What awaits this year's applicants in postgraduate education and pre-university courses
The faculty has been operating since 2000 and covers two key areas: postgraduate education for doctors and pre-university training. Over 80% of the teaching staff are academics, including distinguished doctors, professors and winners of state awards.The faculty's graduates are specialists who shape medicine in the region and the country.
Training is provided in 30 specialities, ranging from internships to advanced training courses. We will learn more from the head of the department, Ivan Chopey.
- What specialities are offered at the faculty of postgraduate education?
Internship is a form of primary specialisation for graduates of medical and pharmaceutical specialities, after which they are awarded the qualification of specialist doctor or specialist pharmacist. To be employed in these positions, completion of an internship is mandatory. Without completing this stage, graduates cannot practise independently in their profession.
The list of internship specialisations and the duration of training for each of them are determined by the Ministry of Health. For most medical specialties, postgraduate education lasts 2 or 3 years, while for dentists and pharmacists, it lasts only one year. For example, an internship in internal medicine lasts two years, in surgery — three, in paediatrics — also two, in obstetrics and gynaecology — three, and in dentistry and pharmacy — one year, etc. The list of specialties and the duration of internship training at the educational part of Uzhhorod National University is available here.
Another feature of our faculty is that our interns combine work with education.
- Why are the above-mentioned specialties relevant in 2025?
Uzhhorod National University provides internship training in virtually all specialities required by medical institutions in the region.
- Please tell us about any new features of this year's admission campaign at your faculty (if any).
A special feature of 2025 is that graduates have the opportunity to choose their specialisation and internship location throughout Ukraine based on the results of an electronic ranking. It is transparent and depends only on the competitive ranking of the graduate – it does not matter which university you graduated from. Candidates with the highest scores have the highest priority in choosing a location. Internship offers cover all hospitals in Ukraine where there are suitable vacancies.
The distribution is carried out throughout the country. Each graduate has access to all available offers in Ukraine. If there are fewer positions in a region, competition for them will be higher, and some graduates will have to choose a place to study in other regions or on a contract basis.
The internship programme consists of two parts: educational (at the university) and practical (based on an internship at a hospital). Graduates have the right to choose the higher education institution for the educational part, based on its proximity to the place of internship, even if it is not the same university where they previously studied.
Theoretical training can be completed at any university licensed to provide internships, and practical training at the selected healthcare facility. These two points are indicated separately in the electronic application, and the system generates a distribution taking into account both preferences.
All graduates of state-funded education (at least 50% of the educational programme) must participate in the electronic allocation, except for those who have grounds for refusal as defined by the Regulations on Internships. Candidates enrolled in contract-based education are also eligible for state-funded places. Foreign citizens and those who have obtained medical education abroad are not eligible for the allocation, as internship is only available to them at the expense of legal entities and individuals. People who completed their studies in 2024 and have not yet started postgraduate training can join the distribution. Those who graduated from university by 2023 inclusive and have not completed an internship can only enrol on a contract basis.
To participate in the distribution, graduates must first register in the electronic system by creating a personal electronic account. If a registered user of the account participates in the selection process, they can check their data, view their competitive score, available places and distribution results, submit applications for internships, and confirm or reject offers.
Interns in the electronic system have the right to enter and change their personal data, create and submit requests to change the higher education institution for the educational part of the programme; change the healthcare institution for the practical part of the programme; change their specialisation in the internship; suspend their participation in the internship training programme; resume their participation in the internship training programme; withdrawal from the internship at their own request; change of personal data. They also have access to orders related to the internship training programme (on enrolment/withdrawal from the internship, suspension/resumption of the internship training programme, change of specialisation in the internship, business trips, transfer, referral abroad for internship or training); information on certification; information on the issued certificate of professional qualification. In addition, after completing their training, they can obtain an extract from the information on the issued certificate.
Each graduate has the right to submit up to five applications to participate in the ranking distribution. The document lists the desired specialties and places of internship. Each application also specifies the specialty, higher education institution, and healthcare institution. Thus, it is possible to submit applications for several specialties or in different regions at once — for example, the first priority is family medicine, the second is also family medicine in another city, the third is internal medicine, etc. When submitting the document, you must select a vacant position in your speciality, a healthcare institution for the practical part and a higher education institution for the educational part. These three criteria (speciality/position, hospital and university) form one application option. Determine the level of importance for each of the five options by assigning a number from 1 to 5 (1 being the most desirable option).
Important: within a single application, you must also prioritise the selected criteria — for example, what is more important to you: a specific hospital or a specific university (priority 1, 2 or 3). This information is used by the system when selecting alternatives if the exact combination cannot be found. You can edit the content of your applications or change your priorities until the deadline for submission.
The competitive score (rating) of a graduate for distribution is generated automatically based on their academic performance. The system receives all the necessary data from the university: the average diploma score, the results of the KROK 1 and KROK 2 exams, as well as the OSKI (objective structured clinical exam) score, if applicable.
The ranking is carried out in two stages. Before the start, a nationwide ranking list of graduates is formed based on their competitive score, from highest to lowest. In the first stage, the system goes through this list from top to bottom: it takes the graduate with the highest score and tries to allocate them according to their first priority application; if there are no vacancies, it moves on to the next application of the same graduate, and so on. The system takes into account all the criteria specified in the application and the priority that the graduate has given to the speciality, hospital and university. The search for a place takes place among: (a) vacancies at the selected university for the educational part and (b) vacancies in hospitals for the practical part of the speciality. If enrolment is available at the university and there is a suitable vacancy at the healthcare institution, the system generates the appropriate offer and moves on to the next applicant in the ranking. The first stage is considered complete when all graduates have either received a place or exhausted their 5 applications without success. If none of them work out, then you move on to the next stage. Here, an alternative offer is generated, which must be accepted or rejected by 15 July.
When your application is being considered, the system checks the submitted applications in order of priority: first, it tries to satisfy option No. 1, and if this is not possible, it switches to the next one, and so on. This means that if you do not get a place according to your first priority (for example, there is no vacancy or someone with a higher score has already taken it), the system will automatically ‘transfer’ you to the second option, then the third, and so on, until it finds an available option or has gone through all five applications. You do not need to do anything manually — the process takes place automatically according to the order of applications.
The second stage of the ranking distribution takes place after the completion of the first stage, for those graduates who did not receive a place based on the results of the first stage. It usually takes place in July (for June graduates) — the system analyses which places remain unfilled after the previous stage and offers them. In the second stage, you do not need to submit new applications, as those previously submitted are taken into account, and the most suitable option from the remaining vacancies is selected for you. Priority is given to the regions and specialities you indicated in your applications (even if your specific choices are no longer available, the system may offer the closest possible option. This part of the selection process takes into account the ranking of those who did not receive a place and the vacancies available after the first stage. As a result, you will receive an offer of an internship place, which you must accept or reject by 15 July.
The system will automatically analyse all available positions, select the most suitable option for you from those remaining, and send the offer to your electronic account. You will then have the opportunity to either accept or reject it. If you accept, you will receive a referral and be enrolled in the internship programme of your choice. If you decline the offer, you will only be able to participate in the selection process next year.
To exercise your right not to participate in the distribution, you must notify the dean's office in writing by 10 June and provide confirmation of a valid reason. After that, you will receive a certificate for independent employment and will be eligible for an internship funded by individuals or legal entities.
Graduates of medical specialties must provide/update their data in the TCK regardless of age and gender. The presence of a military registration document is a prerequisite for employment as an intern. Training in an internship entitles you to defer mobilisation for the duration of martial law in accordance with Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 560 of 16 May 2024. If you have not enrolled in a postgraduate training programme, you no longer have the status of a student and the deferral is lost.
After receiving the results of the distribution (or independent choice of a place for contract employees), the graduate must submit an application for admission to the internship and the following package of documents to the higher education institution: a document confirming the level of proficiency in the state language (an appendix to the certificate of complete secondary education or a state certificate issued by the National Commission for State Language Standards), a referral to the university for an internship (if allocated to a budget place) or a certificate of independent choice of place, a copy of the master's degree and copies of the ‘Step 1’ and ‘Step 2’ certificates. Contract students must also provide the university with an agreement with the internship base (hospital) on practical training or written consent to undergo practical training issued by its head.
A graduate who is undergoing an internship at the expense of individuals or legal entities may independently choose a place for practical training at any healthcare institution included in the list of internship bases on the website of the Ministry of Health. The algorithm of actions is as follows: you need to obtain a certificate of independent choice of internship location from the university; contact either the regional health department or directly the heads of healthcare institutions (public or private) that can take you on as an intern; when the hospital agrees, conclude an employment contract or obtain written consent from the head; submit the entire package of documents to the university. Once you receive an order of admission to the internship in your electronic account (or from the dean's office), you can begin your training.
Contract-based internships are available at privately owned healthcare institutions listed in the list of internship bases on the website of the Ministry of Health.
If your husband or wife is serving in the National Police (or another internal affairs agency), this is considered grounds for refusal of placement. The patrol police is subordinate to the National Police of Ukraine, so your husband's service in the patrol police is indeed equivalent to service in the internal affairs agencies – this category of benefits applies. To exercise this right, you must submit an application to the university by 10 June, attaching a document confirming your husband's service (certificate from his place of work/service).
You can view the available places on the Single Web Portal for Vacancies in Healthcare Institutions. It is important to note that the number of vacancies is subject to change. The positions that will be available for distribution will be blocked by the system as of 2 June. The Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Department of Health and UzhNU are actively working to ensure a sufficient number of vacancies for graduates.
- What employment opportunities are available to graduates?
After completing their internship, graduates of the educational and scientific institute of postgraduate education are employed in medical institutions, clinical laboratories, research institutions and can continue their specialisation to change their speciality.
