Medicine (Humanmedizin), State Examination
Medicine (Staatsexamen) at Saarland University's Medical Faculty, Germany — a full physician-qualifying state examination degree delivered entirely at the integrated Campus Homburg, where the university hospital and all preclinical and clinical departments share a single site. The curriculum moves from biomedical foundations in anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and medical psychology through the Physikum gateway examination into a broad clinical phase spanning 26 specialities, with students gaining direct patient-facing experience across rotating hospital departments. Taught in German.
Programme facts
| Degree | State Examination |
|---|---|
| Duration | 12 semesters |
| Language of instruction | German |
| Required German | C1 |
| Study mode | Full-Time |
| Start | Winter semester |
| Application | uni-assist (VPD) + the university, winter semester until 15.07 |
| Admission | Admission restriction (NC): a competition of school grades |
| Tuition fee | €0 per semester for international students |
| Semester contribution | €412.30 per semester |
| Practical semester | Yes, mandatory |
| Campus | Campus Homburg |
What the tuition fee consists of
Will I get in
The programme has an admission restriction: the average grade of your certificate, converted to the German scale, decides. The cut-off changes every year — last year's value shows the order of magnitude, not a promise.
- ✓Those with a deep, sustained interest in human biology, physiology, and pathology — not just a general interest in health, but curiosity about how the body works and why it fails.
- ✓Those who are prepared for a long, demanding programme requiring consistent academic performance across both sciences and clinical skills over many years.
- ✓Those who want a clear professional outcome — state-licensed physician — and are drawn to the structured German Staatsexamen pathway.
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- ✓Those interested in combining medical training with research — the programme actively enables undergraduate participation in scientific projects at a research-active faculty.
- ✓Those comfortable studying and working in German, as all teaching, clinical contact, and examinations are conducted entirely in German.
- ✓Those considering a career not only in clinical practice but also in academic medicine, medical research, or the pharmaceutical and health-sector industries.
- —Admission is highly competitive. With 250 available places and medicine being one of the most sought-after programmes in Germany, applicants should expect significant competition based on school-leaving grades and, in some cases, waiting time or aptitude-test results.
- —The programme is entirely in German. There is no English-language alternative or English-medium track — all lectures, seminars, clinical rotations, and state examinations are conducted in German. A very high level of German proficiency is essential before beginning.
- —The preclinical phase requires sustained intensive effort. The first four semesters are academically demanding, covering multiple natural science disciplines at university level simultaneously, and must be completed successfully before the clinical phase can begin.
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- —The degree is a Staatsexamen, not a standard bachelor's or master's. The structure and academic culture differ significantly from a typical three-year bachelor's degree — it is a long, nationally regulated professional qualification programme.
- —Homburg is a small city. The medical campus is located in Homburg in the Saarland region, a compact city rather than a major urban centre. Students should factor in the lifestyle and cost-of-living context of a smaller regional location.
How the selection works and how strong the competition is — we go through it against your certificate when we select programmes for you.
Programme selection →About the programme
The Medicine program at Saarland University's Medical Faculty is a full state-examination degree leading to qualification as a physician. It is taught entirely at the dedicated medical campus in Homburg, which hosts both the university hospital and the full range of preclinical and clinical departments under one roof.
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Preclinical foundation (semesters 1–4) builds systematic scientific knowledge in biology, chemistry, physics, anatomy, biochemistry and molecular biology, physiology, and medical psychology and sociology. These first four semesters culminate in the First State Examination (Physikum), which must be passed before the clinical phase begins. Alongside the sciences, students complete an introductory course in clinical medicine and a career exploration placement, and choose an elective from the start.
Clinical phase (semesters 5–11) covers the full spectrum of medical specialities required by German national medical education regulations: internal medicine, surgery, general practice, anaesthesiology, occupational and social medicine, ophthalmology, dermatology, obstetrics and gynaecology, ENT, human genetics, microbiology and virology, paediatrics, clinical chemistry, neurology, orthopaedics, pathology, pharmacology and toxicology, psychiatry and psychotherapy, psychosomatic medicine, forensic medicine, and urology. Cross-cutting thematic modules integrate epidemiology, biostatistics and medical informatics, history and ethics of medicine, health economics, infectious diseases and immunology, geriatric medicine, emergency medicine, environmental medicine, palliative care, and pain medicine.
Practical Year (semester 12) consists of three clinical blocks of 16 weeks each: one in internal medicine, one in surgery, and one elective speciality chosen by the student. This full-time hospital placement provides hands-on patient care experience before the Second State Examination.
Beyond the structured curriculum, the Medical Faculty offers students the possibility to join internationally recognised research groups and contribute to active research projects — an opportunity available already during the undergraduate years, supported by 51 professorships in clinical medicine across 26 specialisations and 27 professorships in theoretical medicine across 9 specialisations.
What you study
Preclinical Phase — Semesters 1–4
- Biology: fundamentals of cell biology, genetics, and physiology of organisms relevant to medicine.
- Chemistry: inorganic and organic chemistry with applications to biochemical processes.
- Physics: biophysics and the physical principles underlying medical instrumentation and physiology.
- Anatomy: systematic and topographic anatomy, including dissection courses.
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: metabolism, protein biochemistry, gene expression, and molecular mechanisms of disease.
- Physiology: organ system function, homeostasis, and regulatory mechanisms.
- Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology: psychological and sociological dimensions of illness, the physician–patient relationship.
- Medical Terminology: systematic introduction to clinical language in German and Latin/Greek roots.
- Introduction to Clinical Medicine: early orientation to clinical reasoning and hospital settings.
- Career Exploration Placement (Berufsfelderkundung): a structured observation placement in a clinical or healthcare environment.
- Elective: a freely chosen subject allowing early specialisation or broadening.
The full curriculum and the programme's parameters are part of programme selection: we compare them with your profile.
Pick programmesCareer
Completing the Medicine state examination is the formal prerequisite for licensure and practice as a physician (Approbation) in Germany and, through mutual recognition frameworks, across the European Union.
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Graduates typically pursue specialty residency training (Facharztausbildung) in their chosen clinical field — options range from general practice and internal medicine to surgery, psychiatry, paediatrics, and all major clinical specialisations covered during the degree.
The programme also prepares graduates for careers outside direct clinical practice: academic medicine and university research, positions in the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries, public health and healthcare administration, and international health organisations all regularly employ graduates with a medical degree.
Cost of study
| Tuition fee of the federal state (Saarland), international students | €0 |
|---|---|
| Semester contribution | €412.30 |
Requirements and application
| Previous education | Entry requires a German university entrance qualification (Abitur) or a recognised equivalent. |
|---|---|
| Language | German C1 — confirmed by a certificate when you apply |
| Application | uni-assist (VPD) + the university, winter semester until 15.07 |
The procedure and the set of documents depend on your certificate. We check the university's requirements against your documents and give you a list: what to submit, how to certify and translate it, where and when to apply.
Check the requirementsHow to get into this programme
- 1Check your certificate and its recognitionDirect admission, a year at a university at home, or Studienkolleg first — this decides the whole plan.
- 2German up to C1 and a certificateDSH or TestDaF has to be passed before you apply.
- 3Documents and translationsCertified translations of the certificate and transcript, an APS if required. 3–4 weeks.
- 4Application uni-assist (VPD) + the university until 15.07uni-assist checks documents for 4–6 weeks — send them well before the deadline.
- 5Admission, visa, movingPlan 2–3 months for the visa and the blocked account in parallel.
How to apply
You can submit the application yourself or with our help — the university decides on admission in both cases.
Applications go through the university's portal or uni-assist. Typical mistakes:
- ×incorrectly made certified copies and translations
- ×a wrong set of documents
- ×the application submitted the wrong way
- ×errors or gaps in the application form
- ×the application submitted at the wrong time — too early or too late
An incomplete or incorrectly prepared application is excluded from the selection — it can no longer be corrected after the deadline.
StudyInFocus does not represent the university and does not influence the admission decision. We do not sell study places and do not guarantee admission — this is a service for preparing and submitting documents on the applicant's side.
If your level is not enough yet
The two most common stoppers are a language level below the requirement and a certificate without direct admission. Both can be solved, but they take months — plan them now, not after a rejection.
Video about the programme
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Questions about this programme
How much does the programme cost?
What language level do I need?
When do I need to apply?
Don't postpone the application
The deadline is 15.07.2027 (274 days left). Language, translations and the document check take months, not weeks. In 30 minutes we will build a plan backwards from the deadline and tell you honestly whether you can make it.