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Best universities for medicine
Find the best universities for medicine using Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings data
RankingsRankings for StudentsOctober 28 2020
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The study of medicine varies greatly around the world. In the US, medicine is studied in graduate school after completing an undergraduate degree that is not directly related to medicine.
Elsewhere, such as in the UK, students can enrol for undergraduate clinical degrees.
Wherever you study, almost all clinical degrees span a good number of years – more than non-clinical courses.
So it’s best to ensure that you make a wise choice when you commit yourself to a course of study for such a long period of time.
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Times Higher Education has published a ranking of the top 856 universities for clinical, pre-clinical and health studies, featuring colleges in more than 50 countries worldwide.
The ranking uses the same methodology as the World University Rankings, but with more weight on citations and slightly less on teaching and research metrics. The full methodology can be found here.
Scroll down for a full list of degrees included in the clinical subject ranking of top universities, and a guide on what you can do with them.
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Top five universities for clinical studies and health sciences
1. University of Oxford
Medicine at the University of Oxford is a traditional course, split into pre-clinical and clinical stages.
In the first few years, students are taught theoretically with little patient contact. In the course’s later years, they move to the clinical phase, spending much more time at the John Radcliffe Hospital.
About 150 students are admitted on to the course each year, and another 30 on to a graduate course that condenses medical studies into just four years.
The university has two main libraries for medicine and clinical studies, one providing resources for the pre-clinical elements of the course and another focusing on healthcare.
In addition to its distinctive course, Oxford offers students the experience of college life, where social events and small tutorials take place.
2. Harvard University
The graduate medical school of Harvard University has three missions: to educate, research and provide clinical care.
Founded in 1782, it is the third-oldest medical school in the US.
Faculty of the school also teach in other science departments at Harvard, as well as working in clinical departments at some of the hospitals affiliated to the university.
There are four main teaching hospitals across the Boston area.
Harvard has introduced problem-based learning to the curriculum. There is also a specialised programme, accepting only 30 applicants each year, that focuses on biomedical research.
Medical students at Harvard belong to one of five societies named after alumni. Students work in small groups within the society, compete in sports competitions and attend social events.
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3. University of Cambridge
Like at the University of Oxford, students can enrol in an undergraduate medicine degree at the University of Cambridge.
Graduates also have several options to study medicine, either on an accelerated graduate programme or a condensed version of the pre-clinical and clinical courses.
There are six applicants per place on the medical courses, and about 260 are accepted overall.
Half the graduates of Cambridge’s medical degrees become general practitioners, and almost all will work in the NHS in the UK.
Entrance to the medicine degree requires excellent secondary qualifications and high scores on the BMAT test.
Cambridge students, particularly medical students, have a busy schedule, juggling studies, college social events and a variety of recreational activities.
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4. Imperial College London
The medical programme at Imperial College London offers a range of teaching approaches, from traditional theoretical classes to innovative and hands-on experience.
From the very first term, students have direct contact with patients, unlike at other more traditional universities in the UK.
The six-year undergraduate qualification in medicine also includes a bachelor of science, in addition to the MBBS.
Like Oxford and Cambridge, Imperial’s courses are heavily scientific, with an emphasis not only on clinical practice but on research techniques.
Entry requirements are high; most accepted students will have top grades in chemistry, biology and a third subject, and will achieve a high score in the BMAT exam. The application process also includes an interview.
Imperial is one of the most international institutions in the UK, but only a few overseas students are accepted on to the medical programme each year.
5. Stanford University
The graduate school at Stanford University provides master’s and PhD programmes to students who wish to further their medical training.
Six Nobel prizewinners, 31 members of the National Academy of Sciences, and 42 members of the Institute of Medicine are among the current faculty at the school.
Researchers at Stanford Medicine are undertaking research across a number of different areas, including cancer, immunology, genetics and neuroscience.
The school also provides healthcare for adults and children, with a dedicated centre for children.
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Best universities for medicine 2021
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Top Medical Schools In 2019
By Belkis MegraouiUpdated February 20, 2021
Discover the top medical schools based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020.
Released today, the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019 includes a ranking of the 500 top medical schools around the globe.
Each institution was ranked according to a methodology which assesses four academic indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations per paper, and H-index (which measures the productivity and impact of published papers of a scientist or scholar).
Read on for an overview of this year’s top universities for medicine, starting with a look at the top 10.
Top 10 Medical Schools in the WorldBased on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019 | ||
Rank | Name of Institution | Location |
1 | Harvard University | United States |
2 | University of Oxford | United Kingdom |
3 | University of Cambridge | UK |
4 | Stanford University | US |
5 | Johns Hopkins University | US |
6 | Karolinska Institute | Sweden |
7 | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | US |
8 | Yale University | US |
9= | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | US |
9= | UCL (University College London) | UK |
See the full medical school ranking > |
Top medical schools in Europe
Of the 500 institutions featured in the medical school ranking, many are found in Europe, including a total of 39 in the UK.
Three UK universities are featured in this year’s top 10, with Oxford and Cambridge both achieving their best scores in the academic and employer reputation indicators.
UCL (University College London) is one of the world’s leading research institutions, and has climbed up one place this year to rank joint ninth in the medical school ranking, proudly displaying excellent scores across all four indicators.
Elsewhere in Europe, Germany has the second most entrants in the medical ranking, with 31 universities ranked in total, three of which are placed in the top 50. Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin is Germany’s highest ranked, at 33rd, followed by Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg (=40), and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (42nd).
Heading down to southern Europe, Italy follows with 25 representatives in total, three of which claim a place in the top 100: Sapienza Università di Roma, Università degli Studi di Milano, and Università di Bologna (UNIBO). France has 20 universities ranked, with Sorbonne University and Université Paris Descartes both placing in the top 100, while Spain has 14 – its highest ranked, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), also making the top 100.
With seven representatives each are Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden. Belgium’s Katholieke Universiteit Leuven claims 47th place globally, while Université catholique de Louvain retains its place in the 51-100 range. Nearby in the Netherlands, four institutions sit in the 51-100 range – Leiden University, Maastricht University, the University of Groningen, and Utretcht University. However, its highest ranked medical schools are Erasmus University Rotterdam, which climbed up five places this year to rank =34th, and the University of Amsterdam (=35th).
Of all the locations mentioned above, Sweden is the only one apart from the UK with a university in the top 10. The Karolinska Institute (KI) remains in sixth place and offers medical and health science courses in English, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Sweden is also home to two other medical schools featured in the top 100: Lund University and Uppsala University.
Other European study destinations with the world’s top medical schools include Switzerland and Ireland with six entrants each; three of Switzerland’s entrants are in the top 100, and include the University of Basel, University of Geneva, and University of Zurich. In Ireland, only one institution – the Trinity College Dublin (TCD) – sits in the top 100.
Denmark, Finland, Portugal and Greece all have five entrants in the ranking, with Denmark’s highest ranked institution, the University of Copenhagen, featuring at joint 38th, while Finland’s University of Helsinki ranks as one of the world’s top 100 for the subject.
With less than five entrants in this year’s medical ranking, Norway, Hungary and Russia take the lead with four institutions each, followed by Austria and Czech Republic with three entrants – Austria’s highest ranked, Medizinische Universität Wien, retaining its place in the global top 100. Locations with only one university in the medical ranking include Poland, Slovenia, Estonia, Serbia, Croatia, Romania and Lithuania.
Top medical schools in the US & Canada
The 2019 medical school ranking sees a total of 90 US institutions ranked, of which 18 are in the global top 50, with a further 11 in the global top 100.
There are six medical schools from the US in the top 10. As the study destination’s most prestigious institution overall, Harvard University leads the ranking at number one, scoring perfect scores for the indicators measuring academic reputation, employer reputation, and h-index. Stanford University follows at number four globally, achieving outstanding scores across all four indicators.
The world’s fifth-best medical school, Johns Hopkins University, is notable for receiving more research grants from the National Institutes of Health than any other medical school, while the world’s seventh-best – University of California, Los Angeles – offers its students intimate engagement with the school’s faculty as 70 percent of all undergraduate classes are made up of 30 or fewer members.
Ranked eighth, Yale University is home to Yale Medical School, a globally renowned center for biomedical research and education. Elsewhere, MIT sits in joint ninth place with the UK’s UCL and displays exceptional scores across all four categories, with a perfect score for citations per paper.
Other US medical schools ranked in the top 20 include the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), which retains its place at 11th, followed by Columbia University at 14th, the University of Pennsylvania (15th), Duke University which climbed up an impressive four places from last year to place 16th, and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) (=20th).
Heading further north into Canada, 17 of its top medical schools are ranked this year, including four in the top 50 – University of Toronto (13th), McGill University (19th), University of British Columbia (30th), McMaster University (=43rd).
Top universities for medicine in Asia
A total of 98 top medical schools are found in Asia, 28 of which are based in Japan, while China and South Korea are home to 18. Two of Japan’s top universities for medicine are ranked in the global top 50 and a further two sit in the global top 100 – including the region’s second-highest ranked, the University of Tokyo (26th) and Kyoto University, which climbed from the 51-100 range to rank 45th, – while China’s Peking University, Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University all claim places within the top 100, the latter pair both having made their way up from the 101-150 range from last year’s ranking.
Meanwhile, South Korea has 18 institutions in the ranking, led by Seoul National University (SNU) (up 11 places to rank 31st for medicine) while Sungkyunkwan University and Yonsei University now sit in the 51-100 range after ranking 101-150 last year.
Next up with 10 representatives in this year’s medical school ranking is Taiwan, with its highest ranked medical school, the National Taiwan University (NTU), featuring in 50th place. Thailand follows with six entrants in total, its highest ranked, Mahidol University, sitting within the 101-150 range. With five top universities for medicine ranked this year is Malaysia, where its number-one medical school is Universiti Malaya (UM), which also ranks in the 101-150 range internationally.
Home to less than five medical schools, India leads with a total of four representatives, its highest ranked – also a new entrant – the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, earning its place in the global 151-200 range. Hong Kong, Indonesia and the Philippines follow with two representatives each, with the University of Hong Kong (HKU) being the third-highest ranked in Asia, having risen five spots in the ranking this year to place 29th. Hong Kong’s second highest-rank institution in the medical school ranking is the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), which claims a spot in the world’s top 50 (=45th).
Pakistan and Singapore have one entrant each – Singapore’s only representative and Asia’s highest ranked medical school, the National University of Singapore (NUS), having shot up an impressive eight places this year to rank 23rd.
Top medical schools in Latin America
Traveling down south-west to Latin America, 32 top medical schools are ranked in the region this year, as Brazil dominates the ranking with 15 representatives in total. Mexico is home to four top medical schools, Chile to three, and Argentina to two, while Peru and Uruguay have one entrant each.
Brazil’s highest ranked medical school, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), is also the top medical school in Latin America, while of Colombia’s six representatives, three have risen in the ranking to place 301-350. In Mexico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México ranks the highest (151-200), and in Chile, the highest ranked medical school, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, has maintained its position in the 101-150 range. Universidad de Bueno Aires is Argentina’s top medical school, retaining its spot in the 151-200 range.
Top medical schools in Australia & New Zealand
The Australasian region harbors a total of 22 medical schools in the ranking this year, of which 20 are based in Australia alone, while the remaining two are in New Zealand.
Of Australia’s 20 representatives in this year’s medical school ranking, four are in the global top 50: the University of Melbourne remains in the lead at 17th, followed by the University of Sydney just one spot behind, in 18th place, Monash University (32nd), and the University of Queensland (49th). A further three institutions remain in the global top 100 – Australian National University (ANU), the University of Adelaide, and the University of New South Wales (UNSW).
Over to New Zealand, both of its two representatives, the University of Auckland and the University of Otago, sit in the 101-150 range.
Top universities for medicine in Africa & the Middle East
Egypt has the most entrants (six) in the region of this year’s medical school ranking, while South Africa and Israel both claim five representatives each. Next is Turkey with four ranked institutions, followed by Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Jordan, with two each. Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Kuwait and Ghana have the least number of entrants, with only one representative each.
In Egypt, Cairo University climbed significantly in the ranking from the 251-300 range to 201-250. However, it’s South Africa which claims the number one spot in Africa & the Middle East, with the University of Cape Town retaining its position in the 101-150 range. Of Israel’s five entrants, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is the highest ranked at 151-200, while Turkey’s highest ranked are Haceteppe University and Istanbul University, both in the 301-350 range.
Of Saudi Arabia’s two entrants, King Abdul Aziz University (KAU) ranks the highest, having notably achieved a spot in the 151-200 range after coming 251-300 last year. Finally, with Lebanon and Jordan also claiming two institutions each in the medical school ranking, the American University of Beirut (AUB) ranks the highest of the four, having climbed up from the 251-300 range to rank 201-250 this year.
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This article was originally published in February 2019 . It was last updated in February 2021
Want more content like this Register for free site membership to get regular updates and your own personal content feed.Explore the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020: MedicineRelated Categories:Subject RankingsMedicine
Written byBelkis Megraoui
A former content writer for TopUniversities.com, Belkis published a range of articles for students and graduates across the globe. She has a zeal for history and a natural flair for the arts and sports. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in English Language & Communication with Journalism from the University of Hertfordshire and is a native speaker of the Arabic language.
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