collageAre you one of those that have been going through the internet for information on ‘going to medical school in another country’? Do you often get confused by the conflicting information you see on it online? You need not search further as you will find the answer to this question in the article below.
Read on to get the latest information on list of foreign medical schools recognized in usa, u s accredited medical schools in europe, medical school in europe vs us, best medical schools in the world, medical school requirements & harvard medical school. You will find more up to date information on going to medical school in another country in related articles on koboguide.
About Medical School Requirements
The moment you decide you want to pursue a career in Medicine, you know you are expected to go through a lot of hard work and inevitably many hours of study. However, all your efforts will be worth it in the end. After all, being a doctor is one of the noblest and most rewarding professions in the world.
Applying to med school is not something you should do superficially. You have to choose your medical school wisely. To make your mission easier, we’ll present the most common entry requirements to medical schools from Europe, the US and UK.
Find Bachelors in Medicine abroad
We’ll also throw in extra information like what GPA you’ll need to apply, what undergraduate degrees are accepted, and if you need an entry exam to get into medical school.
Top international destinations to study a Medicine degree:
The United Kingdom
The United States
Canada
Germany
The Netherlands
So, what does it take to get into a medical school?
- Admission requirements for medical school studies in Europe
These are some of the most common admission criteria for Medicine degrees offered by European universities:
High school diploma (certificate)
Good marks in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Math
Letters of recommendation
Letter of motivation
Voluntary or work experience related to healthcare
Candidates taking the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) must offer three subjects including Chemistry and Biology at Higher Level, plus three subjects at Standard Level. Not all universities require an International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB).
Minimum TOEFL and IELTS results
The requirements we’ve listed above are the most common, but Europe is a large continent, and some countries have different admission criteria or systems. Here are several examples:
Medical school admission and becoming a doctor in France
In France, each academic institution can have different admission criteria, and Medical studies are divided into 3 cycles.
The first cycle (PCEM) lasts 2 years. At the end of the first year, there’s a difficult examination which determines who goes into the second year. Usually, only 15-20% of Medicine students pass.
The second cycle (DCEM) lasts 4 years. It includes theoretical classes and exams, as well as training periods in healthcare institutions. In the last year, med students take a national examination and the grade determines their specialisation.
The third cycle is split into General Medicine and Specialised Medicine. The internships for General Medicine usually last 3 years. For Specialised Medicine, an internship can take 4-5 years to complete. At the end of the third cycle, all students receive a Specialised Studies Diploma (in French, DES: Diplôme d’Études Spécialisées).
The last step is writing and successfully defending a thesis before a jury, after which graduates receive their diplomas in Medicine. To practise Medicine, you still have to register with the Conseil National de l’Ordre des Médecins.
Group of medical students listening to a lecture from their professorMedical school admission and becoming a doctor in Germany
In Germany, you’ll encounter the Numerus Clausus (NC), which stands for Limited Number in Latin. It is a system used to determine the number of available Medicine places for students. The number of available places varies from one semester/year to another and you must have a certain overall grade to be admitted.
Medicine degrees in Germany take at least 6 years and 3 months to complete, and they are not divided into Bachelor’s and Master’s courses. In order to graduate you will have to take a state examination.
The path to becoming a doctor in Germany can be split into several main stages:
Stage I studies – 4 semesters followed by the first 3 sections of the state examination
Stage II studies – 6 semesters
Completion of a practical year (PJ) at a hospital or clinic
The second and final state examination after which you receive your licence to practise Medicine in Germany
It’s very important to develop good German language skills, because most lectures and examinations are in German.
You can find more information about studying Medicine in Germany on websites like Study in Germany and Deutschland.de.
Medical school admission and becoming a doctor in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, if you cannot prove you’ve studied Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Maths, you’ll need to take an exam that will test your competence in these subjects. You’ll also need to learn Dutch. This is necessary to complete your postgraduate studies and to communicate with your future patients.
Dutch Medicine degrees fall in the category of Numerus Fixus or Decentralised Selection programmes. This means the number of places is limited and you can only apply for two Numerus Fixus programmes.
These are the stages you go through to become a qualified doctor in the Netherlands:
Graduate a Bachelor’s in Medicine – 3 years. You’ll attend lectures and prepare assignments.
Finish a Master’s in Medicine – another 3 years, during which you take part in different internships. You also need to write a Master’s thesis.
To start working as a medical specialist, you have to register with the Royal Dutch Medical Association (RDMA).
Medical school admission and becoming a doctor in Italy
Italian universities use the Numerus Clausus system for both Medicine degree places and the professional training that takes place after graduation.
Some med schools in Italy require that students pass the IMAT (International Medical Admissions Test) or a similar admission exam, which tests the applicants’ logical skills and their knowledge of English, Biology, Chemistry, and other Science-related subjects.
The Medicine degree takes 6 years to complete and is followed by a 6-month clinical placement. You must then pass a national exam to become a registered physician. After passing that examination, you can start the specialisation training, which takes between 3-6 years, depending on your area of expertise.
Medical school admission and becoming a doctor in Finland
In Finland, you need to know Finnish for both basic studies and postgraduate training.
The only way to enrol in a medical school is to pass the entrance examination, which is held every year in May. The exam is in Finnish or Swedish.
The medical degree is a 6-year programme, which combines Bachelor’s and Master’s courses into a Licentiate degree. After graduation, med students can continue their education with postgraduate specialisation programmes.
About List of Foreign Medical Schools Recognized in USA
If you are planning to attend an international medical school, you want to make sure you make the right choice. There are few international medical schools that have connections to the U.S. and have strong reputations of producing good U.S. doctors. Some schools require you to take additional tests (similar to the MCAT) as a requirement. Nevertheless here is the list you should consider. This list is not in any particular order.
The Caribbean
- St. George’s University School of Medicine
- Ross University School of Medicine
- Saba University School of Medicine
- American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine
MCAT is required.
Israel
- Technion-Israel Institute of Technology
- Ben Gurion University of the Negev
- Tel – Aviv Univeristy – Sackler Faculty of Medicine
These programs have special connections with the U.S. hospitals.
MCAT is required.
Ireland
There are six Irish medical schools that admit North American students as part of the Atlantic Bridge Program.
MCAT is required for these four schools:
University College Cork
University College Dublin
University of Limerick
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Australia
- The University of Queensland Ochsner Medical Program
MCAT is required.
More Competitive International Schools:
United Kingdom (UK)
The UK has 32 medical schools but their system is designed so that students start medical school right after high school. Nevertheless there are schools that offer graduate entry for students who already went to an undergraduate college. These schools are generally the best options for U.S. applicants.
UKCAT is required.
Canada
- McMaster University’s Faculty of Health Sciences
- University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine
- McGill University Faculty of Medicine
Since LCME accredits U.S. and Canadian schools together, if you are a U.S. citizen and you graduate from one of these three Canadian schools, you do not enter residency match as a foreign student.
About Best Medical Schools in the World
p universities for medicine in the US and Canada
111 of the world’s best medical schools are found in the United States, with five of these making it into the worldwide top ten. Harvard University offers the world’s best medicine program for the fifth consecutive year, achieving a perfect score for employer reputation. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is the global medical research leader, despite dropping out of the top ten this year, with a perfect score in the research citations per paper indicator.
Canada has 18 medical schools in the rankings this year, with top scoring university, the University of Toronto in joint 13th place and earning its highest score in the H-Index indicator. Also in the world top 50 in Canada are McGill University (joint 21st), University of British Columbia (joint 28th) and McMaster University (45th).
Top universities for medicine in Europe
Europe is home to 233 of the top universities to study medicine. Of these, the United Kingdom claims 45 of Europe’s top medical schools, including four in the global top ten. Outside of the top ten, there are plenty of other medical schools which perform really well, including University of Edinburgh (19th), King’s College London (KCL, 20th), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Manchester (joint 34th).
France performs well this year, with 18 universities featured, including two in the worldwide top 100; Sorbonne University and University of Paris, both ranking 51-100 and both scoring well in the research citations per paper indicator. Italy also performs well, with an incredible 29 universities in the rankings this year, including three in the top 100.
Germany contains a staggering 33 medicine universities in the rankings this year, with three of these in the worldwide top 50, including Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg (rising nine places to joint 31st), Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (falling eight places to 41st this year) and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (42nd). Spain is home to 15 featured universities, with Universitat de Barcelona (UB) in the top 100 and a new entrant, Universidad de Oviedo, entering in 501-550th place.
The Netherlands contains seven medical schools in the rankings this year; two of which are in the top 50: the University of Amsterdam (rising five places this year to 30th) and Erasmus University Rotterdam (37th). Denmark has five medicine universities in the rankings, with University of Copenhagen in joint 38th and scoring well in the H-Index.
Sweden’s eight entries in this year’s rankings include Karolinska Institutet, the only medicine university outside of the UK and the US in the worldwide top ten in the medical schools ranking, in joint fifth place and scoring particularly well in the academic reputation indicator, with a near perfect score.
Top universities for medicine in Australia and New Zealand
In Australia, there are 22 universities, five of which are in the top 50; including the University of Melbourne (joint 16th), the University of Sydney (18th), Monash University (joint 31st), the University of New South Wales (UNSW, rising five places to 46th) and the University of Queensland (UQ, joint 48th).
New Zealand has two entries in the rankings this year, with the University of Auckland climbing from 101-150th to 51-100th place.
Top universities for medicine in Asia
This year’s medicine subject ranking includes 124 of the best medical schools in Asia. Japan contains the most medicine universities in Asia, with an impressive 34 medical schools, including two in the world top 50 – the University of Tokyo (joint 28th) and Kyoto University (47th). Mainland China also performs well, with 23 medical schools featured and Peking University in 50th place.
South Korea has 20 universities contained in this year’s ranking, with Seoul National University (SNU) in 33rd place. India is also home to ten universities in this year rankings, with six new entrants this year. Malaysia contains eight top medical schools and introduces three new universities to the rankings in 2020.
Also performing well in the rankings this year is Taiwan, with ten universities featuring and National Taiwan University (NTU) in the top 100. Hong Kong also accommodates a large number of medical schools, including University of Hong Kong (HKU, climbing five places to joint 34th) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK, rising two places to 43rd.)
Top universities for medicine in Latin America
There are 46 medical universities in Latin America featured in the 2020 QS University Rankings by Subject. Brazil claims the highest proportion of these; with 20 medicine universities in the ranking this year, including Universidade de São Paulo (USP) in the top 100 and five new entrants this year.
Chile has eight universities in the rankings this year, including five new entrants and its top ranking university, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, in 101-150th place. Colombia has seven medical schools featured this year, including new entry, Universidad Industrial de Santander coming in in 551-600th place.
Argentina’s four entries this year feature two new medical schools this year, Universidad Austral (451-500th) and Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (501-550th). Mexico also has four entries in the ranking this year, including Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in the top 200 worldwide.
Top universities for medicine in Africa
The Middle East is home to 24 of the world’s best medical schools. Israel and Saudi Arabia contain the majority of the ranked medical schools in the Middle East, with five in each country. Of these, Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and King Abdul Aziz University (KAU) in Saudi Arabia are the highest ranked, both in the world top 200.
Lebanon has three entries this year, with American University of Beirut (AUB) coming out on top in 151-200th, and Jordan had two entries. Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates all have one entrant.
Africa performed well in the rankings this year, with the region claiming 20 of the world’s top universities. South Africa contains eight of these, including the University of Cape Town in 51-100th place. Egypt is home to six of the best medical schools, including Cairo University, up from 201-250th place to 151-200th this year.
About Harvard Medical School
Eligibility Requirements
The HMS Faculty of Medicine accepts applications from current students in good standing and graduates of accredited colleges who:
Present evidence that their intellectual and personal credentials are of such quality as to predict success in the study and practice of medicine
Demonstrate aptitude in the biological and physical sciences during their undergraduate years, but not to the exclusion of the humanities and social sciences
Supplemented their education with at least one year of college or university training in the United States or Canada if they have completed academic work outside the United States or Canada. Foreign students who do not have a baccalaureate or advanced degree from an institution in the United States or Canada are rarely accepted for admission.
Demonstrate fluent and nuanced facility in English, as effective communication among the medical care team and between physicians and patients is crucial to the delivery of care
Students are required to complete at least three years of college work and a baccalaureate degree prior to matriculation. In addition, students must complete all required prerequisite coursework prior to matriculation.
PLEASE NOTE: Students who have been enrolled in medical school are ineligible to apply for admission to the first-year class. Students who have applied for admission to HMS on two prior occasions also are ineligible. HMS does not accept transfer students.
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