USAMV Cluj-Napoca — Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

USAMV Cluj-Napoca traces its roots to October 1869, when the Institute of Agronomic Studies of Cluj-Manastur opened as one of the oldest agronomy schools in Central and Eastern Europe. The institution went through several name changes (Academy of Agriculture 1906, Higher Agronomic Studies 1929, Agronomic Institute 1948) before taking its current name in 1991.

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FMV) was founded in 1962, more than a century after the parent institution. Today USAMV Cluj serves around 6,000 students across five faculties, with FMV positioned as its flagship international programme.

What makes USAMV Cluj distinctive in the EU vet-school landscape

• Three languages of instruction : Romanian, English and French. This makes it one of the few EU veterinary schools outside France that delivers a full 6-year DVM cursus entirely in French.
• EAEVE Accreditation status : granted by ECOVE on 10 December 2024, valid until October 2031. This is the highest EAEVE tier — above the earlier "Approval" status the school held after the 2007 and 2017 visitations.
• ARACIS-accredited (Romanian national quality-assurance agency) for all three language tracks.
• Degree recognition : the Doctor-Medic Veterinar diploma is automatically recognised across the EU/EEA/Switzerland under Directive 2005/36/EC.
• ⚠️ NOT AVMA-accredited — no Romanian vet school currently is. US/Canada practice requires the ECFVG or PAVE certification pathway.

Cluj-Napoca is the unofficial student capital of Transylvania. With a population of ~324,000 and 10 universities hosting 60,000-100,000 students, it has the highest student-per-capita ratio in Romania and one of the youngest urban populations in Europe (roughly one in four residents is under 35).

The USAMV campus

• Main address : Calea Mănăștur 3-5, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, west of the historic centre in the Mănăștur district (~20 min tram/bus to the Old Town).
• Includes teaching clinics, laboratories, an emergency animal hospital and dedicated small/large-animal facilities.
• Fresh biosecurity, clinical-equipment and staff investments in the 2020-2024 cycle (documented in the 2024 EAEVE Self-Evaluation Report).

💡 Student housing

• University dormitories : 5 university-managed halls, the largest being the Hasdeu student complex (Str. B.P. Hasdeu 86-90) with 4 buildings and 1,300+ beds. USAMV also operates its own Mănăștur-area rooms. Prices EUR 30-90/month (multi-bed shared).
• ⚠️ Reality check : demand exceeds supply and priority goes to state-funded Romanian-track students, so many international students end up in shared private flats.
• Private rental : room in a shared flat EUR 150-350/month; studio EUR 350-550/month; 1-bedroom apartment EUR 450-650/month in the centre.

Cost of living and leisure

Cluj is affordable by EU standards: a comfortable student budget lands at EUR 600-900/month all-in. The Old Town, Central Park, Cetățuia hill and the surrounding Apuseni mountains offer a strong Erasmus lifestyle; Cluj Airport (CLJ) has direct flights to Paris, Milan, Madrid, Brussels and dozens of other EU cities.

No prior veterinary or animal-handling experience is required to be admitted to USAMV Cluj's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Selection is purely on academic file — hours of shadowing, farm work or shelter volunteering are not scored.

Why building experience anyway is a good idea

• EMS-style rotations : from Year 3 onwards, students complete clinical placements in the FMV teaching hospital. In Years 5-6 they are expected to spend weeks in external clinics, farms and abattoirs. Candidates who arrive with prior exposure adapt faster.
• Erasmus+ and EAEVE mobility : USAMV Cluj has active exchange agreements with VetAgro Sup (Lyon), Oniris (Nantes), ENVA (Alfort), Liège, Utrecht, Ghent, Bologna and others. Selection for these places is competitive and CV-based — documented pre-vet experience is a differentiator.
• Career track : French, Belgian, Spanish and Italian employers who recruit Cluj graduates typically look at practical exposure (stages) as much as the diploma itself.

Recommended pre-entry activities

• 1-2 weeks of shadowing in a small-animal clinic (during the last high-school year).
• A summer week on a farm (dairy, sheep, poultry or equine).
• Volunteering in an animal shelter or wildlife rescue — useful for the personal statement and the first-year rotations.

⚠️ No interview and no entrance exam for the English or French tracks. This is one of the simplest admission processes in the EU vet-school landscape.

📊 How the ranking works

• The admissions committee ranks all complete applications submitted by the deadline on the basis of the high-school academic average, weighted towards Biology, Chemistry and (secondarily) Physics/Mathematics.
• Language certificates are checked as pass/fail, not scored.
• Applicants are then admitted in rank order up to the seat cap: 30 in the English section, 45 in the French section.

📅 Timeline for 2026-2027 intake

• Enrollment window : 18 May - 22 July 2026 (submission of complete file online + originals by post).
• Results published : 23 July 2026.
• Confirmation window : shortly after results — candidates must pay the EUR 2,500 confirmation deposit to lock the seat.
• Non-EU candidates then apply for the Letter of Acceptance to Studies (issued by the Ministry of Education) and start the student-visa procedure at the Romanian embassy.

📌 Distinction with the Romanian-language track

The Romanian section is more selective and uses a bio/chem multiple-choice test in mid-July (30 min total, 15 Bio + 15 Chem questions). International students in the EN/FR tracks are NOT concerned by this exam.