The number of students choosing to study veterinary in Poland has been increasing over the last number of years since it became an alternative option outside of Budapest in Hungary.

On any given year, there are more than double the number of students studying abroad than at home, with just 40 or so spaces available at University College Dublin (UCD).

Some 90 Irish students began studying veterinary medicine in Poland this academic year. Two-thirds of these first-year students are based in Warsaw, 22 are based in Wroclaw and another seven are in first year in Olsztyn.

The University of Warmia and Mazury Olsztyn has just 11 Irish students studying veterinary in total, having only started offering veterinary through English in 2023.

This university is the most rural of the three veterinary colleges, located right in the middle of Poland’s agricultural region.

Cadhla Shanahan from Co Tipperary is now in her second year in Olszytn.

“I’m almost halfway through my second year here in Olsztyn studying veterinary. First year was certainly an experience and challenging.

"I managed to pass all my final exams at the end of first year and I was lucky enough to get an exemption from my anatomy final exam due to high grades in my partial exams through the past year.

“This year, we have more animal-related subjects, like breeding and raising livestock, technologies in animal production, etc, where we have been having some practical classes like grooming horses, visiting dairy farms, poultry farms and piggeries.

"These visits have been a nice introduction into hands on experience as we could see how things are done here compared to Ireland,” she said.

Wroclaw

The second-most popular destination for Irish vet students in Poland is in west of the country - Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences.

The 22 students who started there this year are among a cohort of 118 Irish students studying veterinary in total.

A spokesperson for the university said: "We offer high-quality education with a good mix of theory and practice; our clinics give students the opportunity to work with advanced equipment such as specialised X-ray machines, MRI, CT and veterinary simulators, including our new laparoscopic surgery training centre."

Laois student Áine Kealy from near Borris-in-Ossory, like Cadhla, was also left with no other option than to go to Poland to study veterinary medicine.

"Second year is a big step up from first year. The workload has definitely doubled - it’s manageable, but it can be a bit hectic at times.

"This semester, the main classes we have are in physiology, microbiology, animal breeding, anatomy and biochemistry.

"They are definitely a lot more veterinary-related and especially when we’re studying so much, it’s nice to know that all this studying isn’t for nothing.

"I’m still very happy I’ve chosen to do veterinary medicine and I know it’s going to be worth it in the end. I’m also still loving being in Poland, it’ll never beat being at home, but it’s definitely like my second home now and I’m very settled here.

"It’s nice to be able get home and enjoy every minute of it because the time is quite limited when we are home," Áine says.

Warsaw

Warsaw University of Life Sciences is where the majority of Irish students choose as their university of choice for veterinary. There are 61 students enrolled in first year for this academic term with 170 Irish students there in total.

Some 33 students graduated from its faculty of veterinary medicine in 2024.

Another seven Irish student vets graduated from Wroclaw this year.