MBBS in China

MBBS (Bachelor in Medicine, Bachelor in Surgery) in English medium has become one of the most popular and competitive majors among international students who decide to study in China. Relatively cheaper tuition fees, less entry requirements than in other countries, major standardization by the government, international title recognition and fast improvement of the programs’ quality (better prepared professors, equipment, labs, etc.) have made China a top destination country for students seeking a medical career. According to official figures (2010), MBBS students accounted for 15% of all incoming new international students to China.

Tuition fees for English taught MBBS programs are between 30,000 - 35,000 RMB per year on average, with a duration of 6 years. It usually includes a first pre-medical year and a final internship year in one of the school’s affiliated hospitals. If living on campus, accommodation fees will highly depend on the city and type of dormitory but should be in the range of 8000-15000 RMB per year. Having this in mind and comparing it with other countries, studying medicine in China is relatively much more affordable.

For MBBS, some basic entry requirements need to be considered, though exceeding them will give you better chances due to high competitiveness and high number of applicants.

• Age limit: 18-25 years old
  
• Holder of a high school graduation diploma
  
• Minimum marks: it depends on each university and sometimes might be flexible but as a reference, having a GPA of 2.8/4.0 or 70% is necessary.
  
• Your high school transcripts must show these compulsory subjects: chemistry, physics, biology and English. Math marks will be taken into consideration as a reference subject for admission evaluation. For each of these subjects, scoring above 70% is also requested.
  
• Medical exams in your country: Some universities like Jiangsu University and Nanjing Medical University will take into consideration national medical test scores if your country has one, for example NEET test for Indian students.
  

Due to the high demand for MBBS English programs, the Chinese government has a designated list of approved universities who are permitted to recruit international students for this major. There are currently 45 universities in this list; these are not only approved by the Chinese government but are also recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and thus by most countries around the world. This is crucial if you want to practice outside of China after graduation.

Here’s the list:

• Jilin University
  
• China Medical University
  
• Dalian Medical University
  
• Capital Medical University
  
• Tianjin Medical University
  
• Shandong University
  
• Fudan University
  
• Xinjiang Medical University
  
• Nanjing Medical University
  
• Jiangsu University
  
• Wenzhou Medical University
  
• Zhejiang University
  
• Wuhan University
  
• Huazhong University of Science and Technology
  
• Xi’an Jiaotong University
  
• Southern Medical University
  
• Jinan University
  
• Guangxi Medical University
  
• Sichuan University
  
• Chongqing Medical University
  
• Harbin Medical University
  
• Beihua University
  
• Liaoning Medical University
  
• Qingdao University
  
• Hebei Medical University
  
• Ningxia Medical University
  
• Tongji University
  
• Shihezi University
  
• Southeast University
  
• Yangzhou University
  
• Nantong University
  
• Soochow University
  
• Ningbo University
  
• Fujian Medical University
  
• Anhui Medical University
  
• Xuzhou Medical College
  
• China Three Gorges University
  
• Zhengzhou University
  
• Guangzhou Medical University
  
• Sun Yat-sen University
  
• Shantou University
  
• Kunming Medical University
  
• North Sichuan Medical College
  
• Southwest Medical University
  
• Xiamen University
  

For Chinese taught MBBS, there are many other universities available besides the ones on the list.

China is definitely a destination to consider if your dream is to become a medical professional. High quality universities, a rapid developing country, low cost internationally recognized programs and a much simpler process (especially through UniApply) are all heavyweight factors to consider when making your decision.