and dormitories are spread across Bratislava, with most students living in the large Mlynská dolina dormitory district.
There are two very different routes in. Full-time study in Slovak is free, and faculties set their own entrance exams and deadlines. A smaller set of programmes is taught fully in English for a fee, most famously General Medicine and Dentistry, which draw most of the international students. It suits Slovak and Czech speakers wanting a broad, low-cost university, and international applicants looking for an EU medical degree at moderate fees.
Why students choose Comenius University
Full-time Slovak-taught degrees carry no tuition, and first-year students from outside Bratislava's transport network are guaranteed a dormitory place.
English-taught General Medicine costs 13,000 euros a year at the Faculty of Medicine in Bratislava and 11,500 euros at the Jessenius Faculty in Martin, with the fee fixed for the standard length of study in Bratislava.
Several English-taught bachelor's are cheap or free, including Biological Chemistry and Environmental Studies (no tuition fee) and Management (1,990 euros a year).
Bratislava sits 80 km from Vienna and 200 km from Budapest, and CU sends more students abroad than any other Slovak university.
Admissions
2027/28 academic year
Selectivity
No overall acceptance rate is published: in 2024/25 the university admitted 10,911 students, 8,118 of whom enrolled. Each faculty sets its own conditions. Some programmes admit without an exam (for example Law, with about 600 full-time places, admits applicants who meet its school-leaving subject conditions and examines the rest), while medicine is selective by entrance test.
Typical entry requirements
| Slovak maturita or equivalent (Slovak-taught programmes) | Completed full secondary education plus faculty conditions; for Law, Slovak or Czech proficiency and a B2 foreign language, or a written test |
|---|---|
| Foreign secondary diploma (English-taught medicine) | A school-leaving certificate at EQF level 4, passport scan, and the 99 euro admission fee, then the entrance exam |
| English-taught bachelor's | School-leaving examination at the equivalent of the Slovak maturita; programme-specific conditions on each programme page |
| English language | No minimum English test score is published for the English-taught medicine and dentistry programmes: the Faculty of Medicine asks only for a school-leaving certificate (or school letter) and proof of the admission fee, and selects by an entrance exam in biology and chemistry, taken in English, with questions drawn from its published booklets. Other English-taught programmes list their own conditions on each programme page. |
Deadlines
- English-taught Medicine and Dentistry (Faculty of Medicine): March exam Non-binding Passed26 February 2026 (2026/27 cycle; past)
Registration 1 January-26 February 2026 for exams on 19-20 March 2026; non-EU applicants were told to use the March or June date because of visa timelines.
- Slovak-taught Medicine and Dentistry (Faculty of Medicine) Non-binding Passed28 February 2026 (2026/27 cycle; past)
Applications 1 December 2025-28 February 2026; natural sciences test 9-10 May 2026.
- Law, Bc. (Faculty of Law, Slovak) Non-binding Passed30 April 2026 (applicants who must take the exam) / 15 June 2026 (others); 2026/27 cycle, past
Second round until 7 August 2026.
- English-taught Medicine and Dentistry: June exam Non-binding Passed12 May 2026 (2026/27 cycle; past)
Exams 2-3 June 2026.
- English-taught Medicine and Dentistry: August exam Non-binding Passed23 July 2026 (2026/27 cycle; past)
Exams 6-7 August 2026, online or in person; enrolment 14 September 2026.
All dates shown are from the 2026/27 admission cycle and have passed; faculties publish 2027/28 conditions during the autumn and winter. Expect a similar pattern: Slovak-taught medicine closing at the end of February and English-taught medicine offering March, June and August exam sessions.
How to apply
Apply online through the university's e-application (e-prihlaska.uniba.sk) to the faculty that runs your programme, attach your documents and pay the admission fee (for example 70 euros for Law, 99 euros for English-taught medicine). Faculties publish their own conditions, numbers of places and deadlines each year; applicants must recognise foreign diplomas before enrolment.
What admissions looks for
- A completed secondary education recognised as equivalent to the Slovak maturita.
- For medicine, results in the faculty's entrance test in natural sciences.
- For Law, school-leaving exams in required subjects or a pass (60%) in the written entrance test.
- For Slovak-taught programmes, enough Slovak (or Czech) to follow the programme.
Tips for applying to Comenius University
- 1 Non-EU medical applicants should aim for the March exam: the faculty warns the visa process can take several weeks.
- 2 The Faculty of Medicine fixes your tuition for the standard length of study, so the 13,000 euro General Medicine fee won't rise mid-degree.
- 3 Check each faculty's own admissions page: there is no central deadline, and the faculties set exams, places and fees.
- 4 Apply for a dormitory early: first-year students living outside Bratislava's integrated transport area are guaranteed a place, but only in the first year.
Costs & financial aid
2026-27 · figures in EUR
Full-time Slovak-taught study is free. The university awards motivational scholarships, for example 21,235 euros to 156 graduates with the Rector's Academic Commendation in 2024, and first-year students from outside Bratislava's transport area are guaranteed dormitory places at low cost.
- About 98 euros a month (72-174 euros)
- Dormitory rent
- 99 euros per programme
- English-taught medicine admission fee
- 156 graduates, 21,235 euros in scholarships
- Rector's Academic Commendation (2024)
Academics
Academic calendar: Semesters (winter and summer)
General Medicine (MUDr., English or Slovak)
Six-year degree with 240 expected English-track admissions in Bratislava and 375 planned Slovak-track places; also offered in English at the Jessenius Faculty in Martin.
Dentistry (MDDr.)
English-taught at 14,500 euros a year with about 48 places, or free in Slovak with 32 planned places.
Law (Bc., Slovak)
The largest law faculty programme with about 600 full-time places; Čaputová, Fico and Fábry studied law here.
Mathematics, Physics and Informatics (FMPI)
English-taught master's in computer science, cognitive science, theoretical physics and more, at 1,500-1,800 euros a year.
Management (Bc., English)
One of the lowest-cost English business bachelor's at 1,990 euros a year, at the Faculty of Management.
Biological Chemistry (Bc., English)
Three-year English-taught programme with no tuition fee and practical training at research institutions.
Research
- FMPI researchers took part in ESA-supported ROSIE, an airborne expedition that documented the re-entry of two satellites over the South Pacific (2026).
- An FMPI team developed a method to make large language models faster and less resource-intensive, recognised with a Spotlight at ICML (2026).
- The university runs an astronomical observatory in Modra, the CU Science Park and a botanical garden that cooperates with 350 botanical gardens worldwide.
Schools & faculties
- Faculty of Medicine
- Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin
- Faculty of Pharmacy
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Arts
- Faculty of Natural Sciences
- Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics
- Faculty of Education
- Faculty of Management
- Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences
- Faculty of Physical Education and Sport
- Faculty of Roman Catholic Theology of Cyril and Methodius
- Evangelical Lutheran Theological Faculty
The university reports that Employment Outcomes was its best-performing indicator in the QS World University Rankings 2026.
Student life
Most students live in Mlynská dolina, a dormitory district where CU Mlyny houses more than 3,500 students and CU Družba around 2,000, with canteens, shops and pastoral centres on site. The Ľudovít Štúr dormitory there, the largest in Slovakia, is being fully renovated. Rooms cost about 98 euros a month, canteen meals about 2-3 euros, and a monthly transport pass 18 euros, and the university puts typical student spending at 300-400 euros a month. There is no single campus: faculties are spread across the city, including the main building on Šafárikovo námestie.
- Guaranteed dormitory place in first year for students outside Bratislava's integrated transport network.
- CU Mlyny and CU Družba dormitories in Mlynská dolina house about 5,500 students.
- Comenius University Botanical Garden and a Foucault pendulum among university sites.
- Member of the ENLIGHT European university alliance, with short blended intensive programmes abroad.
Housing. First-year students from outside the Bratislava Region's integrated transport system are guaranteed a dormitory place; after that, housing depends on your own efforts.
Location
Bratislava is Slovakia's capital, on the Danube, and the university is woven through the city rather than on one campus. It is unusually well connected: Vienna is 80 km away, Budapest 200 km and Prague 330 km, making weekend travel easy. Living costs are modest by Western European standards, with dorm rooms under 100 euros a month and cheap canteen meals.
Nearest airport: Bratislava Airport (BTS)
Notable alumni
- ZČ Zuzana ČaputováPresident of Slovakia (2019-2024); law graduate of the Faculty of Law (1996)
- IR Iveta RadičováPrime Minister of Slovakia (2010-2012); studied sociology at Comenius (1975-1979)
- RF Robert FicoPrime Minister of Slovakia; studied at the Faculty of Law
- JV Jan VilčekBiomedical scientist who helped develop the drug infliximab (Remicade); MD from Comenius (1957)
- VF Vladimír FábryLawyer and UN diplomat, secretary to Dag Hammarskjöld; studied law at Comenius
- ML Miroslav LajčákDiplomat and President of the 72nd UN General Assembly; studied law at Comenius for a year (non-degree)
Frequently asked questions
Is Comenius University free for international students?
Full-time study in Slovak is free regardless of nationality. English-taught programmes charge fees from nothing (Biological Chemistry) to 14,500 euros a year (Dentistry).
How much is medicine at Comenius University in English?
General Medicine costs 13,000 euros a year at the Faculty of Medicine in Bratislava and 11,500 euros at the Jessenius Faculty in Martin; Dentistry costs 14,500 euros.
Does Comenius University have an entrance exam?
It depends on the faculty. Medicine uses an entrance test (English-track exams in March, June and August), while programmes such as Law admit some applicants on school results and test the rest.
When is the Comenius University application deadline?
Each faculty sets its own. In the 2026/27 cycle Slovak-taught medicine closed on 28 February and English-taught medicine had deadlines of 26 February, 12 May and 23 July for its three exam sessions.
Does Comenius University offer student housing?
Yes. First-year students living outside Bratislava's integrated transport network are guaranteed a dorm room, typically about 98 euros a month.
Sources & methodology
Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.
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