• Universities

Grodno State Medical University was founded in 1958 and is the oldest medical school in Belarus. It specialises in medicine and medical psychology.The first autopsy in Eastern Europe, on King Stefan Batory, was conducted in Grodno in 1586 and there was a medical faculty in the city as early as 1775.It started as a single-department institution and has since added departments of preparation in 1970 and paediatrics in 1979 before, in 1991, starting the first department of nursing in newly-independent Belarus. It achieved university status in 2000 and now has six faculties: general medicine; paediatrics; psychology; diagnostics (which includes nursing), and a faculty specifically for international students, as well as a research school with centres devoted to 11 specialisms.There are three doctoral schools also affiliated with the institution and Grodno State Medical University works in partnership with four hospitals in the city as well as specialised facilities for psychology and narcology, cardiology and perinatal care.It has published its own academic journal since 2002.It describes itself as having formed its own traditions and strong scientific schools. All courses are offered in Russian, with some courses offering teaching in a mix of Russian and English.A small percentage of students come from overseas. The first international students were admitted in 1995 and among the university's selling points were lower fees and living costs than medical schools in Europe and Russia.New students from abroad can take a nine-month preparatory course offering training in Russian, biology, chemistry and physics.