Forestry University – Sofia

• Forestry University – Sofia was founded in 1925 and is one of the oldest educational institutions in Bulgaria.
• The university is home to 51 world renowned professors and over 700 dedicated students, studying a range of undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate programs.
• It has a modern library with more than 100,000 volumes, including books, dissertations, theses and celebrated scientific magazines with an amazing library staff on hand to help.
• The university is one of the best educational institutions in Eastern Europe and was actually founded with the aim to create the scientists of the future.
• Furthermore, the fact that the university is located in the city of Sofia is an asset; Sofia is an all-modern city, containing many important monuments while offering affordable products and services to ensure a great standard of living.

• Veterinary Medicine is taught entirely in English and lasts for 5 and half years.
• The course includes 10 semesters of academic training and concludes with an internship semester in affiliated hospitals and clinics.
• The focus of the first three years is on pre-clinical and para-clinical skills after which the courses shifts its focus to clinical practice.
• In the 3rd and 4th of studies, students must complete a mandatory summer practice (3rd year) and a summer clinical internship (4th year).
• In the 5th year, the curriculum shifts its focus again to more species-oriented training and gives students the opportunity to work in mobile clinics to reinforce practical training and experience.
• The final semester also includes an internship programme after which students must successfully pass a series of state exams. Upon graduation, students are awarded a Master’s Degree and the qualification of Veterinarian, allowing them to practice in any EU member state and abroad.
• There is also the option for graduates continue with their specialisation in Bulgaria, due to the low cost of living and big demand for veterinary specialists in the agricultural sector of Bulgaria and neighbouring countries. There is also the option to avail of state funding.
• Veterinary graduates from Bulgarian Universities account for a significant percentage of the people working in the UK veterinary sector at present and numbers are growing in the US and Canada.

Candidates must submit the following documents::

1. A completed application form or a letter of application containing a brief CV and specifying the degree programme to which they are applying.
2. Foreign citizens are required to submit a certified translation of their Diploma for completed secondary education including a supplement specifying their attendance record, grades, and full academic record.
3. A document issued by a competent body certifying the applicant’s eligibility to continue his studies in higher educational institutions from the country in which the applicant has completed secondary education.
4. All applicants are required to submit a medical certificate issued less than a month before their application and must get it validated by the respective authorities in the applicant’s country.
5. All applicants are required to submit a photocopy of their identity card(s) or passport(s) with their place and date of birth and name legibly written in Latin.
6. Four recent photographs.

The Diploma and the medical certificate must be legalised and translated into Bulgarian and validated in accordance with the provisions contained in the intergovernmental agreements between Bulgaria and the country where the documents were issued. If no such agreements exist, the documents must be legalised, translated and validated according to the standard procedure for the legalisation, translation and validation of documents and other official papers.

• Sofia is the capital and largest city in Bulgaria with a population of 1.2 million.
• It is situated in the Western region of the country and in the North, it is embraced by the Balkan Mountain Range, on the South-East by Mt. Lozen, in the South by Mt. Vitoza and to the South-West rests Mt. Laioulin. Many rivers also traverse the city of Sofia.
• It was officially given its contemporary name change after the liberation of the Bulgarian people from the Turks in the late 19th century.
• During WWII, Sofia was bombed by the Allies and subsequently passed into the hands of the then Soviet Union, until the country was granted sovereignty in 1989.
• However, after the Communist era, the architectural countenance of Sofia saw a noteworthy change and this aesthetic shift is apparent in modern buildings, such as the “Largo Ensemble” and the “The Vasil Levski Stadium”.
• At present, Sofia remains a milieu of successive art and historical movements, where distant past and modern infrastructure harmoniously fuse.

• Bulgaria is in the Southeast of Europe and has a population in the region of 7,500,000 and owing to its location by the Black Sea it has been rendered an economic hub.
• Despite its small size, it has a strong industrial and agricultural market economy, with its capital Sofia enjoying a particularly thriving economy.
• The official language of the country is Bulgarian and the official religion is Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The population consists mainly of Bulgarians (85%) with an additional Turkish minority (8%) and Roma minority (5%). It has become a far more multicultural society in recent years.
• Interestingly, until 1878, Bulgaria fell under Ottoman rule for almost five hundred years, ending when the Third Bulgarian State was formed.
• Also, from 1946 to 1990, the country was under Communist influence but today it has a system of Parliamentary Democracy and is a free market economy, culminating in its acceptance into the EU in 2007.
• Since 1990, efforts to modernise the country ‘s economy and educational system have paid off, as evidenced in the blossoming architecture and booming economic activity.
• This has led to the significant development of Bulgarian Universities, now counted as some of the best in Eastern Europe. Better yet, life in Bulgaria is relatively cheap in comparison to other EU member states, making it an extremely popular destination for students from all over the world.