University of Belgrade Medicine Entrance Exam 2027: Complete Preparation Guide

The four official areas are Genetics, Molecular Biology, Embryology and Cytology. Note what is absent: no ecology, no plant biology, and no general human physiology block; the depth sits inside these four instead.

• Mendelian and non-Mendelian genetics: gene, allele, locus, homozygous and heterozygous, genotype and phenotype, dominant and recessive alleles; monohybrid crosses and the 3:1, 1:2:1 and 1:1 test-cross outcomes; segregation and independent assortment and when it does not apply; dihybrid crosses and the 9:3:3:1 ratio; genotype versus phenotype ratios; incomplete dominance versus codominance; multiple alleles with ABO as the model; polygenic inheritance; the epistasis ratios 9:7, 13:3, 15:1, 12:3:1, 9:3:4 and 9:6:1; linked genes, parental and recombinant classes, crossing over, recombination frequency and map distance in centimorgans
• Mutations and chromosomal aberrations: germline versus somatic and spontaneous versus induced mutations; point mutations, base substitutions, frameshifts and dynamic mutations; missense, nonsense, silent and neutral substitutions; why frameshifts usually have stronger effects than substitutions; polyploidy, aneuploidy, nondisjunction and mosaicism; the Down, Patau, Edwards, Turner and Klinefelter syndromes; deletion, duplication, inversion, reciprocal and Robertsonian translocation; Cri du chat as a deletion
• Inheritance patterns and population genetics: the pedigree signatures of autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, X-linked recessive, X-linked dominant and Y-linked inheritance; the officially listed example disorders: achondroplasia, Huntington disease, familial hypercholesterolaemia, phenylketonuria, albinism, cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs disease, haemophilia A and B, daltonism and Duchenne muscular dystrophy; ABO probability problems with the IA, IB and i alleles and Rh inheritance; gene pool, allele frequency and genotype frequency; Hardy-Weinberg calculations with p + q = 1 and p² + 2pq + q² = 1, the assumptions behind them, and the factors that disturb equilibrium
• Molecular biology: DNA versus RNA in sugar, bases, strand structure, stability and function; purines, pyrimidines and base pairing; gene, chromosome, chromatin, nucleosome and eukaryotic chromosome organisation; semiconservative replication, leading and lagging strands, Okazaki fragments, helicase, primase, DNA polymerase, ligase, primers and proofreading; RNA polymerase, promoter, exons and introns, the 5' cap, the poly-A tail and splicing; the genetic code, codons, anticodons and reading frame, tRNA, the ribosome, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase, initiation, elongation, termination and signal peptides; chromatin condensation, DNA methylation, histone acetylation and genomic imprinting; promoters, enhancers, silencers, response elements and insulators against trans-acting transcription factors; alternative splicing, post-translational modification and chaperones; restriction endonucleases, cloning vectors and nucleic acid hybridisation
• Embryology and development: diploid and haploid cells, homologous chromosomes and sister chromatids; reductional meiosis I versus equational meiosis II, the prophase I stages from leptotene to diakinesis, the synaptonemal complex and bivalents, crossing over, chiasmata and nondisjunction; spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis, the seminiferous tubule, oogenesis, folliculogenesis and hormonal control of the menstrual cycle; types of egg from isolecithal and mesolecithal to telolecithal and centrolecithal; the acrosome reaction, the block to polyspermy and fusion of the pronuclei; cleavage, holoblastic versus meroblastic patterns, blastula and the mammalian blastocyst; gastrulation and the three germ layers, invagination, epiboly, ingression, delamination and involution, the primitive streak and mesoderm differentiation; the neurula, neural tube and neural crest; yolk sac, amnion, chorion and allantois, chorionic villi, and placental classification as choriovitelline or chorioallantoic, diffuse, cotyledonary, zonary or discoid, epitheliochorial, endotheliochorial or haemochorial, and deciduous or nondeciduous
• Cytology and cell biology: prokaryotic versus eukaryotic cells by nucleus, organelles, DNA organisation, ribosomes, size and complexity; the fluid-mosaic plasma membrane with phospholipids, proteins, cholesterol and selective permeability; simple diffusion, osmosis, facilitated diffusion, active transport and vesicular transport, the sodium-potassium pump, endocytosis and exocytosis; the nuclear envelope, nuclear pores, nucleoplasm and nucleolus, chromatin, nucleosome and chromatin fibre; rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, lysosomes, ribosomes, centrosomes and proteasomes, inclusions and the cytoskeleton; interphase G1, S and G2 and the link between S phase and replication; prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase and cytokinesis; mitosis compared with meiosis in chromosome number, variation and purpose

The four official areas are General Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Chemistry of Natural Products. UBFM's own page explicitly flags calculation questions in solutions, energetics and pH/pOH; treat those three as the calculation core.

• Atomic structure and chemical bonding: atomic number, mass number, isotopes, relative atomic mass and relative molecular mass; identifying protons, neutrons and electrons from atomic and mass numbers; using the periodic table to classify elements and infer broad properties; trends in ionisation energy, electronegativity and electron affinity; ionic, non-polar covalent and polar covalent bonding inferred from element type and electronegativity difference; recognising common ionic and molecular compounds
• Solutions and concentration calculations (flagged as a calculation area): mass concentration, molar concentration, molality and mass fraction; converting mass to moles and volume to litres; n = m / M, c = n / V and n = cV in solution stoichiometry; the dilution equation c1V1 = c2V2 and when it applies; distinguishing the mass of solute from the mass of solution; and keeping the units mol/L, g/L, mol/kg and percentage by mass straight
• Chemical kinetics and energetics (flagged as a calculation area): reaction rate as change in concentration per unit time and its relation to stoichiometric coefficients; the factors affecting rate: concentration, temperature, catalyst, surface area and the nature of the reactants; the Guldberg-Waage law of mass action for homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions; exothermic versus endothermic reactions; enthalpy, entropy and Gibbs free energy; reaction enthalpy from standard enthalpies of formation as products minus reactants; qualitative use of Gibbs free energy for spontaneity; and unit tracking in kJ/mol, J/mol·K and kelvin
• Acids, bases, salts and buffers (pH/pOH flagged as a calculation area): classification of oxides as acidic, basic, neutral or amphoteric, acid anhydrides and base-forming oxides, and the metal/non-metal pattern with its amphoteric exceptions; the general properties of acids and bases; Arrhenius versus Brønsted-Lowry definitions; strong versus weak acids and bases and the qualitative use of Ka and Kb; the water ion product Kw, pH and pOH for simple strong-acid and strong-base cases and pH + pOH = 14 at 25 °C; classification of salts by parent acid and base strength, and salt hydrolysis; neutralisation as acid plus base giving salt and water, with simple neutralisation stoichiometry; and buffers as a weak acid with its conjugate base or a weak base with its conjugate acid
• Redox reactions: assigning oxidation numbers in common compounds and ions; oxidation as loss of electrons and an increase in oxidation number; reduction as gain of electrons and a decrease in oxidation number; identifying oxidising and reducing agents; and recognising whether a reaction is redox at all by checking for oxidation-number changes
• Hydrocarbons and aromatics: naming and drawing alkanes, alkenes, alkynes and dienes; single, double and triple bonds and saturation versus unsaturation; the typical addition reactions of alkenes and alkynes including hydrogenation, halogenation, hydrohalogenation and hydration; Markovnikov orientation in simple alkene additions; and benzene and the aromatic compounds at the level of nomenclature and common reactions
• Functional groups and derivatives: nomenclature of alcohols and phenols at high-school level, primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols, oxidation, dehydration and esterification, and the greater acidity of phenols compared with alcohols; the carbonyl group, aldehydes versus ketones by structure and nomenclature, and the easier oxidation of aldehydes; carboxylic acids and the -COOH group, their acidity and salt formation, esterification and hydrolysis, substituted carboxylic acids and common names; the derivatives: esters, amides, acid chlorides and anhydrides; and the recognition cues for each functional group
• Chemistry of natural products: the general amino acid structure and the role of the side chain, classification as non-polar, polar, acidic or basic, the hydroxyl-containing side chains serine, threonine and tyrosine, the peptide bond, the isoelectric point as the pH of zero net charge, and the basic reactions of amino acids; monosaccharides as aldoses or ketoses and pentoses or hexoses, glucose, fructose and ribose, Fischer and Haworth formulas at recognition level, mutarotation, enantiomers, epimers and anomers, and reducing behaviour; reducing and non-reducing disaccharides (maltose, lactose, cellobiose and sucrose) and the inversion of sucrose; the homopolysaccharides starch, glycogen and cellulose and the storage-versus-structural contrast; and fatty acid nomenclature, classification and structure, saturated versus unsaturated, simple lipids as fats and oils, hydrolysis and saponification

It is the University of Belgrade Faculty of Medicine's own admission exam for its English-taught Medicine programme: two written multiple-choice tests of 20 questions each (Biology and General/Organic Chemistry, four options per question) plus a separate personal interview worth up to 20 points. Together they make a 60-point entrance exam, with a minimum passing mark of 31.

No. Serbia has no shared national medical entrance test, and its two state medical faculties set structurally different exams. Belgrade runs two 20-question papers plus a scored 20-point interview, with a 31/60 pass mark and a 100-point admission scale that adds secondary-school GPA. Niš runs a single 60-question paper of 30 biology and 30 chemistry questions with a 21/60 acceptance mark and no interview at all. Preparation transfers at the level of content, not at the level of format or strategy.

In person, in Belgrade, for most candidates: the 2026/27 Admission Announcement names the Institute of Physiology as the exam venue, and the third period's test was in the Silos amphitheatre at Dr Subotica 15. The Faculty's Rulebook (Article 13) lets candidates enrolling under the quota of international agreements signed with the University of Belgrade sit the entrance exam remotely or online. What UBFM does not publish is whether the written part is paper-based or computer-based, whether the two tests are sat in a single session, or whether a calculator is permitted despite the Chemistry test carrying calculation items. Prepare to calculate by hand and confirm the rest directly with the Faculty.

Each correct answer is worth one point, up to 20 points per 20-question test, with the interview worth up to 20 more for a 60-point total. UBFM publishes nothing at all about a penalty for a wrong answer or for a blank. IvyTest checked the entrance-exam page's Structure and Minimum Passing Mark tabs, the applying and admission pages and the official Moodle 'About Entrance Exam' page on 21 September 2026, and every one of them states only the per-correct-answer point. Under the natural reading of that silence a random four-option guess is worth +0.25 points on average and a blank is worth 0, so guessing is never worse. Confirm the rule with the Faculty before relying on it.

You need at least 31 of 60 on the entrance exam. That is necessary but not sufficient: above the threshold, places are filled in rank order on a 100-point scale made of your 60 entrance-exam points plus up to 40 from your secondary-school cumulative GPA. There is no separate Biology or Chemistry minimum: the 31 is a total across both papers and the interview, so a strong interview directly reduces the number of written questions you need right.

English: both written tests and the interview, which explicitly assesses your English among other things. The programme itself is taught in English. UBFM publishes no Serbian-language requirement, but patients on clinical placements speak Serbian, so ask the Faculty what it expects before you commit.

A great deal: up to 40 of the 100 admission points, which makes it the single largest component, larger than either science test and larger than the interview. The Admission Announcement scores it as the sum of your average grades for each year of secondary school multiplied by two, from 16 to 40 points; it does not say how a foreign grading scale is converted. It is also fixed before you sit anything. The practical consequence is that the entrance exam is the smaller half of your ranking, and a candidate with a weaker school record needs a genuinely strong exam day rather than an adequate one.

For 2026/27 the Admission Announcement offered 130 places: 80 self-financing places for Serbian and foreign citizens and 50 under special international agreements. Passing candidates are ranked and admitted up to the places still open in each period. UBFM publishes each round's final list but no overall acceptance rate. In the third 2026 period, 27 candidates were listed: 20 admitted, the last at 71.18 of 100, 3 passed without a place, 3 scored under 31 and 1 did not finish.

Around 210 minutes for both papers together, read from the Application Calendar's 9:30-13:00 block for the Biology and Chemistry test. That is a schedule block rather than a figure UBFM labels as the test's duration, and it is not split per subject, so treat it as a strong indication rather than a guarantee. Even conservatively it works out at about 5¼ minutes per question, by far the most generous pace of any exam in this catalogue; this paper rewards checking your work.

Serbia is an EU candidate country, not a member, so a Serbian medical degree does not receive the automatic EU/EEA recognition an EU-issued degree would. A graduate wanting to practise in an EU member state goes through that country's own national procedure for recognising a non-EU qualification, which varies by country and is handled case by case rather than automatically. Outside the EU the standard international-graduate routes apply: UK-bound graduates go through UKMLA registration, and US-bound graduates need ECFMG certification via USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK, the same requirement every international medical graduate faces.

Yes. The IvyTest simulator runs Belgrade-format practice (20-question Biology and Chemistry papers in the real four-option format, scored in UBFM's own units out of 20 per subject) in timed, tutor and review modes, with a free diagnostic available without payment.

Yes. The Studies in English home page links 'Biology and Chemistry entrance exam tests 2024', a ZIP with the two 2024 tests as PDFs, 20 four-option questions each, without an answer key. The Entrance Exam page links 'Selected questions from previous entrance exams' (June 2017: 8 Chemistry and 8 Biology questions with the correct answers) and three example chemical-calculation problems with answers. The Faculty's paid online preparatory course adds practice tests in the exam's format.

UBFM has not published the 2027/28 dates yet. In 2026/27 there were three periods. June: documents 22 to 30 June 2026, written test 1 July, interviews 1 and 2 July, final results 6 July, enrolment 7 to 10 July. Then a September round with the test on 2 September, and a third period with documents on 16 and 17 September and the test on 18 September. Documents are handed in person; the Faculty does not accept them electronically.

A completed four-year secondary education (a gymnasium, or a medical, veterinary or other health-care secondary school), a medical certificate of fitness to study medicine and B2 English, or secondary school completed in English. Your diploma is recognised by the Agency for Qualifications, with the originals Apostilled and notarised Serbian translations. The Applying page also expects a year each of Biology, General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry at grade C or better. Then you need at least 31 of 60 on the entrance exam.

€8,000 a year, paid as €4,000 per semester in the dinar equivalent: the Admission Announcement sets the same fee for Serbian and foreign self-financing students, and the first €4,000 is due at registration. The application and entrance-exam fee is €140. The Fees page adds €117 per ECTS credit for a repeated year and a €30 disenrolment fee. The optional online preparatory course costs €507 per subject, or €1,014 for both. UBFM's pages mention no scholarship.

Six years, twelve semesters and 360 ECTS credits, leading to the title of Medical Doctor (MD), all taught in English (the Faculty's 2024 Rulebook). The first year is Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Human Genetics, English Language I, Medicine and Society, Basics of Clinical Practice I, First Aid and electives; the second adds Medical Physiology, Medical Biochemistry and Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology. The clinical subjects follow, and the sixth year includes a Clinical Internship and the Graduate Thesis.

In its own words, UBFM is the oldest and largest medical school in the Balkans, founded on 9 December 1920. For rankings it cites the whole university: first in Serbia and among the best 300 universities globally in the 2016 Shanghai ranking (ARWU). It cites no ranking for the Faculty of Medicine itself and publishes no student reviews; its Student Section introduces the Student Board and the student organisations instead.

No. According to its About page, the Institute for Medical Research is a separate research institute, founded in 1947 by the Serbian Academy of Sciences and a member of the University of Belgrade since 2005. It is not the Faculty of Medicine: admission to Medicine is through the Faculty's Admission Announcement. Research inside the Faculty is open to Medicine students: UBFM's Research page invites them into pre-clinical and clinical research, and says that students with two student papers do not have to write and defend the diploma thesis.